The first reading today picks up a narrative from Kings 18 in which Elijah caused over four hundred prophets of Baal to be slaughtered. King Ahab’s wife, Queen Jezebel, an ardent follower of Baal, heard of this, and wanted Elijah to be killed. Elijah fled into the wilderness. After one day of his journey through rough terrain, Elijah was exhausted, and sought shelter under a tree. He prayed for death; “this is enough, O Lord! Take my life.” He fell asleep. While the fugitive slept, God intervened by sending an angelic messenger, and provided bread and water for Elijah. The message was “eat, drink, and go on with the journey. Elijah responded by going back to sleep. Again, God sent a messenger. Bread and water were provided; the message was, “Go to the holy mountain, Horeb.” Elijah, with renewed energy, walked for forty days and nights to reach the mountain.

How often we hear the phrase “God will provide.” God does come to our aid. We receive what we need to persevere. Sometimes we lack only sustenance. At other times, when we are pressed down, we need more. We seek the sense that God is with us on our journey, and deeply loves us. We can then eat, drink, and be spiritually energized by God’s love as we continue our mission with renewed zeal. We clearly can never live “by bread alone.”

As the responsorial psalm reminds us, we need to “taste and see the goodness of the Lord.” Eat, drink, and go on with our journey to the Lord. The alleluia also reinforces the symbol of our God as the “Living Bread.” “Whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

The second reading allows us to share Paul’s letter to his beloved brothers and sisters in Ephesus. Even though he was persecuted and often imprisoned, Paul provides us with an amazing exhortation to purge ourselves of all bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling... along with malice. The sum of our core mission as Christians is also contained in Paul’s letter: “Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.” We certainly can make these words come alive in our daily actions. We can do this and remain God-loving agents of change in our modern world.

The gospel for this 19th Sunday in ordinary time is profound. Jesus does not couch his message in a parable; he directly tells us who and what he is. He is “the Living Bread that came down from Heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever.” Neither Elijah’s God-given bread nor the manna that fed the Israelites in the desert allowed those who ate it eternal life. Jesus tells us that “The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” May we with this promise and spiritual nourishment continue our journey toward God.