20th Sunday of Ordinary Time [B]

 


20TH SUNDAY, ORDINARY TIME [B]


You have a visitor. This visitor goes by the name of Sam-I-Am. He doesn’t arrive empty handed; you can see that he is carrying a platter. He’s offering you a helping of Green Eggs & Ham. You insist that you are not in the mood for a helping of Green Eggs & Ham. In fact, you’re doubting if you ever will be in the mood for Green Eggs & Ham. Sam-I-Am refuses to take “no” for an answer. He continues to reframe the proposition. After you’ve declined a total of fifteen times, it eventually becomes clear that he’s not going to let up until you at least give them a try. You finally agree to have a taste. And surprisingly enough, you’re finding that you actually like Green Eggs & Ham! They are satisfying you in a way you could not have expected. 


Now you’re hearing another voice. Now it’s the Word of God reaching out to you, making a passionate appeal, inviting you to PARTAKE! We’re not talking about a serving of Green Eggs & Ham. Instead, you’re being encouraged to partake in what the Lord has chosen to provide. In Proverbs it’s presented as a banquet, complete with the choicest of wines (9:1-11). St. Paul cautions his readers about the wine that produces intoxication, the wine that makes you sluggish (Eph. 5:18). However, the wine described in the Book of Proverbs produces a special brand of wisdom—a heavenly wisdom. Jesus takes it even further: you can become more completely alive, if you eat and drink according to the revealed Word (John 6:57). You will experience enhancement at the spiritual level, by saying amen to the One who has identified himself as The Bread-Of-Life-I-Am (see John 6:35). 


Sam-I-Am offers what he has to offer. Likewise, the Lord offers what he has to offer. According to the Dr. Seuss story, you’re going to like what Sam-I-Am has to offer. Meanwhile, the scriptural concern has more to do with your state of need. It’s not about what you will potentially like; it’s strictly about what it is that you need. It’s about what you are in fact craving, deep down within the recesses of your famished soul. St. Augustine maintains that we are all created with a particular feature: a hole that is located within the region of the heart. We spend our lives searching, struggling, seeking a means through which this void can be filled. With the help of scripture, we begin to recognize this hole has a specific shape—a shape only God can fill. Allow yourself to taste and see the goodness of the Lord (Ps. 34:8). Treat yourself to the Resource that will bring you the gift of authentic satisfaction and the reward of lasting fulfillment. 

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