Food, Real Food: 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Homily for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Third and Final Draft.
Self-assessment: It took awhile to chisel out an effective conclusion. Once I settled upon the connection between "food" and "life and death," I was able to polish up the manuscript at key places. For example, "powerful words" became "urgent words" and at three places I added the line "or the journey will be too much." This adjustment not only emphasized the element of urgency, but it also served to better unite the listerners with Elijah and the mother in the airport. Finally, I deleted the reference to the mother and child in the speech placed in the mouth of Christ in order to sharpen the focus on the urgency of clinging to him.
I hope this analysis proves of some help to other preachers who desire to make Word of God as relevant and compelling as possible for today's Church.
An audio version will be available on the St. Aloysius Gonzaga web site by Tuesday, August 15th. -JMS
No liquids. No gels.
No toothpaste. No mouthwash.
No carry on baggage.
The message went out to all the passengers
in congested security lines at airports
throughout the country this week.
The new restrictions were put in place
after a terrorist plot
to blow ten planes out of the sky
was uncovered and foiled.
Thank God.
Thank God for the men and women who serve and protect us.
I read about the reactions of people delayed at the airports.
The vast majority of travelers, it seems,
were more than willing to throw away their toiletries
in exchange for some assurance of safety.
All liquids—shampoo, perfume, cologne—had to go.
Only one exception was made;
one exception alone permitted:
Baby formula.
I read an article
about a mother tasting her baby’s formula
in front of a security agent
to demonstrate that it was food,
authentic nourishment
for the infant in her arms.
Food, obviously, is more important than shampoo.
Not even the threat of terrorism
is going to stop a mother
from feeding her child.
I thought of the scene of that mother and child in the airport
when I read today’s passage
about the prophet Elijah where it says:
“An angel touched him and said him:
Eat, Elijah. Get up and eat,
else the journey will be too much for you.”
I suspect the mother said a similar thing
to the security guard.
“Sir, my baby has to eat. She needs to eat.
Or the journey will be too much for her.”
Can you hear the urgency in her words…?
her insistence standing rock solid it the swirl
of the confusion and fear of that day?
“Sir, it’s not shampoo. It’s not a bomb.
“It’s food, real food.”
Powerful words!
Words that contain an urgency
similar to what we find in the gospel today when Jesus
shouts out above the crowd:
“I am the living bread come down from.
Eat this bread, you shall not die!”
“I am your food,” says the Lord.
Jesus spoke these words situation packed with tension.
The crowd pressed in, confusion broke out.
On that day he spoke his words of truth
in the midst of mayhem.
And he did so again last week.
In crowed airports across this country
the Word of God was revealed to those with ears to ear:
Oh, my people!
Throw off the baggage,
discard the handbags.
All of you, listen, hear the announcement!
You men dressed for business in Atlanta.
You newly weds headed for Kingston Bay.
Remove the ipods, pitch the computers.
Cling to me.
Cling to me.
Forget the gel.
Forget the shampoo.
I am your food.
I am your food.
Today, you and I find ourselves in this transportation terminal
we call a church.
The reason we’re here is because
God is our food,
Christ is our bread.
Without this bread
the journey will be too much for us.
Do you grasp what this means?
Do you grasp the power in the words
Christ speaks to us today:
“I myself and the living bread come down from heaven.
Eat this bread, you shall live!
Eat this bread, you’ll never die!”
Second Revised Draft.
No more gels. No more liquids.
No toothpaste. No mouthwash..
No more carry on baggage.
The message went out to all the passengers
in the congested security line
at the airport terminals this past week.
The new restrictions were put in place in record time
after a terrorist plot
to blow ten planes out of the sky
was foiled.
Thank God.
Thank God for the men and women who serve and protect us.
I read about the reactions of people delayed at the airports.
The vast majority of travelers
were more than willing to throw away their toiletries
in exchange for the assurance of safety.
All liquids—shampoo, perfume, cologne—had to go.
Only one exception was made;
one exception alone permitted:
Baby formula.
I saw a picture of a mother tasting her baby’s formula
to demonstrate that it was food,
authentic nourishment,
genuine food for the infant in her arms.
I thought of that scene when I read God’s Word
as revealed to Elijah:
“An angel touched him and said him:
Eat, Elijah. Get up and eat.”
I suspect the mother said a similar thing
to the security guard.
“My baby has to eat. She needs to eat.”
Can you hear the power of her words
in the midst of the confusion and fear?
“It’ not shampoo. It’s not a bomb.
“It’s food, real food.”
Such is the power of Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John:
“I am the living bread come down from.
Eat this bread, you shall not die!”
“I am your food,” says the Lord.
Jesus spoke these words
in a tense situation.
The crowd pressed in, confusion broke out.
On that day he spoke his words of truth
in the midst of mayhem.
He does so again today:
Even in a crowded airports,
the air thick with apprehension,
the Word of God is revealed to those with ears to ear:
Oh, my people!
Throw off the baggage,
discard the handbags.
All of you, listen, hear the announcement!
You men dressed for business in Atlanta.
You newly weds headed for Kingston Bay.
Remove the ipods, itch the computers.
Cling to me.
Look and see:
A hungry child cries for food.
And the food shall not be taken away.
Cling to me.
Forget the gel.
Forget the shampoo.
I am your food.
I am your food.
Today, you and I find ourselves in this transportation terminal
we call a church.
The reason we’re here is because
God is our food,
Christ is our bread.
Can you hear the power in those words?
Do you know the power of those words?
Receive his Body. And live forever.
