August 18 th, 2024 (20 Sunday Ordinary B)
Dear brothers and sisters,
we are all invited today to receive wisdom. The first reading says: “come eat of my food, and drink of my wine I have mixed!” Christ in the same way in the Gospel is also calling us to, “eat his flesh and drink his blood.” This for the Jews sounded outrageous and many of his disciples after this point also left and abandoned Jesus Christ going their own way. Christ is in truth calling each one of us to be perfectly united to him. As when you eat food and it becomes part of you the same we are called to do with Jesus Christ to become one body with him. The Christian is in fact perfectly united to Christ as when St. Paul say, “it is no longer I who live but Christ living in me.” If we unite ourselves to Jesus Christ, we receive life and faith. If we eat and drink of what the world offers, we remain empty, and our lives become meaningless. This is why so many people today consider suicide because they believe life is foolish. Christ comes to give meaning and flavor to our life. Christ gives us wisdom today to see that he wants to be perfectly united to us and in us. This heavenly bread, Jesus Christ, breaks himself for us so that we can eat of him and do Passover with him. With Christ and united to him we can pass over death and suffering and enter into faith seeing that our life is full of meaning and the love of God.