Prayer Sunday: Turn your Murmurings into Prayers
1 Kings 19:4-8; Ephesians 4:30-5:2; John 6:41-51
More than once, God had turned murmurings into occasions to provide food for the murmurer. When the Israelites murmured in last week’s reading, God gave them bread and meat to eat (Manna). When Jonah murmured in Nineveh, he not only received shade over his head, he received consolation as well (Jonah 4). Today, the Prophet Elijah murmured and food was given him to eat. This connection between murmuring and the provision of food is also prominent in our gospel today. Jesus teaches the murmuring crowds about the importance of spiritual food, over against physical food. The connection that is not often made between murmuring and food is the fact that murmurings are NOT necessarily complaints, but can be turned into prayers.
The murmuring of Elijah, in our first reading, was his prayer to God to end his life. He that prayed to God and fire came down from heaven several times least expected the kind of answer he got for his murmuring prayer: his hunger and exhaustion were replaced by a double ration of food; instead of death, Elijah received life; instead of an end to his life, he received a new mission that required 40 days and nights of walking; what a murmur, what an answer!
Our gospel reading presents us with murmurers looking for material food. They had ate bread and fish free of charge last week, so they want another free meal today. Their murmuring was based on a different answer given to their request for food — Jesus promises them human flesh, Jesus’ flesh as free food! Jesus makes the eating of his body and the drinking of his blood indispensable sources for spiritual food and eternal life. The physical food sought after by the crowd was substituted for by the body and blood of Christ, food for eternal life and immortality. Jesus cooks this food on the cross of Calvary for everyone to eat. Indeed, Jesus assures us that “When I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all people to myself” (John 12:32). Yes, the Holy Communion we receive at every Mass/Eucharist is still this food cooked/prepared on the cross.
If an angel of the Lord brought the food of the first reading to Elijah from heaven, God himself, in Jesus Christ, prepares the food of the body and blood of Jesus Christ for all who believe to eat and never to die. If Elijah ate the food brought to him by the angel and he was able to walk for 40 days and nights, Elijah would need the chariot of fire from God to lead him into heaven. As for Jesus, he gave his body and blood as food, and he himself would eventually ascend into Heaven. In both instances, when God cooks, the food becomes spiritual and it engenders eternity among those who part-take of it.
As human beings, discouragements come to us in life, whatever our vocations and professions may be. Elijah’s murmuring, like the groans of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane and on the cross, these are demonstrations of our humanness and the abiding presence of God among us – life has got its ups and downs. We should not be discouraged, then, when we have done our best and, in the place of appreciation, all we get are criticisms and calumny; when our efforts towards holiness is construed as hypocrisy and mere hubris, we should focus on God; when the very model we try to be and the holiness we seek appear as mirages to us, no matter how hard we try, we should wait on God. One thing is sure, there is eternity after all these, just as there was the chariot of fire to take Elijah home. Yes, the anguish of the flesh sets the spirit free to unite itself with God.
It is important to underscore the “mountain of God”, where the meeting between Elijah and God took place, after the consumption of a spiritual food: “He got up, ate, and drank; then strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb” (1 Kings 19:8). For the Jews, the idea of “the mountain of God” speaks to the dwelling place of God high above human dwellings. It recalls the efforts needed to access God, like mountain climbers needing to learn the technic and method of mountain climbing. The opposite of this energy needed to climb up to God is the gospel image of Jesus Christ coming down to his people from on high: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven” (John 6:51). The stamina and energy required to ascend to God is also provided by God himself, through the power of his Spirit dwelling in us.
Prayer Sunday emphasizes our connection to God. Let our murmuring prayers be union with God. God must dwell in us, in order for us to align our wills to his. Through food, for Elijah, and the body and blood of Christ, for Christians, God dwells in his children. According to our second reading, God makes the Holy Spirit his presence in us: “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30). We were sealed at Confirmation with the Holy Spirit of God. What is more, the sacrament of Confirmation imprints an eternal character upon us, that we belong to God eternally. The Holy Spirit in us is the guarantee of our immortality. Therefore, all our limitations, “All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice,” these need conquering in order to optimize the power of the Holy Spirit in us.
If Elijah asked for death and received life, through a special food sent from Heaven; if the crowds asked for physical food, but received a promise of a spiritual food, the body and blood of Jesus Christ, in our gospel; then, God teaches us that only what is good for us does he give us, even if that meant changing our prayer intentions to align them to his plans for us: “For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26). In other words, when our prayers are not answered according to our murmurings, it is because God is changing our murmurings into prayers! But then, we need to listen to God, who dwells in us through his Holy Spirit.
Prayer Sunday is an invitation to imitate God, by surrendering to his will and plans for us: “So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma” (Ephesians 5:2). That which is of God in us, the Holy Spirit of God, nudges us on towards eternal life, which begins here on earth through our holiness of life. When we imitate God, then we shall dwell where God dwells. Above all, let us show the compassion of God to all, as Paul suggests in our second reading: “And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ”.
Prayer Sunday prioritizes Heaven over Earth, but makes earthly life a preparation for Heaven. Let us be clear, God is not against living a good life on earth, he demands it and makes it obligatory! The point of “imitating God” is to make the earth a good place for everyone! For example, if God could become the provider of food for his hungry people not to say the cook of his people, what stops you and I from providing for the basic needs of our people, their needs of love, kindness, friendship and hospitality? In a world full of refugees in need of shelter, water, food, and warm clothing: where is your charity and compassion? The perfection we seek in Heaven, it is on earth that we learn and practice it!
Let us conclude by paraphrasing a story from late Fr. Anthony De Mello: a rich English aristocrat heard of a pious monk in far away India, whom he decided to visit. Out in the middle-of-nowhere, he located this monk’s cell. To his greatest surprise, the aristocrat noticed that there were no pieces of furniture in the monk’s cell, no gadgets or modern electronics, so he asked him: “monk, where are your pieces of furniture and gadgets?” The monk asked the aristocrat in return, “where are yours?” The aristocrat said, “I left them at home, since I am just a visitor to India!” The monk retorted, “I left mine too at home, because I am a guest upon earth!”
Assignment for the Week:
Could you turn every grumbling moment into prayer mode?