by Fr. Jose “Joesum” Sumampong, Jr.
August 8, 2021
Nineteenth Sunday in OT (B)
I Kings 19: 4-8 / Psalm 34 : 2-9/
Ephesians 4: 30 -5:2 / John 6: 41-51
THE EUCHARIST AS WISDOM
Word: Today’s Gospel (John 6:41-51) forms part of Jesus’ discourse on the Eucharist (John 6:26-58). Of course, when people speak of the Eucharist, they usually associate it either with the Body and Blood of Jesus that one receives during the communion rite, or with the Mass itself. This and the next Sunday’s Gospel, however, gives us a wider of view of what the Eucharist means, for they treat two aspects of it. Whereas, next Sunday, the theme concerns the Eucharist as Sacrament, in today’s Gospel, the theme is sapiential: the Eucharist as Wisdom.
What does the Eucharist as Wisdom mean? As John portrays him, Jesus considers himself the bread of life, whom the Father has sent as a sign that God cares for His people; He provides support for them. It is for this reason that Jesus performed the miracles of the multiplication of the loaves (John 6:1-13) on the account of which, those who have been following, hungry and poor, had their fill. Unfortunately, though, the Jews could not recognize the meaning of the multiplication of the loaves. For them, it was simply meant to satisfy hunger, they could not see beyond that function. Hence, his parenesis: “I assure you, you are not looking for me because you have seen signs but because you have eaten your fill of the loaves. You should not be working for perishable food but for food that remains unto life eternal, food which the Son of Man will give to you” (John 6:26b-27b). Like the manna of the Old Testament, the multiplication of the loaves was a sign that they will understand that man does not live on bread alone, but “by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord” (Deut 8:3b). Man must eat the Word — God’s Wisdom — because it is the bread of life, and the Eucharist is that Wisdom.
That for Jesus the Eucharist — which is he himself — is God’s Wisdom is evidenced by his quotation from Isaiah 54:13 in the same discourse: “It is written in the prophets: ‘They shall be taught by God'” (John 6:43). For John, this Isaianic prophecy is realized in Jesus who says that “everyone who has heard the Father and learned from Him comes to me… he who believes in Him has eternal life; I am the bread of life” (John 6:43-47). It may be recalled that according to John, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word came into the world and became flesh (John 1:1-14). If this is linked with the Isaian quotation, what emerges is that God teaches His people through His Word, His Wisdom, who became man — Jesus. Thus, if John ways that Jesus is the bread of life, he means that Jesus is God’s wisdom, on whom all must live so that they will have eternal life.
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Order: It is in this context that the First Reading (1 Kgs 19:4-8) must be interpreted. Just as the bread given by the angel was able to sustain Elijah in his journey to Horeb (v. 8), so the Eucharistic Word of God, if eaten, can sustain the Christian community, which is a pilgrim community, in its journey toward the mountain of God — eternal life. An analogy is in order. The Indians have a saying: you are what you eat. What one eats mentally, for instance, eventually makes him, or at least affects his behavior.
In 1992, when the motion picture “Booyz N the Hood”, which was about violence, was shown, it triggered a wave of violence. If one is always glued to television, he will eventually acquire the language of that medium. The reason for this is that man has a mind, a body and a spirit, and just as good food is needed for bodily health, so for our spiritual life, we need good mental and spiritual food, and that is none other than God’s Wisdom — the Eucharist.
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Realities: There is a story about Moses which is not in the Bible. It goes like this. The patriarch was sitting in his house very sad, and the Lord said to him, “Moses, why are you cast down?”
Said he, “Because I see so many people sorrowful. Some have no clothes; some are hungry. I ask you to make them happy and content.”
The Lord promised to do so and did. But then Moses was soon disconsolate again, and the Lord asked the cause.
“Lord,” he said, “the upper story of my house has fallen down and nobody will come to mend it; they are all too busy enjoying themselves.”
“But what am I to do?”
“Lord, make the people as they were before.” (Pastor Paterno, WISDOM OF GOD IN OUR LIFE)
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Direction: Lord Jesus, I believe that in the Holy Eucharist you give us the graces to enter into the mystery of your redemptive sacrifice and to cooperate in the formation of the whole Christ. Grant me the grace of the spirit of sacrifice, a willingness to do whatever you ask of me, no matter what the cost. With you I want to adore, love, and thank the heavenly Father from whom comes every good gift. With you I beg the Supreme Judge to pardon my sins and those of your people. With you I present my requests confidently because you have promised that the Father will give me whatever I ask in your Name. Jesus, help me to live the Mass, to bring its fruits into my everyday life. Give me the courage to be a Christ-bearer. Bearing you to my work and my leisure, I can make my daily tasks my Mass, and my whole life my thanksgiving. Help me to live out the Sacrifice of the Mass and carry you to the world. (The Holy Eucharist, People’s Prayer Book, no. 736)