The opening reading from the First Book of Kings sets the mood for our readings this Sunday. A grumpy looking man showed up at a paint store, wearing a baggy T-shirt. Clearly he was not having a good day. From the top of his disheveled hair to the soles of his sneakers, he was splattered with paint. Standing in line to buy more paint, he looked pretty dejected. His T-shirt proclaimed his mood quite well. It read, “Life’s a bitch and then you die.”
My apologies if the punch line offended you yet I suspect a fair number of us can relate to the aspiring painter’s feelings. Like Elijah, who was quite discouraged, some of us may have cried out in much the same way, “This is enough, O Lord! Take my life for I am no better than my fathers.”
Elijah had good reason to be downcast. Things weren’t working out quite the way the prophet expected, nor did he feel life had been fair to him. Queen Jezebel threw him out of town for preaching against then killing her pagan prophets. He was now hiding in caves, wondering where to go next. Hungry and dejected, death seemed like a good option. He was exhausted, and shall we say, at the end of his rope.
Some of us have been there. We have had days when things didn’t go as planned. Hurt feelings led to broken relationships. Accidents or illnesses happen. Sometimes Murphy’s Law hits home and nothing seems to go right. When these misfortunes aren’t so minor or if too many happen at once, we also may feel that life isn’t fair and, like Elijah, we want to crawl off somewhere and die.
Notice that God didn’t accommodate Elijah’s plea. Instead of allowing him to die, God sent an angel to feed him, thus assuring him that he would be sustained on his journey.
His story is really our story. Elijah is a portrait of those who have reached rock bottom, of those who are hurting, feeling burnt out, let down, or discouraged. The story of this beaten down and frightened prophet is a reminder that however defeated we may feel, God is there to sustain us in our most trying and difficult times, giving us faith for our journey.
As I said, the discouraged painter wore a baggy T-shirt. If he could, I imagine God would add another line to this man’s litany, “Life is a blessing.”
When we focus on the spilled paint, lost opportunities, hurt feelings or broken relationships, we could easily overlook the fact that life is also God’s gift to us. If we would do as Elijah did and cry out to God in prayer when the chips are down, we give God the opportunity to sustain us on our life journey just as Elijah was.
God sent Jesus to sustain us on our faith journey. In today’s gospel, Jesus tells us, “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.”
We confess that the bread Jesus speaks of is present to us in the Eucharist, a gift we find hard to fully comprehend. Jesus offers himself as sustenance for a deeper and fuller spiritual life. A fitting question we ought to ponder is, “What does the Eucharist really mean to me?”
Numerous polls reveal that many Catholics see the Eucharist only as a symbol, not the real presence of Christ. Is the consecrated host, when offered to you as the “body of Christ,” only a piece of bread to you or really Jesus himself?
Our Church is clear in its conviction. The Eucharist is not a symbol. At communion, what is being offered isn’t bread, despite its taste and appearance. Based on what he said at the Last Supper, Jesus is as truly present to us as he was when he walked the streets of Jerusalem. The real presence of Jesus cannot be explained in a rational way yet in faith, we believe that in the Eucharist we receive both Jesus’ humanity and divinity. Our belief in the Real Presence is contingent on believing in his divinity.
There is no substitute for faith. Faith is what sustained Elijah on his journey. Faith is what kept Paul going. Faith is what brings us together today. Faith gives us food for our journey. As our faith deepens through prayer, our yearning for and appreciation of the Eucharist also deepens.
From its beginnings the Church has celebrated the Eucharist as a reminder that the resurrection did not happen only on Easter morning. The resurrection happens when we allow God to enter our lives to destroy the evil and depression that saps us of the will to live. Jesus continues to feed us with himself to give us new life. Since there is room for one more line on that baggy T-shirt, Jesus could add, “then you rise!”
The next time things aren’t going right, listen to Paul. He provides wise advice on how to treat those with whom we share our lives. Instead of being bitter or angry, be kind, compassionate, and forgiving. Then whisper a short prayer for those who could also be having a rough day so that they may also come to believe that even when the chips are down, life is a blessing and you will rise!