Daily Catholic Lectio. Sun, 18 Aug ’24. Remaining in Jesus

Daily Catholic Lectio

Sun, 18 August 2024

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Proverbs 9:1-6. Ephesians 5:15-20. John 6:51-58

Remaining in Jesus

The gospel reading is part of the ‘bread of life discourse’ of Jesus. Jesus invites his audience ‘to remain in him.’ The concept of “remaining” in Jesus is not merely about being in His presence but living in a deep, intimate, and transformative relationship with Him. As we ponder this mystery, we are called to consider how our lives are to be continuously nourished and sustained by this relationship.

The first reading from the Book of Proverbs presents us with the image of Wisdom personified as a woman who has built her house and prepared a banquet. She invites all to come, eat, and drink, and in doing so, to live and walk in the way of insight. This passage is a foreshadowing of the banquet that Jesus, the Wisdom of God, offers to us—His very Body and Blood in the Eucharist. To partake in this banquet is to choose the path of wisdom, to live a life guided by God’s truth, and to remain in Him.

St. Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians (second reading), exhorts us to live not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. He urges us to be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. This call to wisdom is directly connected to the call to remain in Jesus. To remain in Jesus is to live in the Spirit, allowing our lives to be guided and animated by the Holy Spirit. It is a life of discernment, where every decision, every action, and every word is rooted in our relationship with Christ.

In the gospel reading, Jesus speaks of His flesh as true food and His blood as true drink, and He promises that whoever eats His flesh and drinks His blood remains in Him, and He in them. This teaching is at the heart of our understanding of the Eucharist. It is through the Eucharist that we remain in Jesus and He in us. Every time we receive the Eucharist, we are drawn deeper into the life of Christ, participating in His death and resurrection, and receiving the grace to live as He lived.

(1) A continuous process

To remain in Jesus is to live in a continuous, life-giving relationship with Him. This relationship is sustained and deepened through our participation in the Eucharist. Jesus Himself tells us, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them” (Jn 6:56). This promise assures us that through the Eucharist, we enter an intimate communion with Christ—a communion that transforms us from within. Remaining in Jesus is an everyday event – not a once-for-all event.

(2) Vertical and horizontal connections

When we receive the Eucharist, we are not only united with Christ but also with one another. The Eucharist is the sacrament of unity, bringing together the Body of Christ, the Church, into a single, united community of believers. In this communion, we are called to love one another as Christ loves us, to forgive as He forgives, and to serve as He serves.

(3) Source of strength and transformation

The Eucharist is the source of our spiritual strength. In a world that often challenges our faith and our ability to live out the Gospel, the Eucharist provides us with the grace we need to persevere. It is in this sacrament that we find the strength to carry our crosses, to resist temptation, and to live out our Christian vocation with courage and conviction. Moreover, the Eucharist is a source of transformation. As we receive Christ in the Eucharist, we are gradually conformed to His image. His love transforms our hearts, enabling us to live more fully in His love and to witness that love in the world. The Eucharist is the fuel for our mission as Christians, empowering us to be Christ’s hands and feet in the world.

(4) Living a Eucharistic (thanksgiving) life

To remain in Jesus through the Eucharist is not limited to the moments we spend at Mass. It calls us to live a “Eucharistic life,” where our daily actions, words, and decisions reflect the love of Christ that we have received. This means living with gratitude, and recognising that every good thing we have is a gift from God. It means living with charity, reaching out to those in need, just as Christ reaches out to us in the Eucharist. It means living with humility, acknowledging our dependence on God’s grace and our need for His continual guidance.

Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi

Archdiocese of Madurai

Missionary of Mercy