20th Sunday in Ordinary Time – A Reflection by Fr. Leo
For the third week in a row Jesus states that he is the bread of life and that those who eat this bread will live forever. As Catholics we also claim this as the meaning of the Eucharist of which we eat to share in the fullness of Christ’s redemption. But what does this really mean?
Obviously it is not literal. We don’t eat Jesus’ body, and the bread and wine themselves can’t effect much. What Jesus refers to is the presence and transforming presence of God. Jesus opens our eyes to this presence in and among us that brings us to share in the fullness of God’s life.
This “fullness of life” is something that is here, now among us. Not something we have to hope for when we die. We grow in this Spirit now. For example, our first reading talks of wisdom, also the presence of God. We hear these words, “Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding.” Wisdom is a way of understanding life from a higher perspective. Mystics seek this wisdom and live with a higher awareness of the presence of God.
There is also a practical side to growing in the ‘presence’ of God. St. Paul advises, “And do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.” To live in God is to live our lives to the fullest. When we make prudent decisions, sometimes doing what we know is good rather that what we might want to do, that is virtue and a sign of the presence of God.
Living in God has an active and a contemplative side. We need to meditate and commune with God to be transformed in God’s wisdom. Then we live that wisdom as it shapes our understanding and interactions with the world. The liturgy we celebrate has both these aspects. We hear the Word of God and reflect on it. We have that “sacred-space” in the quiet that our ritual creates around what we do. Then we physically celebrate our oneness with God in receiving the Eucharist. After that communing with God, we go forth to live this union in the world, interacting with all things with a greater awareness of the spiritual dimension of all things.
In the liturgy we gather, listen, respond and go forth to live in Christ. This can be the same pattern of our private prayer. We gather ourselves up in a chair, listen to God in contemplation, or in reading and meditating, we come to some new insight or understanding and then go forth, living with a new direction in our lives.
Taking time to ponder the events of our day, in the context of our spiritual calling, is a practical way for us to seek and come to the wisdom of God. This can happen even when we are driving some place as long as we are not “fighting” traffic. It can happen when we are falling asleep or waking up and slowly starting our day. It is a process much like the process of creative writing. We may try to come to some understanding or resolution on something and rack our brains on it and then wake up in the morning with an answer.
Repeated contemplation is our creative process that will bring us to new insights, understanding and wisdom.