20th Sunday of Ordinary Time

20th Sunday of Ordinary Time.
Prov. 9:1-6; Eph. 5:15-20; John 6:51-58
The first reading speaks about the Wisdom of God. Personifies as a woman. She invites us to a dinner. “Come and eat and drink and live forever.” Who are to be her quest? They are the simple and ignorant who are unhappy because they do not possess the wisdom of life. The only condition to be allowed in is that they should be “hungry” poor and acknowledge their need to be instructed in the way of life. The banquet of Wisdom is a symbol of the generosity of God, open to all, enriching all.
In the beginning of the second reading, we heard about our human failures. And we can be overwhelmed by our humanity. Paul says, the are people who waste a lot of time complaining and grumbling on the sad situation they are in. They dream of an ideal world, blame all that is wrong on society, and justify their weakness and lack of initiative in doing good. They say” if things improve when I am helped by my parents…. then I will do this or that” Dreams! A wise person is like Paul who admits that evil still has a strong hold on the world, but despite all the difficulties, he does not give up.
In the gospel, the special nourishment that Jesus promises is “my flesh, for the life of the world.” “The man who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.”
When we eat our daily meal, the food and drink become us, they add to out being, we grow up and sometimes grow out. When we partake of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, He takes us into himself. This means, we share in him, in his presence in the world.
We share in His thinking, his emotions, his attitude of compassion towards those who are poor, sick, homeless, and oppressed. We share in his redeeming work of reconciling humankind to the Lord, of building the church.
We share in the hunger of Christ for people, his hunger for love, and for a wholehearted response to his self-giving. For that grateful appreciation we say,
“God of mercy, by this Sacrament, you make us one with Christ. By becoming more like him on earth, may we come to share his glory in heaven.”