HOMILY
JESUS IS OUR NOURISHMENT
By Fr. Martinus Suparjiyo, PR.
Parish of St. Joseph, Duri
If we meet a beggar they will not say, “Help us because we have no house” rather they will say “help us because we have not eaten yet.” A low salaried employee will always say, “My wage is really not enough to buy new clothes, but thank GOD my family can eat daily and stay healthy.” Food is one of man’s basic needs. If we lack food, we have no energy, we cannot work and cannot study because we have no strength. Without food, it is impossible for us to grow and stay alive.
Our spiritual life is no different from our physical life, without
the appropriate and right food our spiritual life will weaken,
become unhealthy and eventually die. During our Baptism we receive
a new life when we become Children of GOD. In the same manner, we
humans will not grow without food, such is the case also with the
Children of GOD; we cannot grow and will not become strong to live
forever without proper nourishment.
What is in store for us as Children of GOD? In the Gospel Reading
from John 6:51-58, the answer is clear. Jesus said,
“I am the
living bread that came down from Heaven. Whoever eats this bread
will live forever…. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has
eternal life. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in
Me and I in him.” Jesus wanted to give Himself so we will
live. Eating His body and drinking His blood means believing in Him
and wanting to live with Him. The Jews did not believe, so they did
not understand the real meaning of what Jesus said. Their minds are
closed to believing in Jesus.
Jesus giving Himself happened during the Last Supper and became a
reality at the Cross. He gave Himself totally for the salvation of
believers. Supposing we do not know what happened on the night
before He suffered, we would become like the Jews who said, “How
can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
When Jesus bade farewell to His disciples, it became clear what He
really meant. On that night Jesus took the bread and wine saying,
“This bread and wine is not just food for your body but nourishment
for your life as Son of GOD. Only those that eat My flesh and drink
My blood will have the real and eternal life.” At the Last Supper
Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist. After that time His followers
meet frequently to celebrate the Eucharist, sharing together the
Body and Blood of Christ. Being one with Christ makes them one with
their neighbors and since they are one with their neighbors Christ
is surely present in their midst.
As promised before He ascended into Heaven, Jesus is always present
in the midst of his followers. So if we are His followers who
gather and love in His name, GOD is present, accompanying and
strengthening us in the person of His Son, Jesus.
Jesus’ presence in His Church is genuine every time His followers
celebrate the Eucharist, where we receive His Body and Blood.
Through this celebration we proclaim His death, celebrate His
resurrection and wait for His second coming. In the Eucharist we
receive the Living Bread that came down from Heaven; we receive the
Body and Blood of Christ that make us one with Him. We receive the
life of Jesus, which assures eternal life for His believers.
Receiving the Eucharist makes us to live in Christ and Christ to
live in us.
We thank GOD because we can celebrate the Eucharist where Jesus
gave Himself to become nourishment for us, which makes our life
eternal. Let us celebrate every Eucharist with thanksgiving, so
that our faith in Jesus will become stronger and so be able to
follow Jesus and His work of salvation.