STRENGTHENED WITH THE BREAD OF LIFE

XIX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 1 Kings 19:4-8

While Moses stands for the Law, which made of Israel a Nation and established them apart as the People of God, Elijah stands for the prophets, who were God’s spokesmen, denouncing the people’s betrayal, calling on them to faithfulness and leading them back to God, reconciled and obedient. Elijah was the first great prophet and the role model for all the prophets. He was bold and courageous, outspoken and fearless. He was ready to challenge everybody, be it the political or the religious power and the common people. He faced the king and denounced his murderous action in order to take over someone’s property. He challenged Baal’s priests and exterminated them and pointed the way of faithfulness to the people. Looking back to his prophetic actions, legend and history considered him as a superman with divine powers, who was taken into heavens in a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2:11). However, Elijah was just a human being and as a prophet he had his ups and downs. After moments of boldness and courage, he felt back into discouragement and fear. He ran away from the queen Jezebel (1 Kings 19), in fear of his life; then alone, in the forest, exhausted and depressed, he considered his life unworthy of living and asked God for his death. He was more like an outcast and a run-away than a man of God. It was then that God intervened and transformed him. We should remember Paul’s reflection on his own experience, when he says: 

“God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong” (1 Co 1:27). “Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong”. (2 Co 12:10).

Feeling depressed and exhausted, Elijah decided to sleep and wait for death to relieve him of all his troubles. It was then that God came to his rescue feeding him with bread brought by an angel. It was bread from heaven, a bread that gave him the strength to walk for forty days up to God’s mountain (1 Kings 19:8). And it was there that he had an extraordinary experience of God, which enabled him to carry out the mission received from God.

In the Gospel, Jesus presents himself as the bread of life. It is the bread that gives us the strength to continue the journey to the mountain of God and his kingdom. Without that bread, like Elijah, we will remain stranded, alone, exhausted and depressed, with a sense of emptiness, like strangers before ourselves in our own houses. Surely, in life, there are moments or even long stretches, when we seem to be lost, with a feeling of having wasted our time and put our hopes where there is no hope. In such moments, feeling abandoned by God, many try to forget about him and stop praying altogether. But it is in such moments that we most need the bread of life, to be able to get up and proceed with our journey. Jesus offers us this bread of life. He offers himself to become the food of our souls, calling us to his table and serving us with this bread, which is his body and blood. Seated at his table and rejoicing in his banquet, we have a foretaste of the great banquet in the Kingdom of God, and being one with Christ, we are prepared to share in the great feast that celebrates the victory of redemption.