August 20th Readings Reflection

August 20th Reflection
Proverbs 9:1-6, Psalm 34:2-7, Ephesians 5:15-20, John 6:51-58
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry

The gospel reading for this Sunday is a continuation of Last week theme, the promise of Christ that frequent participation in the Eucharist assures closeness with Christ. “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 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 bloodremains 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.” The first reading from the book of Wisdom should cause us to think how even in the Old Testament the concept of Bread and wine being “Life Giving and Sustaining” was known. It is said that many people were able to live for months with nothing else to eat but bread and wine. Is it any wonder then that Christ chose those fruits of the earth to become His body and blood for us to partake of? The book of Wisdom proclaims, “To the one who lacks understanding, wisdom says, 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.”I cannot stress the importance of frequent partaking of the Eucharist, as I commented in last weeks reflection, the Eucharist is like God’s vitamin and energy boost. It gives us greater strength to resist all the temptations that plague us every day. The Eucharist coupled with daily prayer and commitment to serving Almighty God keep us headed on the path to Everlasting Salvation with Christ and the Heavenly Elect.
Today’s Psalm affirms that concept; “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall be ever in my mouth. Glorify the LORD with me; let us together extol his name. I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. When the poor one called out, the LORD heard, and from all his distress he saved him.”Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is an exhortation to us and an excellent guide as to how we should live our lives on a daily basis. “Brothers and sisters: Watch carefully how you live, do not be like foolish persons but as wise, making the most of every opportunity to do good, because the days are evil. Do not continue in ignorance, but try to understand what is the will of the Lord. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to 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.”
The exhortation in short is advising us to be careful of partaking in excess of things, that in moderation are good and given us by God to be used for good, but which can lead to a separation from God and cause us to engage in activities that can cause harm to ourselves and to others. The reading refers specifically to getting drunk on wine but the advice also applies to drugs, sex, even work. When we put anything before serving God, we endanger ourselves and our salvation.
I am reminded of the old adage “All work and no play make people very dull persons”. It is also proven harmful to ones health.
In everything we do we need to act moderately, keep all things in balance. Today this is a real challenge because of all the outside pressures placed upon us. If we allow ourselves to overindulge in anything, especially things that make a healthy relationship with God impossible, by diverting our attention to material things we fall prey to the Evil one and jeopardize our relationship with Almighty God.
It is for this very reason that we need to be very focused on making sure that we keep ourselves strengthened and rejuvenated in order to resist the pressures that beset us. We need to place our faith and trust in God that He will provide us with all the basics we need. We can achieve this by making sure that we partake of that food of life given to us by Christ, the Eucharist, and give God some time out of our daily life by offering prayers of thanksgiving for the gifts He has given us and petition Him for our needs.
In short, God must be the center of our personal and family life. As Bishop Fulton J. Sheehan used to say; “The Family that prays together, stays together” Amen
Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA