Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (B)
One of the names we have given to the Sacrament of the Eucharist is Communion. Communion is the opposite of isolation. The word reminds us that, by our sharing in this sacrament, we also share in the Lord’s very Body and Blood. Moreover, we share this as a community of faith. We are also the Body of Christ. No matter what the vocation of each one of us may be, none of us ever walks this path alone. We walk with the Lord and we walk with our sisters and brothers in Christ.
This way of communion is most clearly seen at the Mass. We gather together as a Catholic community, as the local “chapter”, so to speak, of the Body of Christ. We come with all the joys and sorrows of our lives as individuals and as families. We are instructed, encouraged and guided by the Word of God proclaimed in our assembly. We are renewed by our sharing in Communion. We can leave Mass, then, with deeper love and a firmer resolve to continue our lives of faith. We are not isolated. God walks with us, and we walk with one another.
Our first reading this Sunday presents us with a moment from the life of the prophet Elijah. By a happy coincidence, we have recently celebrated the feast of the Transfiguration (August 6), when Jesus is manifested to his disciples in glory, in the company of Moses and Elijah. In the Transfiguration story, Moses is usually understood as representing the Law, and Elijah the Prophets, and how both bear witness to Jesus as the promised Messiah.
But there is something else that the two have in common. Each one had a moment in his life when, overwhelmed by the scope of his vocation, he wanted to be relieved of it. Moses reaches this point in Numbers 11. Wearied by the people’s constant complaining and their lack of faith in the Lord – the ‘last straw’, interestingly enough, was their refusal to accept the manna as their food – Moses, in turn, complains to the Lord. He is overwhelmed, feels isolated, and asks the Lord to take his life. What he really wants is to be relieved of his vocation, which now feels like an impossible burden. The Lord responds by pulling Moses out of his isolation. He is to choose seventy elders of Israel. The Lord will then take some of the spirit that is on Moses and give it to the seventy. Thus, they will share in Moses’ vocation and relieve some of the burden he feels.
In our first reading, Elijah has reached a similar point in his life. Elijah has just had his famous encounter with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, which resulted in the people proclaiming that the Lord is God. Queen Jezebel then wants to kill Elijah. King Ahab seems unaffected by what has happened. Elijah has left their territory and now wants God to take his life. He feels isolated and overwhelmed. An angel comes to encourage him to eat and drink – twice. Now strengthened by this food, Elijah walks forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.
However, Elijah is still in the same space he was before – food or no food. He goes to Horeb to once again ask the Lord to relieve him of his vocation. Elijah says that he is alone, that no other prophets of God are left, and that the people have not returned to the Lord.
However, God will not let Elijah off so easily. After all, earlier in 1 Kings, we learned that Obadiah had concealed one hundred of the Lord’s prophets from Jezebel’s wrath. Elijah was not the only prophet left. God tells Elijah that seven thousand in Israel are still faithful and have not worshipped other gods. Then, the Lord sends Elijah back to his ministry and gives him three specific tasks to accomplish. Elijah may feel isolated, but he is not. The Lord is with him and has fed him. There are still others in Israel who walk with him in faith. Strengthened by this communion, Elijah can return to his ministry. He is not isolated, as he felt he was. He still walks in communion with God and the faithful ones of Israel.
Many people who read these accounts of Moses and Elijah today wonder if these chosen ones were experiencing depression or burnout. That is possible. Indeed, one of the most devastating effects of depression or burnout is that sense of isolation, of feeling totally cut off from others, invisible, misunderstood, or simply not good enough.
Anyone on the autism spectrum knows quite well this feeling of isolation. Let me use a quote from a website dedicated to ministry for people on the spectrum: “This is a deeply personal and pervasive sense of never quite being understood, or never feeling good enough to measure up, or never feeling satisfied that the people who like us really like us – or even remember us at the end of the day. It is a lonely sense of disconnection.”
One need not be clinically depressed, burnt out, or autistic to have a feel for this. Imagine a young couple that refrains from ‘living together’ or from sex until they marry. Imagine someone who doesn’t participate in malicious gossip about a fellow worker or neighbor. Imagine someone in Church ministry who tries to live out their calling with integrity and faithfulness in an age where the constant drumbeat of scandal makes cynics of many. Any of these people will feel (at some point) isolated – as though they were alone and without support as they tried to live in faithfulness to the Gospel.
Here is where Communion, in its fulness, comes in. We are all called upon to gather for Mass at least on Sundays, health permitting. The very fact that we gather with others immediately reminds us that we are not alone in faith. We together praise the Lord and ask for mercy for our sins. We, as one people, hear the word of God in the readings and (we hope) in the homily, just as God spoke to Moses and Elijah in their feelings of isolation and overwhelm. We are fed by the very Body and Blood of the Lord a greater food than the manna in the desert or the food Elijah was given – both of which were symbols of the Eucharist to come. We are reminded, in these and other ways, that none of us is in isolation.
This is especially important when we feel discouraged or depressed. Those feelings skew our vision. We feel more alone than we really are. Things look worse than they really are. Our Communion with the Lord and with one another breaks through that fog of isolation. We are assured that the Lord remains with us, and that, even now, other people still walk the ways of faith.
Let’s return once more to the scene of the Transfiguration. We saw that both Moses and Elijah shared a moment of feeling isolated and overwhelmed in their lives. But so did Jesus. Think of Gethsemane. Jesus knows that he will soon be arrested, condemned and put to death. His humanity is overwhelmed by this and would like to turn away. But see how Jesus, even here, does not walk in isolation. He has already brought Peter, James and John with him – the same three who were there at the Transfiguration. He wants their presence, even though they end up being unable to stay awake. Even more importantly, Jesus never loses a sense of being in communion with the Father or the Spirit. He acknowledges his desire to let the cup pass, but he reaffirms his commitment to do the Father’s will. With his humanity strengthened by this Communion, Jesus can proceed.
So it is with us. Communion breaks through our feelings of isolation and strengthens us. The Lord himself comes into our very selves by the Sacrament of his presence. We support our fellow believers by our encouragement, prayers, and presence. We realize that many who have lived before us continue to encourage us and pray for us.
Strengthened by this rich banquet, may we walk our own forty days and forty nights until we arrive at the mountain of God, the New Jerusalem, the Wedding Feast.