I've noticed that the giving or serving of food
to another can be a great show of love and caring for that person.
Whether it is the preparing and serving of a meal or the offer of a
coffee or a pop or some sort of sweet during a friendly visit, the
food and/or beverage is being offered as a form of hospitality. When
we welcome someone into our home, we want them to feel welcomed. We
want them to feel some relaxation from their work and toil of the
day. Just as a hospital is meant to help a sick or injured person
get relief from their illness or injury, hospitality is meant to give
people relief from stress and worries. So the simple gesture of
offering food shows a level of love and caring.
When I was in college, one of my biggest joys was
going to the mail room on campus and seeing that I had received a
package. More often than not, the package was from home and that
usually meant a care package from Mom! Maybe some homemade cookies,
or some candies, or even some snacks for my dorm room. Sometimes,
even if Mom was just forwarding mail from home or sending me
something that I had forgotten on a recent trip home, I would still
find candy in the bottom of the box. It was a small gesture, but I
appreciated the love that was behind it. It doesn't take long at
college to figure out why they are called “care” packages.
Our Christian faith believes very strongly in the
love and care that God has for His people. We can see this quite
clearly in Sacred Scripture. The words of our Catholic liturgies
also talk about the love of God and how we His people are giving
thanks for that love. After all, as you may recall, the word
Eucharist means “Thanksgiving”. We give thanks every time we
come before this altar.
As a part of this love and care that God has for
all of us, He of course gives us what we need in order to be with Him
in His Kingdom. I'm not talking about a simple “care package”
that only tides us over for a little bit of time. I'm talking about
providing us with what we need to reach Heaven.
Today's Gospel reading continues with the Bread
of Life Discourses, in which Jesus declares Himself to be the Bread
of Life that has come down from Heaven. We Catholics see this
section of St. John's Gospel to be about the Most Holy Eucharist. In
fact, much of our theology of the Eucharist is taken from these
discourses.
The Eucharist is very much connected with food.
This Sacrament was started at a meal, the Last Supper. It is bread
and wine that are brought forward to become the Body and Blood, and
still has the appearance of bread and wine. So it is not surprising
that the Eucharist is often compared to food that is needed for
survival. Just as earthly food is needed so that we can work and
play and have the strength we need do our part in this world, so the
Eucharist is necessary to strengthen our soul so that we can focus on
getting to Heaven. When a person is at the point of death, their
last Communion is often referred to as Viaticum. Viaticum is a
Latin term that translates to “Food for the Journey”. As the
body is dying, the soul is receiving the help it needs to make that
final part of the trip. Even before we are on our death bed,
however, the Eucharist is still a necessary part of our journey.
The First Reading today is about the prophet
Elijah. At this point in his story, Elijah is pretty much at his
wit's end. He has been working hard for God, and as a result he has
also made a few enemies along the way. One of those enemies is a
queen named Jezebel who wants him killed. So he goes into the desert
to hide, and has decided that it would be better to die of starvation
and dehydration than to continue living with this torment. God has
other pans though, and sends an angel to bring him food and water.
“Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you”.
After eating and drinking, Elijah walks forty days and forty nights
to Mount Horeb. Whenever there is a mountain in Scripture, it means
there is going to be a very intense and close interaction with God.
It is at Mount Horeb that Elijah is encouraged by God and is shown
how powerful and incredible God really is.
God wants to give us the food we need for our own
journey through the Eucharist. But He doesn't do it in quite the
same way that He does it for Elijah. He doesn't just give us the
food and then expects us to be well on our way. He does something
more special than that.
I was recently listening to the radio and I heard
a program with a Dominican Friar who pointed out something neat about
the prayers in the Roman Missal for today. In a little while, the
offerings of bread and wine will be brought to the altar and I will
say this prayer over them: “Be pleased, O Lord, to accept the
offerings of your Church, for in your mercy you have given them to be
offered and by your power you transform them into the mystery of our
salvation.” What this is saying is that God has given us the bread
and wine that we will use at this Mass. Yes, it was human hands that
made the bread and wine itself, but it was only through the mercy of
God that the wheat and the grapes were grown and harvested and
eventually made into those things. So God gave us the food, but now
we turn around and offer it back to Him in thanksgiving for these and
all that God has given us. Then, through God's power, He transforms
these gifts into the Eucharist, which we receive and once again give
praise and thanks to God for this. I hope that you see that there is
a constant back and forth between God and His Church. He gives us
something, we offer it back in thanks, He transforms it, we receive
it and then give praise to God as we come closer to Him through this
very intimate interaction. All of this so that we might come ever
closer to God in Heaven.
God has shown us great love and care in giving us
the Eucharist. Let us receive it so that we might enter more fully
into His mystery and one day enter into His Kingdom.
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