The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to contemplate our search for understanding our relationship with God and our how we interact with those who accompany us on our journey.
Words of Life
The reading from the Book of Joshua describes how the tribes entering the Promised Land renew the Covenant.
“Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God.”1
Psalm 34 is praise for deliverance from trouble.
* [Psalm 34] A thanksgiving in acrostic form, each line beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In this Psalm one letter is missing and two are in reverse order. The psalmist, fresh from the experience of being rescued (Ps 34:5, 7), can teach the “poor,” those who are defenseless, to trust in God alone (Ps 34:4, 12). God will make them powerful (Ps 34:5–11) and give them protection (Ps 34:12–22).2
The reading from the Letter to the Ephesians describes the Christian Household.
* [5:21–33] The apostle exhorts married Christians to a strong mutual love. Holding with Gn 2:24 that marriage is a divine institution (Eph 5:31), Paul sees Christian marriage as taking on a new meaning symbolic of the intimate relationship of love between Christ and the church. The wife should serve her husband in the same spirit as that of the church’s service to Christ (Eph 5:22, 24), and the husband should care for his wife with the devotion of Christ to the church (Eph 5:25–30). Paul gives to the Genesis passage its highest meaning in the light of the union of Christ and the church, of which Christlike loyalty and devotion in Christian marriage are a clear reflection (Eph 5:31–33).3
In the Gospel of John, Peter proclaims that Jesus has the Words of Eternal Life.
* [6:60–71] These verses refer more to themes of Jn 6:35–50 than to those of Jn 6:51–58 and seem to be addressed to members of the Johannine community who found it difficult to accept the high christology reflected in the bread of life discourse.4
Eileen Wirth thinks St. Peter’s answer to Jesus – which the human Jesus must have cherished—speaks to today’s troubled and hurting Church. Where else would we go that would satisfy our deepest needs, especially in times of personal trouble?
I was born into the pre-Vatican II church where nuns in our Catholic schools taught us that we alone had the truth. We were proud and certain but Vatican II forced us to look at our church and the world far less simplistically. Thank God! Modern scandals have forced us to face far more unpleasant truths. As we wait for desperately needed reforms to take hold, we suffer shame and anger. But meanwhile those of us who will never leave ask ourselves where else could we go. Having been formed in a background of rosaries, First Communions, May processions and more importantly by a sense of community and social justice, my Catholic identity is far too deep to be uprooted by the corruption of any church leaders. This isn’t about bishops and bad priests. It’s about Jesus and the community he called.5
Don Schwager quotes “Eat Life - Drink Life,” by Saint Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"'Unless you eat My Flesh and drink My Blood, you shall not have life in you,' says the Lord. Eat life - drink life. You will then have life, and life is complete. Then the Body and Blood of Christ will be life for each person under this condition: what is eaten visibly in the Sacrament be spiritually eaten and spiritually drunk in truth itself." (excerpt from Sermon 102,2)6
The Word Among Us Meditation on Joshua 24:1-2, 15-18 comments that we all struggle at times to keep our commitments to the Lord. How often have we made a resolution in morning prayer only to break it by noon! But when we face the inevitable temptation to serve other “gods,” perhaps we can follow the lead of these Israelites by recalling what God has done for us.
The next time you’re battling a temptation, you could recall the Father’s goodness in sending his Son to become one of us. Or his mercy in forgiving your sins. Or the gift of Jesus’ Body and Blood in the Eucharist. Or the “mighty deeds” he’s accomplished in your own life. Reflecting on such truths will give you greater confidence that God’s abundant grace can help you overcome every sin. Then, filled with love and gratitude, you’ll be able to say wholeheartedly with Joshua, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (24:15). “Father, let me never forget what you’ve done for me.”7
Friar Jude Winkler notes that the people who renewed the Covenant before entering the Promised Land were not all Jews. The “household instructions” acceptable in Ephesus are softened to include the role of husbands. Friar Jude comments that Peter, who is often put down in John’s Gospel, shines as a man of great faith that calls us to trust without full understanding.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares that God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message.
Mystics throughout the ages, however, knew Christ as another name for everything—in its fullness. Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335–c. 394) wrote “For who, when [taking] a survey of the universe, is so simple as not to believe that there is Deity in everything, penetrating it, embracing it, and seated in it?” [1] Rhineland mystic Mechthild of Magdeburg (c. 1212–c. 1282) proclaimed, “The day of my spiritual awakening was the day I saw and knew I saw all things in God and God in all things.” [2] And twentieth-century Trappist mystic Thomas Merton (1915–1968) wrote, “Christ prayed that all people might become One as He is One with His Father, in the Unity of the Holy Spirit. Therefore when you and I become what we are really meant to be, we will discover not only that we love another perfectly but that we are both living in Christ and Christ in us, and we are all One Christ.” [3]8
The Bread of Life Discourse inspires us to seek understanding of Christ beyond the limits of a human philosophy confined to rational consideration of only what our traditional senses can perceive.
References
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