The Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time - August 19, 2018
First Reading: Proverbs 9:1-6
Psalm: Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 (9a)
Second Reading: Ephesians 5:15-20
Alleluia: John 6:56
Gospel: John 6:51-58
This Sunday’s reading are about attaining the wisdom to know where to find life for the journey in this world and the next. Life is a person, a relationship, a community, a shared meal, a way in which to walk and learn.
We find Wisdom in the first reading inviting us all over to her house, a house with seven pillars which represent perfection and the seven collections of proverbs contained in the Book of Proverbs. She is inviting us all, everyone in the city who recognizes their foolishness, ignorance and lack of understanding to come eat and drink the sumptuous meal she has prepared for us. It is a meal which will enable us to forsake our foolishness and advance in the way of understanding. Her meal that she has prepared for us possibly foreshadows the Eucharist with the meat (flesh) and the wine(blood).
The Psalm begins with the faithful inviting others to join the banquet of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord for his deliverances. It is an invitation to taste and see the goodness of the Lord and experience the joy of gazing upon Him and putting our trust and hope in Him.
Verse 5 is particularly meaningful to me in the context of having become a Catholic.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me,
delivered me from all my fears.
My fears were tempting me to despair of life and feel like committing suicide. I didn’t know how to seek Him in prayer to obtain answers and find deliverance. But the Lord led me to the Catholic Church, the Sacraments and the prayers of the Church, particularly the Rosary. I can now say that He has delivered me from all my fears. They still come at me but I know what to do with them now. Thanks be to God!
The Apostle Paul then exhorts us further into the way of wisdom and into the fight against the daily onslaught of evil, living intentionally and seeking to understand the will of the Lord through learning. Whereas most people in this world try to self medicate with the goods of this world to deal with the stress and strain in their lives, St. Paul advocates sung praise and thanksgiving as ways to be filled with the Spirit and handle the difficulty of life.
It is interesting how when we sing and focus on the Lord, we feel better. A lot of the old hymns that I used to think were pie in the sky and corny now ring true because I am experiencing what they were about. Hymns Iike Count Your Blessings. Here’s the first verse for an example.
When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
Finally Jesus really does give us Himself and His life in the Eucharist as He proclaims in the Gospel reading. The Eucharist is one of the most important ways that Jesus has provided for us to come to Him and remain in Him and receive life from Him. I love every word and action in the Mass. It is interesting how Jesus gives the John 6 discourse on His being the Bread of Life after criticizing the Pharisees and scribes for seeking eternal life by searching the Scriptures rather than coming to Him the source of eternal life in the Eucharist. The Scriptures point to Him.
