LECTIONARY READINGS
First reading: Proverbs 9:1-6
Responsorial psalm: Ps 33(34):2-3, 10-15
Second reading: Ephesians 5:15-20
Gospel: John 6:51-58
Link to readings
The readings for this Sunday tell us of the nourishment that comes from heaven and of our need to draw everlasting life from our relationship with Jesus – as well as pursuing wise and Spirit-filled paths in life. The First Reading makes explicit the value of Wisdom, depicted as a woman seeking and inviting everyone to come and be nourished at her table of learning.
The Psalm is a continuation of last week’s psalm of thanksgiving. The psalmist tells us that those who seek the Lord lack no blessing. St Paul (Second Reading) encourages the early Christians to live with awareness and intelligence, and not to be thoughtless. He advises them to discern and recognise the will of the Lord in their own times, and to live lives filled with the Holy Spirit. This message continues to be relevant to us in the present.
In the Gospel, Jesus invites those around him to believe in him; to be in communion with him; to live in him and draw life from him, just as he himself draws life from the living Father. Let us pray for each other throughout this week, that we may seek the nourishment of a life-giving relationship with God, with one another, and with the planet we share.
SECOND READING
Ephesians 5: 15–20
Be very careful about the sort of lives you lead, like intelligent and not like senseless people. This may be a wicked age, but your lives should redeem it. And do not be thoughtless, but recognise what is the will of the Lord. Do not drug yourself with wine, this is simply dissipation; be filled with the Spirit. Sing the words and tunes of the psalms and hymns when you are together, and go on singing and chanting to the Lord in your hearts, so that always and everywhere you are giving thanks to God who is our Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
REFLECTION
Slowly and consciously, I prepare to enter my time of prayer. I desire to become more aware of God’s loving presence in my life. With love and care, I read Paul’s letter to the early Christians, pausing on any word or phrase that strikes me. What draws me in this passage?
I try not to make judgments about myself or others, but have an open, curious mind as to what the Lord wants me to hear. I might reflect on my own life of faith, asking the Holy Spirit to help me discern where I have acted with ‘intelligence’ and where I have been ‘thoughtless’ . . .
Perhaps I ask for help to recognise the will of the Lord in the little things as well as the big things of life. How have I responded to God’s presence in daily events?
I speak to Jesus in my own words about the moods and feelings that stir up within me, whether they be gratitude or sorrow. I ask the Lord to be with me in every detail of my day. I pray for any particular help or grace I need to recognise deeply the will of God in my life. I may also ask God’s Holy Spirit to show me where and how my actions might be able to redeem the world around me. I slowly end my prayer, giving thanks to Our Father.
GOSPEL
John 6: 51–58
Jesus said to the crowd: ‘I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. 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.’
Then the Jews started arguing with one another: ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ they said. Jesus replied: ‘I tell you most solemnly, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you. Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him. As I, who am sent by the living Father, myself draw life from the Father, so whoever eats me will draw life from me. This is the bread come down from heaven: not like the bread our ancestors ate: they are dead, but anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.’
REFLECTION
What are my hopes and desires as I come to pray today? What sort of day have I had so far? Perhaps I need some moments of quiet to experience the comfort of bringing myself consciously into the Lord’s presence. I take a deep breath and then breathe normally.
After a few moments, I read the Gospel passage. What is my immediate reaction? Familiar words, yet so very challenging. Perhaps, like the crowd, I find them difficult to take in. I pause . . . and simply ask the Lord to help me understand and be touched by what he is saying. It may be that I cannot go any further at the moment. Perhaps I tell the Lord how difficult it is for me just now to go beyond my first bewildered feelings.
In time I go back to the text. What are you offering me Lord? Help me to go beyond the words and see the intimacy, the closest possible bond of love and trust that exists between you and me. And what am I offering you? I spend some time pondering. I speak to the Lord about my needs today, and give grateful thanks for the gift of himself and of his love. I determine to live my life evermore In the name of the Father . . .
Courtesy of St Beuno’s Outreach in the Diocese of Wrexham, UK