A Commentary and Reflection on the Readings for the 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year B. The Liturgical Sense of the Scriptures Podcast, by Catholic Author and Theologian David L. Gray. READINGS: Proverbs 9:1-6, Ephesians 5:15-20, and John 6:51-58.
The Liturgy of the Catholic Mass: A Fulfillment of our Spiritual Hunger
The properly ordered desire to satisfy our sense of hunger comes from God because the human body needs food to convert it into energy to function. Food provides the nutrients that the body uses to produce chemical reactions that release energy. This energy is essential for various processes, such as breathing, digestion, circulation, and movement. Without food, the body would be unable to maintain its vital functions and would eventually starve. So, when the Lord God informed Adam that he was free to eat from any of the trees in the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil, He was giving instructions on how man was to sustain his physical life and where to draw energy to fulfill the duties to cultivate and care for the garden of Eden. However, if Adam were to disobey God and eat from a tree that was not intended for him, he would die and, therefore, not be able to fulfill his duties. This physical hunger also mirrors our spiritual hunger, which the Holy Eucharist satisfies.
From the people of God in the desert exodus complaining to Moses to instances of famine[1] to the Miracle of Loaves and Fishes, hunger is a pervasive motif in the sacred Scriptures, as it reveals the distance between man and God, the occasion for God’s wondrous deeds to show that He is the true giver of life, and the analogy for the soul’s longing for the Word of God to nourish its life and growth. For instance, the psalmist laments, “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?” (Ps 42:2). He also rejoices, “He satisfies the thirsty, and the hungry he fills with good things” (Ps 107:9). He also implores, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul” (Ps 23:1-3). Lastly, we hear in the Responsorial Psalm for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B, Psalm 34, “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.”
When we examine events like the ones mentioned or cases where hunger provokes disordered actions, such as Esau trading his birthright for a meal out of sheer hunger, we should consider the theme of hunger in the context of the liturgy of the Mass. It is through this Divine Symphony of the Mass that we partake in the Bread of Life, fulfilling our profound longing and thirst for the divine nourishment of our souls in a way that no physical food can. The Mass plays an essential role in satisfying our spiritual hunger, connecting us to our faith, and filling our souls with divine grace and fulfillment.
Another biblical passage that speaks of hunger and its spiritual significance comes from Proverbs 9:1-6, our First Reading, where Wisdom – a metaphor of the Holy Spirit and the Church – is personified as a woman who invites the simple to her feast. “Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven columns; she has dressed her meat, mixed her wine, yes, she has spread her table. She has sent out her maidens; she calls from the heights out over the city.” Prefiguring Jesus’ Eucharistic promise of eternal life, Wisdom promises that whoever comes to her table will live and grow in knowledge. This reading from Proverbs shows that hunger is not only a physical need but also a metaphor for the human desire for the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the Sacraments of the Church, which is ultimately the knowledge and love of God, guiding and supporting us in our journey home to Him.
In our Second Reading from Ephesians 5:15-20, the Apostle Paul writes the Church as Ephesus to warn them against the abuse of natural appetites and urge them to seek the true satisfaction that comes from the Holy Spirit, writing, “Therefore, do not continue in ignorance, but try to understand what is the will of the Lord. And do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.” Indeed, there are two ways to live: one that is that is worldly, foolish, and sinful, and one that is spiritual, wise, and holy. Whereas the latter is marked by gluttony, drunkenness, and dissipation, which are signs of a disordered desire for food and drink, and a lack of self-control and moderation, the latter way of living is marked by wisdom, prudence, and gratitude, which are signs of a well-ordered desire for God and His will, and fruitful use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The former way of living leads to emptiness, darkness, and death, while the latter way of living leads to fullness, light, and life.
In Christ Jesus, our Eternal Father has satisfied our need for material and spiritual food. As He taught in today’s Gospel Reading from John 6:51-58, He is “the living bread that came down from heaven,” His “flesh is true food,” and His “blood true drink,” and Whoever eats His flesh and drinks his blood remains in Him and He in them. He says, “Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.” This teaching provoked quarreling among the Jews who heard it because they could not understand how Jesus could give them His flesh to eat since this would violate the Mosaic laws that forbade the consumption of human flesh.[2] However, in relating Himself to the “bread that came down from Heaven,” Jesus reframes their opposition into a faith proposal that asks them to believe that just as food came down from heaven for their ancestors “who ate and still died,” in Him, food has come down from Heaven again, but now for their eternal life.
Altogether, these readings today point to the liturgy of the Catholic Mass as the fulfillment of human hunger. For, on the table of Christ Jesus’ loving sacrifice, God has provided us with the ultimate food and drink for our souls: His own Son, Jesus Christ, who gives us His Flesh and Blood in the Holy Eucharist. The Divine Symphony of the Mass is the celebration of this mystery of our faith, where we are invited to partake of the heavenly banquet prepared by Wisdom and to be filled with the Holy Spirit, who enlightens and prepares our minds, hearts, and bodies to understand and follow the will of God. By participating in the Catholic Mass, we are nourished by the written and Real Presence of the Word of God, the Body and Blood of Christ, and we are transformed into His image and likeness, the imago Dei, becoming like what we eat, we become like Him who is the food that satisfies our hunger and joy.
This is just one way the readings at Mass this Sunday connect to the liturgy and how the liturgy is forming us on how to live our lives in the world. Be in the world what you have received through the liturgy.
The Liturgical Sense of the Readings at Mass, by David L. Gray
[1] Genesis 41, Ruth 1, 2 Kings 6:24-28, and Acts 11:28.
[2] Leviticus 17:10-16; Deuteronomy 12:23-25.
