Living Wisely and Nourished by Christ: A Study of Proverbs, Ephesians, and John

Julie South [00:00:05]:
Peace be with you. Welcome to your catholic corner. I am your host, Julie south, and I am so glad that you are able to join me today as we dive into the word of God and his relevance to our lives. Today, your catholic corner is here to help Catholics spiritually prepare for each Sunday's mass starting mid week. Each week you can listen@yourcatholiccorner.com your catholic corner is listened to in 34 different countries in over 160 cities around the world. Where are you in that mix? Wherever you are, I would love for you to say hi to me in New Zealand, so please visit yourcatholiccorner.com and let me know where you're from and what you most enjoy about the show. Thank you. I do promise to reply and say hi back.

Julie South [00:01:04]:
In today's episode, we're going to be focusing on the readings for the 20th Sunday in ordinary time, year B, so that is August, mid to late August. We will start by exploring the passages from the book of Proverbs, Paul's letter to the Ephesians, and the Gospel of John. Our main focus will be on exploring the typological connection between the Old Testament reading from proverbs and the gospel passage to help you and me understand why the Catholic Church chose these specific texts for this specific Sunday. If you're not familiar with the term typology, don't worry because I'll explain what that means in a bit and how it relates to these specific passages. Our readings today and our prayers today shine God's light on wisdom, understanding, and the Eucharist. God's reminding us of his invitation for us to partake in his wisdom and the importance of living wisely. Remember, whenever we gather in Jesus name, like we are right here, right now with you in me. He is here with us right now.

Julie South [00:02:23]:
Absolutely. The readings for this Sunday are from the book of Proverbs, chapter nine, verses one through six Paul's letter to the Ephesians, chapter five, verses 15 through 20 and John's Gospel, chapter six, verses 51 through 58.

Julie South [00:02:45]:
But before that, a quick word about your catholic corner, just in case this is your first time here, regardless of where you are on your spiritual journey, whether you've only just heard of that man called Jesus, you're new to Catholicism or you're a cradle Catholic. My prayer is that your catholic corner will help bring God's word to life in your heart through insights, reflections, and practical applications that help deepen your relationship with God. Every Thursday we'll start preparing for mass by uncovering the richness hidden in each Sunday's Bible readings, from Old Testament prophecies to gospel parables. I invite you to join me and the parishioners of the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Hamilton, New Zealand, sponsors of your catholic corner so that together we can hear God's word and echo. Samuel, speak, Lord, your servant is listening. Now let's get back to today's show.

Julie South [00:03:57]:
If you're unfamiliar with the word or the term typology, because this is your first time here, it refers to the concept that certain elements in the Old Testament serve as types or foreshadowing of someone or something in the New Testament. Think of it as being like God, leaving us clues in the earlier scriptures that point to the fulfilment we find in Christ and the New Testament. The typological connection between proverbs chapter nine, verses one through six, and John's gospel chapter six, verses 51 through 58, lie in the themes of divine wisdom and spiritual nourishment. In proverbs we have wisdom building her house and preparing a feast, inviting all to partake and gain understanding and wisdom. We have this passage highlighting the invitation to divine wisdom and the nourishment that it provides. And then in John's Gospel, Jesus is continuing his teaching about being the bread of life. He's explaining again and further and still that he is the living bread that came down from heaven, and whoever eats this bread will live forever. He emphasizes the importance of partaking in his flesh and his blood for eternal life.

Julie South [00:05:38]:
Both of these passages, so here we have the typological connection. Both of these passages emphasize the theme of divine wisdom and spiritual nourishment. The feast prepared by wisdom in proverbs foreshadows the spiritual nourishment that Jesus offers as the bread of life. The invitation to partake in wisdom parallels our call to, or their call at that time, our call today to partake in the Eucharist, the living bread. So in other words, these passages are reminding us that God is our ultimate source of wisdom and our ultimate source of nourishment. It's he who invites us to partake in his divine wisdom and provides us with spiritual sustenance, spiritual fulfillment, if we but only let him. Whether this is through the feast of wisdom or Jesus as the bread of life, we see God and we hear God's unstoppable and unwavering commitment to his people, to us, to you and to me, to us right now, today. With that as the backdrop.

Julie South [00:07:06]:
Now let's pray together. And as we reflect and pray on these passages that we're going to hear in a bit. May you and I both be inspired by God's call to each of us. To you and to me. Strengthened by his blessings and encouraged to share his message of love and healing with others. First reading today is from the book of prayer. Proverbs. Wisdom has built herself a house.

Julie South [00:07:39]:
She has erected her seven pillars. She has slaughtered her beasts, prepared her wine. She has laid her table. She has dispatched her maidservants and proclaimed from the city's heights, who is ignorant? Let him step this way to the fool. She says. Come and eat my bread. Drink the wine I have prepared. Leave your folly and you will live.

