Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/080512.cfm

Cairns left in the MSF creek
by hikers

Jesus answered them and said, "Amen, Amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the son of man will give you.

Americans don't understand the language of signs. We like our knowledge broken down into facts that are spelled out and have only one meaning. That meaning should be indisputable. It should need no so-called interpretation; for everyone, regardless of race, color or creed without distinction of gender, age or national origin, of occupation, career or profession, education, training or experience will understand what the fact means on the first reading. It should require no second reading and little study, memorization or learning curve. 


If life were so simple as that it would be a place in Madelyn L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, perhaps the two-dimensional world where the wayfaring children could not breathe. It would be a world without much energy, humor or life.
In today's gospel Jesus tells the Jewish mob they failed to see the signs he had shown them. Many people attending Mass also fail to see the sign. They may be arriving late or in a hurry. They may be preoccupied with problems at home or at work. They may be more fascinated by a TV show they saw recently, or this afternoon's trip to the park, or the pretty girl in the choir. 


In a word, they may not be disposed to attend the Mass. They make an appearance in the congregation somewhere between the reading of the gospel and the closing prayer, and figure that should be sufficient for their spiritual nourishment. Isn't it a fact that they were there?


And when they quit attending Mass altogether they recall only that they got nothing out of it. Some of us of a certain age will recall the Baltimore Catechism's teaching on sacraments:

Q. 574. What is a Sacrament? A Sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace.

Perhaps more to the point, the Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

Sacraments are "powers that comes forth" from the Body of Christ, which is ever-living and life-giving. They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in his Body, the Church. They are "the masterworks of God" in the new and everlasting covenant. (paragraph 1116)

This definition might seem mysterious to the fact-checker, but mystery is precisely the point of entry for understanding the sacraments. To "get something out of the Mass" one must be disposed to the mystery which appears there.

I think of the Mass like a symphony or a Shakespearean play. When I plan to see a play by the Bard, I read it again, to familiarize myself with the plot and characters and Elizabethan language. I look for the subtleties of meaning and the beauty of the language. Then, attending the play, I enter the experience, laughing with the humor and weeping with the tragedy.

A play is not like a TV sitcom which intends only to entertain and sell you certain products. It's aim is only to keep your attention and direct you to the next TV program and more commercials. (Their contempt for you as a consumer is palpable, which is why so many people suffer low self-esteem. Who can endure such humiliation hour after hour?) 

A small scene on an
arras at Saint Meinrad

A Shakespearean play, on the other hand, can be edifying, exhilarating and exhausting. I go home to read the play again, and "see" it again in my mind's eye. I re-experience the play with the new insights of the director, actors and cast. I do something similar with a symphony: when possible I listen to a CD of the music ahead of time and read up on its subtleties before I participate with the audience. So far as I can tell the only reason for recorded music is to prepare one for its presentation in the symphony hall with living musicians and a lively audience.

To attend the Mass one should be praying daily, reading the Scriptures and paying attention to the liturgical seasons. Your preparation may entail reading this "homily blog" prayerfully and with a disposition to new understandings. Then you arrive in church early enough to settle yourself in a pew with a congregation that is eager to celebrate the mystery of the Eucharist. Hopefully, the homilist will bring new meaning to your understanding of the scriptures and the Mass and your part in the life of the Church. (But, of course, the homily is a minor part of the whole ritual. It is not the reason you are there!) 

You will return home refreshed with new understandings and a new appreciation of what God has done for us through the ministry of Jesus.

What did you see when you went to Church? You saw the sign and were nourished by the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man (has given) you.