As human beings, we like to define things. We put them in little boxes and label them
the way we think they should be labeled.
This works sometimes; sometimes it doesn’t. One particular entity that resists definition
– by definition – is God.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus’ friends and neighbors have a
hard time accepting the idea that he is, as he says, the bread come down from heaven.
They think they know him well enough; they’ve put him in their own
little box; they’ve erected barriers that separate them from Jesus/God. Jesus’ challenge to the Jewish community is
an invitation to grow, to let God speak to them and control their lives. It’s about faith, about believing in that bread of
life, Jesus himself, his flesh given for the life of the world, food that
will strengthen them on their journey to eternal
life. Talk about thinking outside of
the box!
In our reading from the first Book of Kings, Elijah has a related
problem. He’s worn out; he thinks it’s
time for his life to end. He’s put
himself in box, defined his own existence too narrowly. But God sends an angel to make Elijah
remember that he has to open himself to the unknown, to God-who-resists-definition…
and to accept the gift God sends. The hearth cake and jug of water are there
to remind Elijah of his relationship with God, and to strengthen him for the journey.
Elijah is entering the unknown, but he goes forth with assurance,
sustained by faith in God.
How do we open ourselves to God? St. Paul has a
suggestion: we can start by removing all bitterness, fury, anger,
shouting and reviling from our lives, along
with all malice, for these are some of the barriers that separate us from
God. In kindness and compassion, we are called to live in love, imitators of Jesus, who offers the entirety of his
life for our sake. And living as Jesus
lived gives us strength for the
journey, too… the journey to God.
(This reflection is based on notes from Fr. Pat's Scripture Class.)
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