Julie South [00:08:10]:
Walk in the ways of perception. The word of the Lord. A reading from Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Be very careful about the sort of lives you lead, like intelligent and not like senseless people. This may be a wicked age, but you redeem it. And do not be thoughtless, but recognise what is the will of the Lord. Do not drag yourselves with wine. This is simply dissipation.

Julie South [00:08:57]:
Be filled with the spirit. Sing the words and the tunes of the psalms and hymns when you are together, and go on singing and chanting to the Lord in your hearts, so that always and everywhere you are giving thanks to God, who is our father. In the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. The word of the Lord. A reading from the gospel according to John. Jesus said to the crowd, I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever, and the bread that I shall give is my flesh for the life of the world. Then the Jews started arguing with one another.

Julie South [00:10:00]:
How can this man give us his flesh to eat? They said, Jesus replied, I tell you most solemnly, if you do not eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you. Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is the real blood, and my blood is real drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I live in him. As I who am sent by the living father, myself draw life from the father, so whoever eats me will draw life from me. This is the bread come down from heaven. Not like the bread our ancestors ate. They are dead.

Julie South [00:10:51]:
But anyone who eats this bread will live forever. The gospel of the Lord. So what are you hearing God saying to you through these passages? Remember, he speaks to each of us in different ways. So what I'm hearing in my heart may be different. To how he touches your heart. And it may be different tomorrow as it is today. The gospel from John reminds us that Jesus is the bread of life. That's a very well known statement.

Julie South [00:11:47]:
It makes us think about how we feed our souls and connect with him, connect with Jesus, connect with God. So here are some of my thoughts on what God might be saying to me. And I say might because only God knows what he's saying, right? I can only but interpret and hope that I'm hearing what God wants. In proverbs, this passage, we've got wisdom personified as a gracious hostess who invites us to a feast. In biblical terms, wisdom is often seen as a divine attribute representing God's insight and understanding. It's not just knowledge, but it's a deeper a spiritual understanding of life and God's will. Wisdom calls us to leave behind our simple ways and embrace a life of insight and I and of spiritual fulfillment. What does that mean for us today? For me today, for you today? Question for me, am I looking for God's wisdom in my daily life? Am I open to learning and growing? I sure hope so.

Julie South [00:13:11]:
I sure intend to be when I feel lost. Therefore, I need to remember how God has guided me before when I felt lost and I've been okay because I know that God has my back. Then in Ephesians, we have Paul telling us to live wisely and to make the most of every chance that we get. This means living with purpose, always being ready and being thankful and letting the Holy Spirit guide us like wisdom, the Holy Spirit am I my question, am I living wisely and making the most of every opportunity? Am I filled with the Holy Spirit and do I express my gratitude and my praise to God? Do I do it often enough? Do you do it often enough? In John John's gospel here, Jesus is calling himself the bread of life. This means that just like bread keeps us alive physically, Jesus, God keeps us alive spiritually. When we accept him, we enter into a lasting and a beautiful relationship with him, provided that we keep that relationship going. So ask yourself, how often do you take the time, how often do I make the time to keep that relationship with God going? How often am I thankful, grateful for the spiritual food that I have because I believe and I believe because I know and I trust and my faith has me and Jesus always together. Today we're reminded to seek God's wisdom, to live wisely, and to find spiritual nourishment in Jesus.

Julie South [00:15:22]:
What did you hear God saying to you? What was his nudge? Now, talking of today. The church needs us today, and I invite you to help grow the church by inviting others to share in this beautiful thing called the Catholic Church and the catholic faith and to go to mass each week. Now you can start small, and one small way you can do that is to share this podcast or to leave a comment. A five star review would be really nice about where you're listening to this podcast. Invite three people to listen@yourcatholiccorner.com and I'd love to hear your thoughts so you can contact me@yourcatholiccorner.com. and while you're getting ready for mass this week, let's take a sneak peek at what else we've got to look forward to from God for next week. In the 21st week of ordinary time, next Sunday, we're going to be diving into the beautiful readings that remind us of the importance of commitment and faithfulness in our spiritual journey. We'll explore the declaration of faith by Joshua and the people.

Julie South [00:16:40]:
We'll reflect on Paul's teachings on love and unity in again, another or a continuation of his letter to the Ephesians. And then we'll hear about Jesus's challenging teachings and Peter's reaffirmation of faith in the Gospel of John. So please make sure that you join me next week as we continue to unpack and look at and listen to and pray together with God and Jesus in our daily lives. I hope this episode helps you on your spiritual journey. My prayer is that this podcast does deepen your understanding of God's word and all that is beautiful in the catholic faith and the Catholic Church. Please share this show with your friends and family. It's a great way to help them to grow in their faith. Wherever you are in your journey and wherever you are in the world in one of those 160 cities, I pray that God's love fills your heart and that you'll join him at the Eucharist in your local parish.

Julie South [00:17:45]:
When you are ready, a big shout out to the parishioners of the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Hamilton, New Zealand, for their continued support. This is Julie south signing off until next week, peace be with you. God blessed our channel.