“TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD” (Ps 34:8)
TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B)
Prov 9:1-6; Ps 34:1-2, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14 (R.v.8a); Eph 5:15-20; John 6:51-58
In our reflection last Sunday, we did observe that partaking in the food from heaven, that is the Body and Blood of Jesus, is not an option for anyone who wants to follow Jesus faithfully till the end. Today’s liturgy stresses that point well.
In the Gospel reading, Jesus said, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:53-54).
Just as the material food nourishes the body, so does the spiritual food nourish the soul to sustain it for eternal life. Hence, those who embrace it are like those who have embraced wisdom as the First Reading calls us to do.
We need wisdom to understand the mysteries of the Eucharistic banquet. Relying on our intellect alone would deceive us into error in the same way the Jews were deceived into asking, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” (John 6:52). That attitude is what St. Paul calls foolishness in the Second Reading.
It is even more foolery for one to set out to embrace this meal while still clinging to the former way of life which is in opposition opposition to the will of God.
Is there anything that is more important to you than having eternal life? What is stopping you from a worthy participation at the Eucharistic banquet? Is it because of marriage or because of your native tradition or culture? Is it because of that particular sin you have been reluctant to let go?
Jesus is worth more than all those things and states of life? That is why the psalmist invite us to “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps 34:8).
May the Lord grant us the grace to live only the kind of life that keep us worthy of receiving him into our lives, and so prepare well for an eternal life with him in the end. Amen.
Have a fulfilling Sunday with the Lord. Peace be with you.
