Our Relationship with the Eucharist
Dear friends
Annual holidays and vacations are required by law and have become a standard part of our society. They are an important part of our work contract and an essential part of our children’s classroom schedule. Unfortunately, our vacations seem to be over all too quickly. For students and young adults, vacations open up all sorts of opportunities for great adventures. Summer camps organized by youth organizations like Jungwacht, Blue Ring, Scouts, music or sports camps, help children gather new and important experiences for life.
The Challenge of Relaxing
Of course, holidays and vacation days are also meant for relaxation and rest. They are a time to experience culture, history, and much more. These vacation days make it easier for us to return to our normal routine with renewed energy and zest for life. However, vacation time can bring about challenges. Challenging in the fact that we can lose ourselves in the idleness and lack of routine. They can feel like lost days which bring neither meaning nor satisfaction.
On the Positive Side
Taking time off, whether it is vacation or just relaxing moments caught in between, gives us a chance to reflect on what it means to have a meaningful and happy life. It is a process which involves many aspects of our life. This is a question that touches us in our souls, in our hearts. I would like to interject a simple insight here, one which is often quickly forgotten:
Our bodies need essential physical nourishment like water and bread. But, I also feel another hunger and thirst dwelling in me. Do you feel it too? A hunger for peace, joy, justice, love, security, comfort. A hunger, a longing, for a "you" who understands, accompanies, and shares in life and life’s burdens. It is a longing that dwells within us and reaches out toward a visible horizon and beyond. They are moments, when in our encounters and interactions with others, we see ourselves as cherished and loved persons. In those precious moments and experiences, we feel accompanied and moved by God, which leads to a great inner peace and profound happiness.
Elijah's Crisis
In this evening’s First Reading, we hear from the prophet Elijah, where a real drama unfolds for him. His mission to fight against paganism and King Ahab and Queen Jezebel has drained his life’s energy and hopes.
He is exhausted, even burnt out; everything seems meaningless – so he ran away. In the desert, under a broom tree, he wants to die. And it is precisely at that moment, when an angel of God shows him the way. Twice, the angel urges him, "Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you." In other words, my friends, do something good for yourself; give your body nourishment, give it rest, relaxation, and sleep. Take care of your body’s basic needs, and then - continue on your personal journey. Continue on your journey with God’s help, with courage, confidence and joy, just like Jesus did.
The Wisdom of St. Paul
In our Second Reading from St. Paul to the community in Ephesus, he writes that we should imitate Jesus and his way of life.
Jesus always followed the path of humility, peace, love and redemption. He remained devoted in his love for the poorest, the broken and lowest of lows. He was quite often misunderstood. People “murmured” against him. In the end, Jesus was abandoned and even betrayed by his closest friends.
Dear Brothers and Sisters
The words of Jesus in the Gospel invite us to reflect on our personal relationship with him and in the sacrament of the Eucharist. The simple earthly gifts of bread and wine are transformed, consecrated into the divine gifts of the body and blood of Christ.
That sounds somehow fantastic – however unreal – in the eyes of those in 1st century Judea cannibalistic.
At the time of Jesus, it was not easy to understand, so much so, - that people left him. And later on in the Gospel, Jesus will ask his closest friends: Do you also want to leave? The mystery of faith, as well as the transformation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ is also not easy for us to comprehend. It is ok, because with earthly eyes, this transformation cannot be fully understood or comprehended. It is only with an open heart for truth, goodness, and the beautiful, that our understanding for the holy deepens. It is like a holy exchange – a divine movement of love that can transform and unite everything.
Living the Message
And we, my friends, are invited to take part in this divine movement, this holy transformation. It is through our faith in Jesus Christ, that we are connected with God in his divine life. Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus, may this great joy continue to accompany and strengthen us beyond the vacation time and out into our daily lives today.
Praised be Jesus Christ. Now and forever.