Proverbs 9:1-6 / Ephesians 5:15-20 / John 6:51-58
When we talk and speak with others, the words and their meaning depend on the situation and the context.
It also depends on who we are speaking with or talking to.
For example, when we are in a courtroom, and we are speaking to the judge and the lawyers, we have to be precise and correct in what we say.
To use the wrong word or wrong phrase may put us in a difficult spot.
But when we are at a shop or at the market, we can speak casually and informally. We can even joke around and use slang and even switch between languages and dialects.
So, how we speak and talk at a business meeting is different from how we speak and talk when we are at home or socializing with friends.
Another consideration would be the topic that we are talking about.
Some topics like health and finance would require precise and defined vocabulary.
Other topics like recreation and lifestyles can be more flexible and informal.
In the gospel, the topic that Jesus was talking about is bread, which is a type of common food.
And He also said that He is the living bread which has come down from heaven, and anyone who eats this bread will live forever.
That really made His listeners wonder what He was talking about.
And while they were still wondering, Jesus made another statement that made them even more confused.
Jesus said that the bread that He shall give is His flesh for the life of the world.
For His listeners, that was beyond imagination.
Because the reality of a common food like bread cannot be connected to the reality of human flesh.
And yet, Jesus did not stop to clarify and explain about what He said and meant.
Jesus said it as it is, and meant it as it is.
As for us, we accept what Jesus said and meant. We believe that the sacred hosts that we receive is the Body of Christ, and we say “Amen” to that.
But what does that mean in the reality of our lives as we come for Mass?
Maybe this short story can help us understand the Mass as a divine banquet of the Body of Christ.
Back in the year 1765, an innkeeper name Dossier Boulanger opened an eatery in Paris, and hung a sign at the door. The sign was written in Latin, in English it read as: “Come into my house, men of weary stomachs, and I will restore you.”
That phrase was so successful because of the word “restore”, which in Latin was “restauro”, and since then, all eateries worldwide are called restaurants.
The word restaurant quickly became established, and reputable chefs who had worked for the royalty and rich families began to open their own restaurants.
Many stories have emerged from that phrase, and especially the word restaurant.
One of which is that those who work and serve in a restaurant has the mission to restore the spirit, the smile and the health of those who come to eat.
So, the chef, or the cook, or the waiter or waitress, have that special mission of restoring the human spirit, the smile and the wellbeing of the diners.
We have come to Church for the divine banquet, and we are served the Body of Christ.
We come to be restored in body, in mind and in spirit.
And we are sent forth on the mission of restoration.
With our smile, with our kind words, with our good needs, we restore relationships with the love of God.
Yes, the love of God that is in the Body of Christ's restores us.
And we are sent forth in turn to restore relationships in our families, in our Church and in our world.