19th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
1 Kings 19:4-8 Ephesians 4: 30-5:2 John 6:41-51
Theme: Covenant Keeping God
In the first reading of today, we see the prophet Elijah in a situation that one would say humanly speaking was hopeless. A situation that overwhelmed him in such a way that he was tired of living. Because of God’s love for him, he had a divine visitation. The angel of the Lord visited him and presented to him food and drink to empower him and prepare him for the journey ahead. This gave the prophet Elijah the strength that he needed for the journey ahead.
In our lives also, just like the prophet Elijah there are situations that overwhelms us from time to time. When this happens, do we give God the opportunity to have a say in our situation? He is always very close to us at such moments, if only we will be patient to hear what he is saying to us. It is not for us to lose hope completely nor to begin to grieve because of the situation we have found ourselves. God will intervene and come to our help in such a situation if we give him a chance in our lives.
In the second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Paul admonishes us to emulate Jesus by walking in love like he did. It is an invitation for us as children of God to do all within our power to live a good and holy life, just like Jesus did too. Our lives as children of God should mirror God’s presence in such a way that all those who encounter us will feel the presence of God. An opportunity for you and I to re-evaluate the quality of our discipleship. Is God happy with our ways of life now? Are our lives winning souls for the kingdom of God or chasing people away from the path that leads to the kingdom of God? An honest answer to these questions will go a long way to help us to become better children of God. We are all encouraged to strive and live a life that is always pleasing to God.
In the gospel reading, Jesus said I am the living bread which came down from heaven. Jesus is the bread of life and anyone who partakes of this bread will live forever. The assertion of Jesus was a difficult one for his people to accept, and this gave rise to opposition and hatred for him from his people. However, this did not stop Jesus from teaching the people what was right. In the same way dearly beloved in Christ, we must learn to always stand for the truth, no matter the opposition that we encounter as a result of our positions to speak and stand for what is right. This is a situation that we must brave up to, because it happens from time to time in our daily lives. All we need to do is to have faith and trust in God, he will never disappoint all those who trust in him. We serve a covenant keeping God that is ever faithful to his promises.
Jesus invites us in a very special way today to embrace the Eucharist. Jesus is the Eucharistic. He is the bread that came down from heaven. Let us learn to make him our friend and get closer to him, and he will empower us like he did for the prophet Elijah and prepare us for the journey of life.
Our lives as children of God should always challenge those who do not believe in God, no matter the difficulties we encounter. May God grant us the grace to live and stand for what is always right, in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit, Amen. Peace be with you.