Prv 9:1-6
Wisdom has built her house,/ she has set up her seven columns;
She has prepared her meat,/ mixed her wine, yes,/ she has spread her table.
She has sent pout her maidservants;/ she calls from the heights out over the city;
"Let whoever is naive turn in here;/ to any who lack sense I say,
Come, eat of my food,/ and drink of the wine I have mixed!
Forsake foolishness that you may live;/ advance in the way of understanding."
Second Reading
Eph 5:15-20
Watch carefully then how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not continue in ignorance, but try to understand what is the will of the Lord. And do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another [in] psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.
Gospel Reading
Jn 6:51-58
Jesus said to the Jews, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, " Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever."
The Word in other words
On October 13, 1972, one of the most grueling survival stories of the 20th century unfolded. A chartered flight carrying a Uruguayan rugby team to its match in Chile crashed in the high Andes due to bad weather. Of the 45 passengers, 12 people were killed outright, while many others died later because of injuries and an avalanche that struck them. After rescue efforts proved futile for eight days, the search operations were stopped and abandoned. This left the survivors with only one option; to simply save themselves. Not only did they have to endure the extremely cold weather but they also needed to solve the big problem of starvation. After eating whatever they could find in the ruins of the aircraft ad after much soul searching, the survivors agreed to eat the flesh of their dead companions. It was their way to remain alive and survive the most severe test of their life. The decision to cannibalize the dead was ll the more agonizing, because the survivors would be acting their strong Roman Catholic faith. It was only after 72 days that the unforgettable ordeal of the 16 survivors ended.
It must have been very difficult for the people of Jesus' time to understand and accept his teaching concerning his flesh as the bread and his blood as the drink that he would give them. They took his words literally, and therefore got scandalized. In fact, many of his disciples stopped following him because they found his words too much to bear. Peter, in behalf of the rest of the apostles, expressed his faith in Jesus in spite of not being able to really comprehend his teaching: " Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life." Even if Peter did not understand Jesus, he still trusted and believed in him. Perhaps, he was thinking someday, the mystery of which Jesus spoke with authority would become clear and acceptable to their finite minds and hearts. Instead of judging Jesus hastily like many of the disciples did, Peter and the other apostles gave him the benefit of the doubt. They gave him a chance to prove his point. They stayed with him until the end and thus allowed him to reveal to them the fullness of his mystery. Do we have patience and trust in Jesus when we cannot grasp the meaning of the mystery we are going through in life? Do we allow him to unveil before our eyes the depth and truth of his words? Or do we walk away and look for another master who is easy to understand and control?
In the light of our Gospel reading today, may we appreciate even more the mystery that we celebrate in the Eucharist. Jesus is truly present in our midst when we gather around his table. He feeds us with his body and blood. He offers to us the whole mystery of his very own life, mission, suffering, death and resurrection. He desires to enter into communion with us so that we may experience the fullness of life, a life that no one or nothing in this world can take away from us. Whenever we celebrate the Eucharist, do we really hunger for that life which is much more than the world can give? Are we aware that without Jesus, our life is empty and meaningless? Jesus says, "Without me, you can do nothing." In our story, the survivors of the tragedy felt the urgency of eating the flesh of their companions. It was for them the last resort, their only remaining hope, in order to remain alive. In our life of faith, do we realize and feel the urgency and need to seek the body and blood of Christ in order to live a real and meaningful life? Do we hunger eagerly for his living Word? A prophet of the Old Testament said: "Lord, when I found your words, I devoured them." Do we long and thirst profoundly to be in communion with Jesus? Do we seek to have a deep, personal, loving relationship with him? Do we seriously desire to allow his body and blood to transform our very own body and blood into a generous offering of love and service to our brothers and sisters, especially to those who are in need of our care and compassion? Certainly, the more we hunger and thirst for Jesus in the Eucharist and in our life, the more will we savor the new and definitive life he gives to those who do not turn away but rather choose to remain with him.
