17th Sunday in Ordinary Time – B

Today's gospel reading comes from the sixth chapter of the gospel according to St. John . This chapter begins with the story of Jesus' miraculous multiplication of five loaves and two fish with which He feeds a hungry crowd, and it continues with what is called the Bread of Life discourse in which Jesus describes Himself as the Bread of Life and He speaks of how anyone who eats the bread that he will give will have eternal life.

This chapter of John's gospel is often cited as a source for our reflection on the meaning of the Eucharist which is the sacrament of our sharing the Body and Blood of Christ and the sacrament of our union and communion with one another in the Body of Christ.

Our first reading from the second book of Kings has been chosen for our celebration of the Eucharist because of the obvious parallel between the miracle worked at the hands of the prophet Elisha and the miracle performed by Jesus.

There is no doubt that these two readings taken together have much to offer us in terms of our appreciation of God's love, and care, and concern for us – expressed most eloquently in His feeding our souls with the Eucharist and our bodies with the material blessings we enjoy in life. But I would suggest today that maybe our second reading, from St. Paul 's letter to the Ephesians, also has a great deal to teach us about the Eucharist as well.

When we come to church and approach the table of the Lord to share in the Eucharist, how well can we say that we are living lives worthy of the great calling we have received when we were called in Baptism to be sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Christ, and brothers and sisters to one another?

Do we live lives that are marked by the virtues of humility, gentleness, and patience? Do we bear with one another with love? Do we do our best to grow in love even with those people who are most difficult to love?

Do we strive to preserve and promote unity and peace, in or homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, in our parish – or are we sources of dissension?

St. Paul , in the letter to the Ephesians today, gives us a blueprint of what it means to be a community that really does live as if the Eucharist is at the heart of our lives as Christians.

We show reverence for the Eucharist – but the Eucharist is not a museum piece that we step back from and admire.

We are happy to be fed by Jesus – but do we heed His voice when He says love one another as I have loved you?

We speak of sharing a meal with one another – but are we simply coming to the end of a common fast food line?

Today, as we come to the Eucharist, we are thankful for the real presence of Christ in this sacrament. We conscientiously pray for those who are less fortunate than we are, who suffer from physical hunger today, and we pray for Christian unity and for peace in our world, especially around the globe in the Middle East – the land where people first were fed with the Bread of Life.

And today, we remember that everything we profess to believe and be as a Eucharistic people is also summarized by St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians.

May we live lives worthy of calling we have received in Baptism, to be the Body of Christ in the world today, by being people who are humble, gentle, and patient, peaceful and promoters of unity, bearing with one another in love, especially with those who are most difficult to love.

When we do these things, then we can honestly say the Eucharist truly is the source and summit of our lives as Christians.

Thomas P. Ferguson
July 30, 2006