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
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you
God's Word for Monday 27th June follows on Sunday's Word of God and reflection
June 26, 2011
June 26, 2011
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body
and Blood of Christ
and Blood of Christ
Gospel
Jesus said to the Jewish crowds:
"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."
"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 because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me
will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever."
"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 because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me
will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever."
Man does not live on bread alone but on every word from the mouth of God.
He sends out his word to the earth.
The bread we break is a communion with the body of the Lord.
The bread that I shall give is my flesh for the life of the world.
Your Eucharist: cafeteria or family feast?
Jesus left no book to be remembered by. He left no ritual, no special customs to be followed. He did not leave even one written word. Yet he wanted to change the world and make everything new. He gave the Holy Spirit as our Helper and promised that he would never go away. The Spirit would remind us of everything he had taught and lead us into the whole truth. This was a more valuable gift than any book he could have given. The Spirit is the guarantee that we will understand the message Jesus left behind and constantly call it to mind. Wherever the Spirit is there is freedom. The Spirit we have is the very Spirit of God. He knows the depths of God. He is the Love of God and the Power of God.
The Spirit calls us together to celebrate the memory of Jesus. We celebrate the memory of Jesus, who gave his life for us on the Cross as a prayer to win us forgiveness and who rose from the dead to give the Spirit, who makes us children of God. We are God’s family now. But we don’t just remember someone long since dead. We always gather in the Spirit. It is the Spirit who fills the place where we are and brings us all to life. Jesus has risen and goes before us. We relive what we remember.
Jesus left a distinguishing mark for his community. It is to be love and concern. When we gather it should always be a gathering of fellowship marked by love for one another. Figuratively it is a gathering of people who wash each other’s feet. This should be manifest in every Church gathering, in every Mass. This is of the essence of the true community of Christ. This is Christ’s dream. What is the reality in your church? What are you doing to realize his dream? In every human celebration friends eat together. When as the family of the Father, we gather in the Spirit to remember Jesus, he wants us to eat together. The Father who loves us provides the banquet. He sends his Son as our food. There is one bread and one cup. “The bread is my flesh for the life of the world”. Anyone who drinks from the cup has communion “with the blood of Christ”. Jesus is not just one among us. We are one in him, in his body. We are Christ. He lives in us and we live through him. He wants to be everywhere throughout the world in and through his communities. Can you say your parish is the Body of Christ in the neighbourhood? Can people see Jesus living in you?
Father, may our parish community have fellowship in the Spirit and become Christ in the world.
Reading 1
Abraham is a friend of God and so God shares everything with him. As friends of God we also have a responsibility towards the world God has made and loves. “What if there are at least ten there?”
He replied, “For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.” Abraham then gave up knowing that he could not find ten or even less. God however did not give up. In the whole world he only found one man who was sinless, his only Son Jesus. For the sake of this on Man God in his mercy towards us forgave all the sins of the human race.
June 27, 2011
Monday of the Thirteenth Week
in Ordinary Time
in Ordinary Time
Reading 1
Gn 18:16-33
Abraham and the men who had visited him by the Terebinth of Mamre
set out from there and looked down toward Sodom;
Abraham was walking with them, to see them on their way.
The LORD reflected: “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,
now that he is to become a great and populous nation,
and all the nations of the earth are to find blessing in him?
Indeed, I have singled him out
that he may direct his children and his household after him
to keep the way of the LORD
by doing what is right and just,
so that the LORD may carry into effect for Abraham
the promises he made about him.”
Then the LORD said:
“The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great,
and their sin so grave,
that I must go down and see whether or not their actions
fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me.
I mean to find out.”
Abraham and the men who had visited him by the Terebinth of Mamre
set out from there and looked down toward Sodom;
Abraham was walking with them, to see them on their way.
The LORD reflected: “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,
now that he is to become a great and populous nation,
and all the nations of the earth are to find blessing in him?
