20th Sunday, Year B: Homily by Fr Isaac Chima

Theme: Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Readings: Prov. 9:1–6; Eph 5:15–20; Jn. 6:51–58

Dear friends in Christ, on this twentieth Sunday, Jesus is inviting us to the true banquet — the Eucharist — that gives us life eternal. He says whoever eats of the food of this banquet will have life eternal, but he who does not eat from it will not have life in him.

In today’s second reading, St Paul tells the Ephesian Christians and all of us that the days we live in are evil. Indeed, our world has almost become the theatre of evil with wars, attacks, starvation, corruption, anti-human policies, ungodly ideologies, scandals, and so on spreading like wildfire on daily basis. Most of the time, evil masks itself as good and seeks to pull us away from Christ the source of life.

Dear friends, how can we navigate our way out of this evil world? How should we live our lives to stay safe and free from evil in this world? How can we defeat evil in this world?

Some people believe that the way to overcome evil in the world is to live their lives in accordance with the spirit of the world and the designs of their hearts, rather than the truths of revealed religion. Some believe that following Christ’s teachings as a means of defeating evil is foolish; instead, they prefer to live their lives solely by doing what makes them happy, regardless of the moral implications. Some people believe that they do not need God or the teachings of Jesus to overcome evil in the world; rather, they believe that their own human strength and intelligence will suffice. According to St Paul, people who think this way are unwise.

Therefore, St Paul advises that we must be careful how we live our lives in this world. He teaches that we should not live as unwise men: those who live according to the desires of the flesh and the spirit of this world, refusing to be guided by the Spirit of God, and those who don’t want God and His teachings in their lives. We should rather be wise by understanding God’s will for our lives and making good use of our time. He teaches us that true wisdom comes from knowing God, knowing His will for us and doing it every day; this is great wisdom and the sure route out of the darkness of evil in this world. However, refusing to know and follow God’s will is self-deception and foolishness, and will continue to lead the world into more evil.

In the first reading, an invitation was given to us by Lady Wisdom, representing God, to come to her feast and eat of the exquisitely prepared food of wisdom and understanding. By eating of this meal, we will not be entrapped by the foolishness of this world, which tells us that knowing God and following his teachings are foolishness and are not needed in our lives; we will be saved from the folly that tells us that the best way to live in this world is to pursue our happiness irrespective of the moral implications, and from the folly that tells us that adopting anti-Christian ideologies is a progressive way of living.

In today’s gospel, Jesus offers us that meal that will fill us with true wisdom and life, and save us from folly, which the world refers to as ‘her own true wisdom’. He said this real food is His Body and Blood. He promised that whoever eats of this heavenly food will not be trapped in the darkness of death but will rise from the dead and live forever. It is the meal that provides those on this spiritual journey with the heavenly wisdom to discover, know and follow the will of God, so that they will not be deceived by the folly and spirit of this world, which are being promoted as better way of living.

When Jesus offered this heavenly meal to the Jews who were guided by the wisdom of this world, they doubted its possibility and efficacy in their lives, just as those whose wisdom is earthbound in our world do not believe that the Holy Eucharist, worshipping of God and obedience to the teachings of Jesus will do their lives any good. Today’s psalm extends an invitation to all those who still doubt the power of the Eucharist, those who don’t see any good in obeying the teachings of Christ, those whose wisdom is earthbound to taste and see that the Lord is good.

Peace be with you. Have a blessed Sunday.

Fr Isaac C. Chima