045 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings

Cycle B 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Proverbs 9:1-6; Psalm 34:2-3,10-15; Ephesians 5:15-20; John 6: 51-58

Homily Theme

Foolish or Wise

This week, two words stood out for me as I read the first reading. The very first word of the first reading is Wisdom and the last verse concludes with the invitation to forsake foolishness. In the second reading to the Ephesians, you will hear the Apostle Paul tell the Ephesians, Watch carefully how you live, not to live as foolish persons but as wise. Let the words Foolish or Wise really penetrate this week as we participate in the Liturgy of the Word. Let the psalm remind us to really feed on the Word. If we only hear the Word and do not live it, are we Foolish not Wise?

Some followers of Jesus have built an entire theology on one verse from St. John in chapter 3. Unless you are born again you cannot enter the Kingdom. Most of these followers disregard the entire 6th chapter of the same Gospel. For the last several weeks we have been hearing Jesus teach on eating His body and drinking His blood. This week these followers, who have witnessed his miraculous multiplication of bread, are arguing about his teaching on the Eucharist. Jesus tells them and us also. Unless you eat my body and drink my blood you cannot have my life. They will leave Him over this teaching. There are those who still reject this teaching and walk away: Are they Foolish or Wise?

Ninety percent of Americans claim to believe in God and the majority of us claim to believe in a Divine Jesus. Two-thirds of us never pray nor worship Him on a regular basis. It is even worse in Europe, which claims to be Catholic. In most of those countries less than a tenth attend Mass on Sunday. A very small percentage of people are bringing Jesus into their daily lives. They live like the non believers. They are very Foolish not Wise.

This week I was invited by an anonymous caller to join a Full Bible Church. I told the caller I was already a member of a full Bible Church. As you all know as Catholics we hear the same Readings all over the world on the same day. If we attend Sunday Mass, as we are required to do, we go through the entire Bible in three years. The Gospel from John 6 has been read for the last several weeks. This Sunday it is about Jesus telling the crowd the necessity of eating His Body and drinking His blood without which they cannot have His Life. They walk away to follow Him no more. It is important to Jesus is it important to you.

Watch carefully how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise. St. Paul