Attached to the church I work at is a residence for seniors and for individuals with disabilities called “The Lodge.” In the Lodge lives an elderly lady named Rose. Rose is one of a kind person. Once you meet her it’s impossible to forget her. On weekends before and after the masses she can be seen greeting people as they enter the church, guiding people to empty seats, and making sure people with disabilities get accessible seating. After the masses she can be seen handing out cookies to young children. If you’re a new face at St. Luke’s on a Sunday, Rose will find you and get to know you. You can’t miss her. She loves speaking to new faces and sharing exciting parts of her life and about her memories at St. Luke’s in her heavy South African accent.
During the weekdays, early in the morning (and I mean really early, like 5am-6am) she can be found cleaning up the sanctuary. She will organise the hymnals and straighten up the donation envelopes. Some have lovingly given her the nickname “The Church Mouse.”
If you have a chance to meet Rose, immediately you will notice that she speaks with confidence, has a positive attitude, shows genuine interest in your life, is overflowing with joy, and loves to share stories. …Oh before I forget, she is her 90s, she lives on her own, her children and grandchildren live out of the country, and her husband has been suffering with dementia for over a decade in a nursing home. Despite all this she is full of life. What the heck?!
Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash
Eating the Right Stuff
A common theme that ties this weekend’s mass readings together is food for the journey. So what is this food? How can we have access to it? And most importantly how can we get the most “nutrients” out of this food. Rose seems to be getting an abundance of this food. How can we have what she has?
In this Sunday’s first reading the book of 1 Kings presents to us the prophet Elijah, who appears to have had enough of life. He has hit a rut and just wants to die. He lies down under a “solitary brook tree” and begs God to take his life away. Just as Elijah falls asleep he is awoken by an angel with the command “Get up and eat.” Before him Elijah notices a baked cake sitting on hot stones. Feeling confused of the situation Elijah falls asleep once more. This time with greater determination the angel wakes Elijah again: “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you” (1 Kings 19:7). This time Elijah reluctantly gets up and has the meal prepared for him.
Isn’t it strange that we live in a part of the world where we access to an abundance of food and goods at our disposal and yet we are facing what seems to be a mental health epidemic from depression and loneliness. Since starting at St. Luke’s I have heard of a handful of kids who committed suicide in local schools or families and friends have expressed to me concern for someone who has suicidal tendencies. And we are situated in a neighbourhood with beautiful landscaping, safety and homes worth millions (each) with on average two fancy cars on each driveway. So the issue is not a lack of or quality of physical food.
Being Prepared with the Right Spiritual Nutrition
So what does Rose have access to that others may not have stumbled across yet (Catholics included)? The answer lies in the Gospel reading John 6:41-51. Chapter 6 of John’s gospel presents us with the great “Bread of Life” narrative where Jesus teaches at a synagogue in Capernaum. In this passage Jesus refers to himself as “the bread that came down from heaven,” “the bread of life,” and “living bread.” Already we can see Jesus, as the living bread from heaven, being foreshadowed in 1 Kings 19:4-9 by the angel from heaven who provides Elijah with the bread.
But Jesus does not end his sermon with a simple analogy, he intensifies his tone. Jesus exclaims, “This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.” Jesus continues, “Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give you for the life of the world is my flesh.”
These are strong words: “die,” “live forever” and “my flesh.” We as Catholics acknowledge that Jesus is referring to Eucharist, in which his glorified body is made present to us to consume at mass. The Eucharist is our spiritual food for the journey of life. If we are not consciously acknowledging and receiving this spiritual food we will simply be tossed around in the rough oceans of life, subject to waves of cultural trends, passing ideologies, and evil that is present in our world.
Becoming Symbols of Hope
If we don’t take advantage of this spiritually nutritious food, as soon as we are faced with the slightest moment of desolation we may just want to curl up under a tree and let the world pass us by as we wither away. In other words, we loose hope. On the other hand, if we actively and intentionally receive the Jesus in the Eucharist we will become symbols of hope for the world. We will be like Rose, faithful Christians facing the world with confidence. I love how St. Paul describes how a Christian fuelled up with this spiritual food ought to act.
St. Paul commands the Ephesians the “Christian-up”: “Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice and be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another…be imitators of God…and live in love…” (Eph 4:31-32).
This is a tall order; it is the spiritual equivalent of a pro athlete. I don’t know about you, but if I am away from the Eucharist I am quick to fall into bitterness, wrath…etc. Only by receiving God in the Eucharist can we be “imitators of God.”
It’s a good thing we have spiritual athletes like Rose to show us that it is possible to be imitators of God.