Indeed, I have singled him out
that he may direct his children and his household after him
to keep the way of the LORD
by doing what is right and just,
so that the LORD may carry into effect for Abraham
the promises he made about him.”
Then the LORD said:
“The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great,
and their sin so grave,
that I must go down and see whether or not their actions
fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me.
I mean to find out.”
While the two men walked on farther toward Sodom,
the LORD remained standing before Abraham.
Then Abraham drew nearer to him and said:
“Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty?
Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the city;
would you wipe out the place, rather than spare it
for the sake of the fifty innocent people within it?
Far be it from you to do such a thing,
to make the innocent die with the guilty,
so that the innocent and the guilty would be treated alike!
Should not the judge of all the world act with justice?”
The LORD replied,
“If I find fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom,
the LORD remained standing before Abraham.
Then Abraham drew nearer to him and said:
“Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty?
Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the city;
would you wipe out the place, rather than spare it
for the sake of the fifty innocent people within it?
Far be it from you to do such a thing,
to make the innocent die with the guilty,
so that the innocent and the guilty would be treated alike!
Should not the judge of all the world act with justice?”
The LORD replied,
“If I find fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom,
I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
Abraham spoke up again:
“See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord,
though I am but dust and ashes!
What if there are five less than fifty innocent people?
Will you destroy the whole city because of those five?”
He answered, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
But Abraham persisted, saying, “What if only forty are found there?”
He replied, “I will forbear doing it for the sake of forty.”
Then Abraham said, “Let not my Lord grow impatient if I go on.
What if only thirty are found there?”
He replied, “I will forbear doing it if I can find but thirty there.”
Still Abraham went on,
“Since I have thus dared to speak to my Lord,
what if there are no more than twenty?”
He answered, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
But he still persisted:
“Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time.
What if there are at least ten there?”
He replied, “For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.”
Abraham spoke up again:
“See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord,
though I am but dust and ashes!
What if there are five less than fifty innocent people?
Will you destroy the whole city because of those five?”
He answered, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
But Abraham persisted, saying, “What if only forty are found there?”
He replied, “I will forbear doing it for the sake of forty.”
Then Abraham said, “Let not my Lord grow impatient if I go on.
What if only thirty are found there?”
He replied, “I will forbear doing it if I can find but thirty there.”
Still Abraham went on,
“Since I have thus dared to speak to my Lord,
what if there are no more than twenty?”
He answered, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
But he still persisted:
“Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time.
What if there are at least ten there?”
He replied, “For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.”
The LORD departed as soon as he had finished speaking with Abraham,
and Abraham returned home.
and Abraham returned home.
He replied, “For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.” Abraham then gave up knowing that he could not find ten or even less. God however did not give up. In the whole world he only found one man who was sinless, his only Son Jesus. For the sake of this on Man God in his mercy towards us forgave all the sins of the human race.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
Gospel
When Jesus saw a crowd around him,
he gave orders to cross to the other shore.
A scribe approached and said to him,
“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”
Another of his disciples said to him,
“Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”
But Jesus answered him, “Follow me,
and let the dead bury their dead.”
he gave orders to cross to the other shore.
A scribe approached and said to him,
“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”
Another of his disciples said to him,
“Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”
But Jesus answered him, “Follow me,
and let the dead bury their dead.”
Jesus could not be clearer in his conditions. No wonder on another ocasion he will say first sit down and reflect, can I do it. Don’t stop half way through? Let us not limit his call to ‘priesthood’ or ‘religious life’ as we so often do. Jesus calls everyone. He calls you too. It is Jesus, not we who desides. We cannot take on the call ourselves. Have we the courage to listen to his call? Let us not be afraid. We never lose by listening to him. But first we need to fall in love with him. It is love for Jesus that opens our ears to what he is saying. The whole world is his and he needs disciples in every nook and corner – people who love, listen and respect him and who live by his values given in the Gospel. Where do you stand?
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