A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 7, n. 37)
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – August 9, 2009
“Bread of the Strong”
BIBLE READINGS
I Kgs 19:4-6 // Eph 4:30-5:2 // Jn 6:41-51
(N.B. Series 7 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year B from the perspective of the Second Reading. For other reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year B, please go to the PDDM Web Archives: WWW.PDDM.US and open Series 1 & 4.)
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
This Sunday’s liturgy assures us that the “bread of the spiritual renewal” given us by the loving Lord God is also the “bread of the strong”. Jesus Christ, the “living bread that comes down from heaven”, is the food for our spiritual journey (cf. Jn 6:41-51). By the bread of the Word and by his Eucharistic body and blood, offered on the cross and at the Church’s altar-table of sacrifice-communion, our loving Lord Jesus makes us strong. Jesus is our companion (“bread-sharer”) on our journey to the Father. He sustains us in our pilgrimage of return to our heavenly home.
The Old Testament reading (I Kgs 19:4-6) gives a foretaste of the “bread of the strong” that Jesus would give in the fullness of time. Pursued by the vengeful Jezebel, the pagan wife of Israel’s King Ahab, the prophet Elijah fled into the wilderness. He was at the end of his rope. Risking his life, he had fought the terrible apostasy and abominable idolatry promoted in Israel by Jezebel. Upon learning that 400 prophets of her god Baal and 450 prophets of the her goddess Asherah had been put to the sword after a showdown in which the almighty power of the Lord God, through the intercession of Elijah, manifested the nothingness of the idols, the wicked Jezebel sent Elijah this message: “May the gods strike me dead if by this time tomorrow I don’t do the same thing to you that you did to the prophets.” Elijah was afraid and went to Beer-sheba in Judah. After walking a whole day in the wilderness, he stopped and sat down in the shade of a tree and wished to die. He prayed: “It’s too much, Lord. Take away my life. I might as well be dead.” But Elijah, the faithful prophet of God, would not die. Touched by an angel, he was commanded to eat and drink. The loaf of bread and the jug of water that the provident God prepared were meant to sustain him. With the strength of that food, Elijah journeyed “forty days and forty nights” to the mountain of God, Horeb. The revitalized Elijah thus continued his work as a prophet, in obedience to the divine plan of salvation.
We, like the people of Israel and the prophet Elijah, are on a long journey through life. We, like them, lament: “Enough already.” We, like them, are fed so that we can keep going. But unlike them, we are fed with living bread that sustains us right through to eternal life.
Jesus continues to nourish the Church with the “bread of the strong”. The community of believers, immersed into his paschal destiny and nourished by the Bread of the Word and by his Eucharistic Body and Blood, is called “to live in love”. We are to imitate the Eucharistic Lord who gave his life for us as a sweet smelling offering and sacrifice that pleases God. The baptized believers, who share at the table of the Eucharist, must always live by the Spirit. In the Second Reading (Eph 4:30-5:2), we hear the moral implication of being nourished at the table of the bread of eternal life – of being fed with the “bread of the strong”. We are not to sadden the Holy Spirit who put his seal upon us for the sake of our redemption on the last day. We are to get rid of all bitterness, all anger and passion, harsh words and malice of every kind. In place of these, we must be kind to one another, compassionate, and mutually forgiving, just as God has forgiven us in Christ.
Aelred Rosser remarks: “The undeniable love we have been shown by Christ makes it undeniable that we must show love to our neighbor. Even more gratifying is the realization that such love goes far beyond duty. Once we deeply believe in the overwhelming, unconditional love that God has for us, our love for each other becomes a spontaneous response. The greatest lovers are those who realize how much they have been loved. Paul reminds the Ephesians and us of our oneness and begs us not to grieve the Holy Spirit with bitterness, anger, malice … Criticizing others is a dangerous thing; not so much because we might be mistaken, but because we may be revealing the truth about ourselves.”
The following article in TASTE OF HOME magazine (cf. February-March 2009 issue, p. 67) about a 12-year-old’s fund raising effort to help poor African children is very inspiring. It gives us a glimpse of what Christian believers can do to live in the love of Christ and to be “bread of the strong” for others.
A video shown at church inspired Miranda Walters to make a difference. She saw the faces of children dying from malaria thousands of miles from her Cedar Falls, Iowa home and knew she couldn’t ignore them. A $10 mosquito net dramatically reduces the risk African children face of contracting malaria, an often-fatal infectious disease transmitted through mosquito bites. So Miranda, 12, gave herself a goal: raise $100, enough to buy 10 nets for the nonprofit organization Nothing But Nets. “After seeing the video, I told my grandma I wanted to do something to help them”, Miranda says. “She suggested a bake sale. So we talked to people at church, made posters and baked some things.”
She and her grandmother, Jill Rechkemmer, also of Cedar Falls, made Caramel-Pecan Cheesecake Pie and Caramel-Pecan Apple Pie, both from Taste of Home. They also invited others from the congregation to help with the baking. “At first I worried we wouldn’t get enough baked goods”, says grandma Jill. “But there were so many!” The bake sale raised $640, enough to buy 64 nets.
Miranda encourages other kids to think about raising money for a cause. “It’s possible no matter how busy you are”, she says. “It feels good to do something to make a difference.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
1. What do we do when at times, like Elijah, we are exhausted, frightened, frustrated, enervated, at the end of our rope? Do we have trust in divine providence and believe that he will give us the “bread of the strong”?
2. What does the revelation of Jesus, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven” mean to us? Do we avail ourselves of the life and strength offered by Jesus, present in the Eucharist?
3. Aware that we have been strengthened by the “bread of life”, do we endeavor to live in love, as Christ loved us? How do we show the compassion and preferential care of God for the poor and needy? Do we try to be the “bread of the strong” for others?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: Loving Father,
you are compassionate and provident!
You are our loving and living God!
You were there for the frightened and persecuted prophet Elijah.
The loaf of bread and the jug of water that nourished him
were a symbol of your power and provident love.
In your Son Jesus Christ,
the “living bread that came down from heaven”,
is the strength that restores and leads to eternal life.
We are nourished at the table of the Word and the Eucharist
where Jesus our Lord is “bread-sharer”
and our companion on the journey that leads back to you.
Strengthened by the food for eternal life,
help us to be compassionate to the poor and needy.
By our preferential care for the weakest among us,
may they savor the spiritual riches that come from you
and may they delight in the Eucharistic food and drink.
May we always live in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let the Holy Spirit animate us always.
May we recognize our vocation
to be “bread of spiritual renewal” in today’s world.
May we serve as “bread of the strong” for others.
We love you; we serve you;
we give you glory and praise,
now and forever.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“Live in love, as Christ loved.” (Eph 5:2)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
A. ACTION PLAN: Pray that the Christian community may truly be nourished at the Eucharist by the “living bread that came down from heaven”. Strengthened by this food, endeavor to share God’s compassion with the poor and needy and thus become, in the Eucharistic Lord, the “bread of the strong” for others.
B. ACTION PLAN: To help us contemplate the goodness and generous compassion of God who gives us Jesus Christ, the “bread of the strong”, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year B, vol. 5, n. 37).
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US