The term refugee has become common in today’s world given the recent exponential rate of migration and refugee crisis in many parts of the world, especially in Europe and America. Significant with refugees or asylum seekers is that they are fleeing from a life-threatening or an unfriendly situation in their geographical location. Sometimes the reasons for the flight from their homeland concerns a search for a promised land due to threat to life either physically through violence or war or materially, such as lack of basic human needs. Some people suggest that dealing with the socio-economic and political situations causing the refugee crisis in the home countries of migrants could be a better option rather than allowing such an influx of migrants in Europe and America. What I take from it in line with my reflection on today’s readings is that finding out when our life is threatened by both material, physical and spiritual dangers and seeking out refuge is important for our inner and lasting happiness and for the spiritual life.
Elijah the Prophet – Dealing with Hopelessness
The readings of today take us through some familiar experiences in the quest for respite from both physical and spiritual burn-outs. In the first reading, Elijah the prophet makes a journey through the wilderness in search of safety and rest. His mission to combat the paganism promoted by Queen Jezebel had sapped his physical energies. He was dispirited. But Elijah did something that is necessary for one in his situation; he realised his brokenness and need for help and support to carry on. Consequently, he began a trip to the mountain of God, searching for God who alone could give him the renewed faith and courage he urgently needed. We imagine him today as one who experienced the harsh situations of life and as one who has lost everything that makes life meaningful: he faces a great threat to his life, he has lost his inner strength, his physical energy was sapped and he is hungry and thirsty. It was out there in the tiresome search for inner peace that God sent him bread as nourishment which gave him the strength he needed. The bread brought to Elijah by the Angel is God’s salvation which God offers us Christian to calm our troubled souls.
Seeking out Renewal for Depreciated Spiritual Energy
Today’s second reading and Gospel presents us with some warning signals of depreciated spiritual energy and how we are to find renewal for depreciated inner strength. The socially unacceptable human behaviours — malice, bitterness, slander, etc. mentioned in the second reading offer a standard against which we can measure ourselves, to see whether our inner and spiritual lives are running down or if we are becoming dispirited. These are forms of weakness which lead us to anger and to sharp criticism and impatience in our dealings with our husbands, wives, friends, partners, children, colleagues, neighbours, employee, etc. It is usually the case that we rationalise these uncharitable behaviours against others in terms of the difficulties, rejection or disappointments we are facing. Being Christians, we are encouraged to make our response to the challenges of life in the pattern of Christ himself. We are urged to a life of kindness to those around us, constant forgiveness of those who reject us and a life of constant joy and happiness with the Spirit of God who dwells in us.
Finding Nourishment in God’s Word
In the Gospel, Jesus speaks of himself as the bread that comes down from heaven and calls on us to come to him and eat this bread. It might be better to understand this gospel in a wider sense of the Jewish bread as a symbol of the word of God and communion. The Lord invites us to come to him and to feed on his presence, and in particular to feed on his word. When we yield our lives and spiritual burn-outs to Jesus and allow his word to nourish our lives we become transformed and renewed by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. The food of his word will sustain us on our journey through life, just as Elijah, in the first reading, was sustained until he reached his destination. When we keep coming to Jesus and feeding on his word, that word will empower us to live the kind of life that the second letter to the Ephesians puts before us today.
“Feed on His word.” Sister, I love this! Thank you for a beautiful reflection.