Sunday, August 19, 2018

The Real Presence Within Us

The Real Presence Within Us
August 19, 2018    20th Sunday in Ordinary Time - B
by Dcn. Bob Bonomi

“Watch carefully how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunity, because the days are evil.” 

These opening words from today’s reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians are as true today as they were almost 2,000 years ago.  And they are a common theme in Paul’s letters as seen in his words to the Colossians: 

 “Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.  Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you know how you should respond to each one.” (Col 4:5)

While the world of today is no more evil than during the time of Jesus, it isn’t any less evil, either.  And with 2,000 years of Christianity under our belt, you’d think that we would be wiser today than those first Christians in the early days of the Church, but we’re not.  Not really.  We fail to take advantage of the opportunities to live our faith for bettering the world around us.  I don’t mean that we aren’t charitable to those causes that we deem worthy of our resources, but we are often arrogant, disrespectful, judgmental, hostile, antagonistic, vengeful and insensitive toward others, especially with those we disagree with or find fault with.  In other words, we are human.  We are sinners.

And we cannot overcome our shortcomings without the Wisdom of God through His Holy Spirit.

All three of today’s readings points to man’s need for Wisdom, and equates it to the most fundamental of human needs – food and drink.  Just as the human body cannot function unless it receives nourishment and will eventually die without it, our souls need spiritual nourishment in order to survive.  That spiritual nourishment is personified in the form of Wisdom.  We often call her the Holy Spirit.

Wisdom isn’t Knowledge.  We can study and learn all the secrets of the universe from a scientific perspective, but do any of them help us in making the most of the opportunities that God presents us for the salvation of souls, especially our own?  With all of our science and technology, are we any “wiser” in how we should behave when dealing with others? 

If not, then what is this Wisdom that Scriptures are speaking to us about, and where does it come from? 

I recommend that when you go home tonight that you take a couple of minutes to read Proverbs Chapter 8, which is the Discourse on Wisdom.  In it you will see how the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are reflected in and flow from Wisdom – such as Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Strength, and Prudence.

Which brings us to today’s Gospel passage from St. John’s Bread of Life discourse.  The Jews have been given an opportunity to dine on the feast of Wisdom shared by Jesus but they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts toward Him and so, upon hearing Jesus speak of being the living bread come down from heaven, cannot understand the significance of what he is telling them.  Next week we will hear the conclusion of the Bread of Life discourse and how even many of those who followed Jesus, who saw His wondrous signs and fed upon His life-sustaining words, rejected them and so they too turn their back on Wisdom.  Sadly, we too often reject God’s Wisdom.

Proverbs 8 ends with this promise and warning:

Now, children, listen to me; happy are they who keep my ways.  Listen to instruction and grow wise, do not reject it!  Happy the one who listens to me, attending daily at my gates, keeping watch at my doorposts; for whoever finds me finds life, and wins favor from the LORD; but those who pass me by do violence to themselves; all who hate me love death.” (Prov 8:32-36)

Therein lies the challenge for our lives today.  As Paul warns us, “Watch carefully how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunity, because the days are evil.”  Are we making the most of the opportunities present to us?   When we receive the Eucharist, are we then taking that presence of Jesus into the world according to His Will in a manner that combats the evil that exists around us? 

When we receive the Holy Spirit present to us in the Eucharist, it needs to change our attitudes, our behaviors, and our very presence to all those we encounter. We must be willing to bless the LORD at all times with His praise always in our mouths and on our lips, and we should let our souls glory in the Lord so that those who are marginalized, who are suffering, who are blind or deaf to God can see and hear our joy and rejoice with us.

We seek eternal life.  To get it, we must live in a manner that shows, as St. Paul tells us, that it is no longer us who live but Christ who lives in us.

And every Sunday, when we receive the Eucharist, the body and blood of Jesus, we renew Christ’s presence in our body. So as we go forth from Mass and encounter the evil of the world, let us be wise and make use of every opportunity God has presented us with to share His love, knowing that He is in us and we in Him.

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