August 9, 2009: 19th Sunday in OT. B.

The readings this weekend are, like those of last weekend, “Eucharistic readings.” In this week’s Eucharistic meditation we remember. We remember Elijah who was taken to heaven in a chariot of fire. Before that, he had given up hope and prayed for death. The “bread of angels” not only revived him, giving him a “super human” strength, it preserved him from death (the chariot of fire, instead of “death.”) Christ tells the listening crowd that the Bread that is His flesh will bring eternal life (as did the Bread of Angels to Elijah.) The setting for this sermon is Passover, and so everyone has “unleavened bread” and the miraculous Manna on their mind. Christ says that His Gift of the Bread that is Him is not like the Manna–rather it is Heavenly Bread, bringing them the Grace of God that will preserve them to eternity. This, again, is YOUR GIFT from Christ at this service. Feed on the Bread of Angels, the Body of Christ, and form your life in His footsteps.