Fireproof Faith

Readings for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Proverbs 9:1-6
Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
Ephesians 5:15-20
John 6:51-58

USCCB Link to the Readings

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I was always impressed by the Chapel of “Cristo Quemado”, the Burnt Christ, in the Lo Prado sector of Santiago, Chile’s capital, where I served as a Columban missionary priest.

During the waning years of the dictatorship, several chapels were mysteriously set aflame within weeks of one another. These incidents were regarded as a threatening message to the Church, to force it to cease its work for human rights, and its presence among those who suffered most from poverty, arrests, torture and neighborhood-wide crackdowns.

With the help of international aid, our new chapel was quickly built, and the people who belonged to the chapel community kept and preserved the remains of the large crucifix, mounting it on the wall behind the altar, despite its appearance.

The Church is not a mere building, of course, but the Body of Christ, uniting the baptized followers of Jesus throughout the world. And just as the figure of the Burnt Christ rose again on the wall of the new chapel, so we believers also rise again, undefeated by sin or violence, threats or oppression.

The Cristo Quemado community grew, not only in number but in the intensity and depth of their faith. They are still thriving today, creating new ministerial groups and basic Christian communities dedicated to social justice, and artistic programs. The Pinochet dictatorship, for its part, ended six years after this act of arson.

Whoever eats this bread will live forever, Jesus assures us today, in the Gospel of John. We become one with Jesus in the Eucharist, when we consume his Body and Blood, and deepen our personal relationship with him when we follow in his footsteps, by reaching out to and walking with the poor, the vulnerable, and by caring for our injured natural home, regardless of criticism, threats or fiery attacks.

Notes on the Sunday Readings

First Reading
Proverbs 9:1-6 — Taken from the first part of the book (Chapters 1-9), which contain instructions rather than the eponymous proverbs that follow, we hear of a woman who personifies wisdom in this reading from the Old Testament, inviting those lacking wisdom to her banquet, prefiguring the Eucharistic feast of Christ, and the banquet of the Reign of God.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 — The psalmist reminds us to “taste and see the goodness of the Lord,” who answers us in our distress.

Second Reading
Ephesians 5:15-20 — Paul urges the Christians of Ephesus, a cosmopolitan city of people from many and varied backgrounds, to keep their worship and way of life from becoming a scandalous contradiction of the Gospel, which will repel others rather than attract them, undermining their mission to share the Good News.

Gospel
John 6:51-58 — This passage clearly refers to the Eucharist in terms of a personal relationship to Jesus, while the relationship of the community to Jesus will come later in this Gospel, during the long farewell discourse (John 14-17).

Notes and commentary by Fr. Bob Mosher,
a member of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban.

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