Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B

In this week's Gospel we hear that the Jews continued to argue about what Jesus meant by his previous statement that he is 'living bread' sent from heaven. If they were perturbed by this and still questioning who he thinks he is, then what Jesus says next would have really upset them.

'My flesh is real food, and my blood is real drink.'

For some this ongoing dialogue is interpreted as Jesus using vivid imagery. And for some this translates into the gifts of bread and wine that we offer and receive in communion as symbols of God's all-encompassing love. But Jesus himself says to us, 'I tell you this solemnly', that what we have come to know as his body and blood in the Eucharist is real. That what we offer is transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit and becomes his body and blood offered for us.

For those who first heard him speak these words this was a radical idea in the true sense of the word that it fundamentally challenged their understanding of who God is and how we relate to God.

As we hear these words in our own lives today the challenge remains, how will I respond to the radical self-giving of God to me? And how will God's example of love that holds back nothing shape the way that I relate to the world? Especially to those that who push back, ignore, or exclude me, and are difficult to love?

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Scripture Reflections Seeking Understanding

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