Third and Final Draft.
Self-assessment: It took awhile to chisel out an effective conclusion. Once I settled upon the connection between "food" and "life and death," I was able to polish up the manuscript at key places. For example, "powerful words" became "urgent words" and at three places I added the line "or the journey will be too much." This adjustment not only emphasized the element of urgency, but it also served to better unite the listerners with Elijah and the mother in the airport. Finally, I deleted the reference to the mother and child in the speech placed in the mouth of Christ in order to sharpen the focus on the urgency of clinging to him.
I hope this analysis proves of some help to other preachers who desire to make Word of God as relevant and compelling as possible for today's Church.
An audio version will be available on the St. Aloysius Gonzaga web site by Tuesday, August 15th. -JMS
No liquids. No gels.
No toothpaste. No mouthwash.
No carry on baggage.
The message went out to all the passengers
in congested security lines at airports
throughout the country this week.
The new restrictions were put in place
after a terrorist plot
to blow ten planes out of the sky
was uncovered and foiled.
Thank God.
Thank God for the men and women who serve and protect us.
I read about the reactions of people delayed at the airports.
The vast majority of travelers, it seems,
were more than willing to throw away their toiletries
in exchange for some assurance of safety.
All liquids—shampoo, perfume, cologne—had to go.
Only one exception was made;
one exception alone permitted:
Baby formula.
I read an article
about a mother tasting her baby’s formula
in front of a security agent
to demonstrate that it was food,
authentic nourishment
for the infant in her arms.
Food, obviously, is more important than shampoo.
Not even the threat of terrorism
is going to stop a mother
from feeding her child.
I thought of the scene of that mother and child in the airport
when I read today’s passage
about the prophet Elijah where it says:
“An angel touched him and said him:
Eat, Elijah. Get up and eat,
else the journey will be too much for you.”
I suspect the mother said a similar thing
to the security guard.
“Sir, my baby has to eat. She needs to eat.
Or the journey will be too much for her.”
Can you hear the urgency in her words…?
her insistence standing rock solid it the swirl
of the confusion and fear of that day?
“Sir, it’s not shampoo. It’s not a bomb.
“It’s food, real food.”
Powerful words!
Words that contain an urgency
similar to what we find in the gospel today when Jesus
shouts out above the crowd:
“I am the living bread come down from.
Eat this bread, you shall not die!”
“I am your food,” says the Lord.
Jesus spoke these words situation packed with tension.
The crowd pressed in, confusion broke out.
On that day he spoke his words of truth
in the midst of mayhem.
And he did so again last week.
In crowed airports across this country
the Word of God was revealed to those with ears to ear:
Oh, my people!
Throw off the baggage,
discard the handbags.
All of you, listen, hear the announcement!
You men dressed for business in Atlanta.
You newly weds headed for Kingston Bay.
Remove the ipods, pitch the computers.
Cling to me.
Cling to me.
Forget the gel.
Forget the shampoo.
I am your food.
I am your food.
Today, you and I find ourselves in this transportation terminal
we call a church.
The reason we’re here is because
God is our food,
Christ is our bread.
Without this bread
the journey will be too much for us.
Do you grasp what this means?
Do you grasp the power in the words
Christ speaks to us today:
“I myself and the living bread come down from heaven.
Eat this bread, you shall live!
Eat this bread, you’ll never die!”
Second Revised Draft.
No more gels. No more liquids.
No toothpaste. No mouthwash..
No more carry on baggage.
The message went out to all the passengers
in the congested security line
at the airport terminals this past week.
The new restrictions were put in place in record time
after a terrorist plot
to blow ten planes out of the sky
was foiled.
Thank God.
Thank God for the men and women who serve and protect us.
I read about the reactions of people delayed at the airports.
The vast majority of travelers
were more than willing to throw away their toiletries
in exchange for the assurance of safety.
All liquids—shampoo, perfume, cologne—had to go.
Only one exception was made;
one exception alone permitted:
Baby formula.
I saw a picture of a mother tasting her baby’s formula
to demonstrate that it was food,
authentic nourishment,
genuine food for the infant in her arms.
I thought of that scene when I read God’s Word
as revealed to Elijah:
“An angel touched him and said him:
Eat, Elijah. Get up and eat.”
I suspect the mother said a similar thing
to the security guard.
“My baby has to eat. She needs to eat.”
Can you hear the power of her words
in the midst of the confusion and fear?
“It’ not shampoo. It’s not a bomb.
“It’s food, real food.”
Such is the power of Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John:
“I am the living bread come down from.
Eat this bread, you shall not die!”
“I am your food,” says the Lord.
Jesus spoke these words
in a tense situation.
The crowd pressed in, confusion broke out.
On that day he spoke his words of truth
in the midst of mayhem.
He does so again today:
Even in a crowded airports,
the air thick with apprehension,
the Word of God is revealed to those with ears to ear:
Oh, my people!
Throw off the baggage,
discard the handbags.
All of you, listen, hear the announcement!
You men dressed for business in Atlanta.
You newly weds headed for Kingston Bay.
Remove the ipods, itch the computers.
Cling to me.
Look and see:
A hungry child cries for food.
And the food shall not be taken away.
Cling to me.
Forget the gel.
Forget the shampoo.
I am your food.
I am your food.
Today, you and I find ourselves in this transportation terminal
we call a church.
The reason we’re here is because
God is our food,
Christ is our bread.
Can you hear the power in those words?
Do you know the power of those words?
Receive his Body. And live forever.
posted by BlueCollarPreacher at 10:31 AM
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