Today, we think about the best way to live out God’s commandments, passed on to us through Moses, by witnessing God’s blessings and presence in our midst. We can go beyond our human traditions and rituals by washing our hearts and getting rid of evil thoughts and desires. We practice it by caring for all who are vulnerable and in need. It’s Labor Day weekend and a time traditionally associated with the beginning of school. My how times have changed. School has been in session for three weeks now.
This weekend we welcome a visiting priest from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans who will speak to us about Accompaño, an introductory missionary experience that offers first year Notre Dame seminarians a real exposure to social injustice and Third World poverty. Designed to reiterate the universal church and the dignity of human life, Accompaño allows seminarians to walk with the poor of Granada, Nicaragua.
Our human understanding limits us, and so Scripture and the Church provide teachings that help us to know, love, and trust in God. Today’s readings paint the picture of banquets, from the sumptuous table set by Wisdom to the Eucharistic meal that Jesus introduces. Just as Wisdom’s feast offers more than simple food and drink, Jesus’ Body and Blood offer more: eternal life and Christ himself.
As we enter the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, our Scripture readings make it clear for us that God nourishes and sustains us, but the food God gives to us is to strengthen us to do God’s work. The more we take and eat of the bread of life, the deeper we are drawn into Christ’s life and to his way of life: that of caring, serving, forgiving, trusting, and most of all, loving. We continue to read from the sixth chapter of Saint John’s Gospel, the discourse on the Bread of Life.
Each time we come to Mass, whether it’s the weekend to fulfill our obligation, the week day, we are nourished by the Word of God and by the Eucharistic meal. The people in today’s readings need nourishment as well, both physically and spiritually. In the Gospel of John, Jesus reveals himself as the Bread of Life, the source of everlasting sustenance. Since our hunger can always be satisfied in Jesus, we turn to him for nourishment.