Be Imitators of God and Live in Love
“Live in love.”
Three simple words, but such a challenge they offer.
We live in families, communities, regions, and nations that are not always in complete agreement about what is important in life. In fact, there are huge and seemingly irreconcilable differences among them. Even within families we have differences. How are people to behave? Are there different standards of behavior for men compared with women? What about people who are non-binary – how do we understand and deal with this kind of diversity? Where do children fit into the picture? What do we expect of them and how do we treat them? What are our responsibilities to each other and to our environment? How do we share the land? What do we eat? How do we learn what we need to know as adults? How do we make a living? How do we choose our leaders? What happens after we die?
So many essential and fundamental questions that must be addressed if people are to live without conflict.
One of the foundational rules (and jokes) in Anthropology is NEVER to use words such as never or always to describe human behavior. Experienced anthropologists joke that when they get together socially or professionally and one among them declares that people all over the world always do X, Y, or Z, someone will respond, “But among the people of (insert name of culture) whom I studied, they do W.”
One universal, so far as I know, is that people need nourishment of some sort in order to live. That nourishment comes in many different forms, but it is essential.
Elijah received bread and water
The prophet Elijah was fleeing for his life. The king was absolutely furious with him for having killed the prophets of Ba’al who had been leading the Hebrew people in worship of this god of another people. Elijah was ready to give up and die. He asked the Lord for death, lay down, and went to sleep. An angel, a messenger from the Lord, woke him up and ordered him to eat and drink. A simple loaf of bread (a hearth cake) and a jug of water were there by his head. He ate the bread and drank the water, then went back to sleep. But the Lord wasn’t finished with him. The angel came again and ordered him to get up and eat. The journey would be too long if he didn’t eat first! Elijah obeyed, the began walking again, clear to the mountain of God, Horeb (aka Mt. Sinai). (1 Kgs 19:4-8)
As an aside, a friend who is a Deacon and young enough to have grown up with Pop Tarts as a breakfast treat, noted that in our day, the angel might have come with a Pop Tart for Elijah to eat. (Nice image, Deacon Joe!)
Whether a hearth cake or a Pop Tart, the Lord provided food for Elijah’s journey. The Lord had work for him to do and knew he would need support in the form of food.
Jesus offered himself
Jesus too knew that we who follow him will need food. He fed the crowd with a few loaves and fish. People flocked to him for more. But they were uncomfortable with what he was telling them about himself. He’s Joseph and Mary’s son. We know him. What does he mean saying, “I have come down from heaven!” We all know that’s not possible.
But Jesus wasn’t deterred. “Stop murmuring among yourselves.” The Father is the one in charge. The Father teaches all and those who listen will find Jesus, the one who can show them the Father. Belief results in eternal life. What sustains that life? The bread of life, the bread given by God, Jesus himself who is that bread.
Jesus moved the conversation and the call from the practical, pragmatic question of physical strength and survival to a much broader form of life. This broader life, a life as a child of God in this earthly world, requires a different type of food than a simple hearth cake or Pop Tart. It is not as obvious as going to the market to buy food for the day for oneself and one’s family. It is not food that we can get for ourselves. In the desert the people received manna from heaven. We too need something more than ordinary food, even tasty treats. We need strength and nourishment for living life on a spiritual level too. Regular food is important, but more is needed. (Jn 6:41-51)
Food for living in love
St. Paul spoke of the challenge of living in the new spiritual realm of which Jesus spoke. Through baptism, Christians have been sealed by the Holy Spirit, chosen for redemption through Christ’s sacrifice. This new life requires setting aside behaviors such as “bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling” others. There is no room for these. They are not food for imitators of God, sharers in the life of Christ. Christians must be kind, compassionate, and forgiving. Through our imitation of God, as beloved children of God, we live in love. In this, we share in Christ’s life and sacrifice. He becomes our food. (Eph 4:30-5:2)
Is this limited to any particular culture? Is it bound by any human rules? Not really. Jesus comes and offers himself as food for all of us. We receive this food and are strengthened to be imitators of God and live in love as God’s children. Nourishment offered and received, given to all freely.
As we move into this coming week, let’s be aware of the gifts we all receive from our Father and the many ways we are nourished by those gifts. Let’s set side anger, judgements, jumping to conclusions, belittling others and all those things that make life miserable for ourselves and others. Let’s instead look with compassion on others who might not have the same opportunities we have had. Let’s forgive those who have offended us. Let’s work together to build a better life for all.
We have received the gift of the bread of life, living bread, available to all who seek it. May it always be the food for our journey as imitators of God, living in love.
Readings for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B
