Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
For the last several weeks we have been hearing a familiar theme over and over. When Jesus saw the vast crowds, who had followed him — when he saw all those people, he was “moved with pity, for they were like sheep without a shepherd.” First, he began to teach them; then he also fed them with only five loaves. Making real the “age-old love of God.” With age-old love have I loved you.
Jesus begins to explain to the crowds that he himself is the Bread of Life, and whoever comes to him will never be hungry, reminiscent of another passage, “all you who are weary…. come to me and I will refresh you.” But the crowds are puzzled…. they cannot really grasp what he is saying. They are not quite ready to accept him yet.
Jesus was nourishing the people by his very words, just as he had nourished the crowd by the miraculous feeding. Both the food (the bread) and his words were signs of that “age-old love of God” coming alive right then and there. “No one who comes to me shall ever be hungry. No one who believes in me shall ever thirst.” Jesus offered Himself as the real bread, the real source of nourishment, the source of life. This is an essential truth of our faith. God loves us. God provides for us. God nourishes us. True then and true today as well.
We experience many things today along our way, some more challenging than others. Being people of faith, we want to take to heart Jesus’ invitations. “I am the Bread of Life.” Jesus is our nourishment in every way. Our weekly gatherings for Sunday Eucharist really are a key moment in each week, what the Vatican Council II called the “source and summit of our prayer.” At that Eucharist, we give expression to the highest form of prayer we can make, and we receive the most powerful and life-sustaining food, the Body & Blood of Christ.
As the Lord has nourished us, then we can nourish each other. We too can offer words of encouragement. Our example and our acts of kindness can be nourishing words too. As St. Paul says, “Be kind to one another, compassionate, and mutually forgiving, just as God has forgiven you in Christ.” What we have received from the Lord we give to others. In that way, our theme is made clear for all to hear with an age-old love have I loved you. That’s the theme that has been there all along, the thread that ties everything together.
Reflection by Fr. Peter Ullrich, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections