Weekly HOMILY for August 9, 2009: Food That Endures for Eternal Life: Anyone Hungry?

19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B
Our Lady of Grace
August 9, 2009

Food That Endures for Eternal Life: Anyone Hungry?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


Consumed with Food

The well-known humorist Andy Rooney once said that the two biggest sellers in any bookstore are the cookbooks and the diet books.

The cookbooks tell you how to prepare food. The diet books tell you how to avoid eating it.

A California scientist has computed that the average person eats 16 times his or her own weight in a year, while a horse eats only 8 times its weight. The scientist concludes that if you want to lose weight, all you have to do is eat like a horse.

Orson Welles once said, “My doctor has advised me to give up those intimate little dinners for four, unless, of course, there are three other people eating with me.”

On a more serious note, we have all seen reports saying that a high percentage of us are overweight or even clinically obese.

The point of all this, as one writer puts it, is that we, as a society, are consumed with food, at least earthly food.

Today, Jesus calls us to be equally “consumed” with another kind of food, with spiritual food.


The Bread of Life

In today’s Gospel, Jesus says: “I am the bread of life. I myself am the living bread come down from heaven. Those who eat this bread will live forever.”

It is clear that Jesus is giving us a food that will satisfy the hunger of our souls and not just the hunger of our stomachs.

I suggest that Jesus is the “bread of life” for us in two ways.


Consumed with Jesus’ Wisdom

First, the Bread of Life that Jesus is for us, may surprisingly, be his wisdom or word.

Jesus’ identification of himself as bread hearkens back to the Old Testament. A number of Old Testament passages refer to food or bread as God’s wisdom that feeds us with insight and the way to live.

Some of the Fathers of the Church, the earliest Christian writers, interpret the teachings of Jesus as the Bread of Life.

So, the Scriptures and especially the Gospels are to be the Bread of Life for us.

Jesus calls us to be consumed with and to consume this “Bread of Life.”

If we are going to do this effectively, I recommend that we have a Bible at home.

And then, I recommend that each week at home, we read at least the Gospel for the coming Sunday. We can find the citation for the passage for the coming Sunday right in the bulletin that you receive here each week.

So, read the Gospel, even read it out loud to yourself or with your family. Then, after reading it, ask yourself this question:
➢ “What is God or what is Jesus saying to me in these very words?”
➢ “What word or phrase or sentence grabs my attention?
➢ “What might God be calling me to do in my life right now through this holy Word?”

This is a great way to prepare for Mass each Sunday, and to be open to hearing the Gospel and the reflection on it in the homily.

This will help us to be consumed with and to consume Jesus, the Bread as “Wisdom.”


Consumed with Jesus Himself

Second, the Bread of Life also means that Jesus gives us his very self as food.

Jesus also talks about this in today’s Gospel and then gives us this “Bread” at the Last Supper. Jesus is truly present to us here in the Eucharist.

Our eating this food enables him to be present within us in the closest possible way. He also calls us to be consumed with and to consume this “Bread” that is his very self, effectively.

If we are going to do this, I recommend several things.

First, the Church asks us to fast from other food and drink for at least one hour before receiving Communion.

This very minimal physical fast reminds us of our need for food; it should remind us of our hunger. And specifically, it makes us aware that our deepest hunger is a spiritual one – a hunger for God.

Besides this one-hour fast, I simply recommend that we participate well here at Mass.

Giving ourselves consciously to the experience, joining in the prayers, singing the hymns or at least reading the words, if we think we can’t sing, and praying silently in our hearts at certain times – all of this opens our hearts and lifts our minds to receive the Lord.


Conclusion

In conclusion, it allows this sacred food to make a difference for us personally.

It is an important way for us to be consumed with and to consume the “Bread” that is Jesus himself.