The bread of life is the “alien” virus that changes us into a new “being” capable of finding true joy
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – August 11, 2024
A man was stuck on his rooftop in a flood and he prayed to God for help. Someone soon passed in a rowboat and shouted to the man on the roof, “Jump in, I can save you.” But the man replied, “No, it’s OK, I’m praying to God and he is going to save me.” Then a motorboat came by and shouted to the man on the roof, but he said again, “No thanks, I’m praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith.” Then a helicopter flew over and the pilot said on his loud hailer, “Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety.” The stranded man waved it away and made the sign of the cross, indicating God is saving me. So the helicopter left.
Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned. In Heaven he finally got a chance to discuss this whole situation with God, and said, “I had faith in you but you didn’t save me, I don’t understand why!” God then replied, “I sent you a rowboat, a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you expect?”
Is life a bit hard at times (or all the time)? Could we be the problem, because we keep rejecting the people God sends to help us? This is our first lesson in the Gospel today.
Subconsciously, many of us separate our religious and secular lives. We go to church to learn about God and for the rest of the week we struggle along as though God is somehow like our parents: far away and not able to help. How many of us see God in our secular studies of science, engineering, accounting, law, medicine, etc.? Or in our teaching or construction work?
The Gospel says this: “It is written in the prophets: They will all be taught by God;” Let us be open to hearing God speak to us in our daily lives, and even in our secular studies. Children are a great example of this: small children walk around in new surroundings and exclaim: “WOW! Look at this mum, look at that, dad.” But how often are mum and dad really interested?
We are usually stressed and busy!! But the child is pointing out God’s creation, or creative works built by you and I. Being open appreciating God in the ordinary and spectacular secular things in our lives, studies and relationships, builds up our hope and strengthens our faith.
In this week’s Tablet magazine (UK), Guy Consolmagno SJ, director of the Vatican observatory, writes how “Science is a faith-based activity…” You might immediately think that doesn’t mean we believe in God, but if God created everything, then our interest in understanding is itself a desire to know where it came from, and that is a search for God.
The greatest complement we pay anyone is to show interest in what they do and create, and especially to make use of it. There are many examples of scientists who started off as atheists and became Catholics or religious because of what they discovered! Off the top of my head they were two older brothers, both German nuclear scientists who found God in the 1980’s.
Finally, Jesus declares in the Gospel: “Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.’” What does this mean?
Is it just believing that the Eucharist at Mass is really Jesus, and so we behave in a good way so that we may we worthy to receive Him? Perhaps. But, note this: ordinary food actually breaks down and becomes part of our flesh. Whereas the Eucharist is opposite: we allow ourselves to breakdown and become part of “it”: become part of Christ.
How is that possible? Easy! When we act like Christ, we thereby become like Christ. Many of you are familiar with science fiction movies: think about the scary scenes when an alien virus takes over a human being: it starts with the hand or leg, and slowly spreads all over the body until it completely changes the human into some alien form: unrecognisable.
Another way of understanding it is to see ourselves as a wheat seed, if we choose to cooperate, we can with the soil and water, we are transformed into a grain/ food producing stalk.
How often are we inspired by people who have been deeply hurt by others, choosing to forgive them? Or do we get angry and say they don’t deserve to be forgiven? When we say that, because of their terrible crime, we are like the townspeople of Nazareth who said: “We know his father and mother. How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
Let us allow Christ to be the alien virus that takes us over us: if not Christ, will it be the virus of alcohol, drugs or selfishness? Let’s be a little crazy this week and forgive people!, and allow ourselves to be interrupted to help others in the midst of our busy lives. The main reason people are unhappy at work is due to a lack of forgiveness, so let’s get infected with Christ!
In the movies, the alien viruses always act rapidly. For us, however, we often fight the Christ virus for many years before it finally overcomes our human selfishness and desires. Don’t lose hope, keep going to Mass and receiving the Eucharist! It is the path to joy and peace.
By Gerard Conlan, OMI
