TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
18 AUGUST 2024
In
our modern age, we are blessed with technologies to help us get around. Last year, I bought a car that included
“driver assistance technology.” There
are blind spot warnings in the side mirrors.
When I back out of the rectory parking place, a backup camera warns me
if there are any cars coming on Dubail Street.
It has adaptive cruise control that automatically adjusts the speed when
approaching a car in front of me on the highway. They make driving safer.
Saint Paul
lived at a time before technology. But
when he writes to the Ephesians, he provides “living assistance training,”
which can be helpful for all who have chosen to become disciples of Jesus
Christ. First, he tells us to watch
carefully how we live. The Greek word he
uses for “live” is better translated “to walk.”
As disciples, we need to walk together in a way that we have as our goal
a deepening relationship with Jesus Christ.
We need to be aware of what lies before us, but we also need to be open
to the advice of those who are wiser. If
we keep our eyes firmly on the goal of the new and eternal Jerusalem, then we
will be less likely to make impulsive and foolish decisions about what is
important in our walking pilgrimage.
Second, he
tells us to make the most of the time God has given us. Like the Ephesians, we live at a time where
there is plenty of turmoil and lots of disagreements. There are so many things that are totally out
of our control. Instead of wasting time
worrying about what cannot be changed, we disciples need to get involved in
some kind of humble service. Even small
acts of kindness can make a difference in an angry world.
Third, he
tells us that we must avoid being foolish.
The Book of Proverbs speaks about avoiding what is foolish and embracing
what is wise. In his letter last Sunday,
Saint Paul urged disciples to trust in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps us to avoid all
bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, reviling, along with all malice. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can
replace these foolish attitudes with kindness, compassion, and forgiveness.
Finally, he
tells us to avoid being drunk. There is
nothing wrong with disciples drinking in moderation. However, wise disciples do not drink and
drive. wise disciples do not spend
inordinate amounts of time being fed by social media and those things that distract
us. Instead, disciples need to be drunk
on the Holy Spirit. Then we can sign
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to one another giving thanks to the Lord
in our hearts.
That is why it is so important to
continue to reflect with Jesus on the importance of the Eucharist as we
continue our journey of faith together. Jesus
reminds us that God had fed his ancestors in the desert with manna during their
journey in the desert as they walked together to the Promised Land. Even though they had been fed by God, they
still died. Jesus invites his disciples to
believe that he is the Eternal Word of God who has come from heaven and dwells
in our midst. We feed on God himself, eating
his Body and drinking his Blood. He
gives himself as food and drink. Those
who eat his flesh and drink his blood will never die.
We who
share in this Eucharist trust his promise.
We know that eating his flesh and drinking his blood strengthens us to
give of ourselves totally as he has given himself to us. As we heard from Saint Paul last Thursday on
the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ is the
first fruits of all who have died with him.
Fed by the Eucharist, we too can die to ourselves and trust his promise
to follow where he has gone.
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