"Do you also want to leave?"
John 6: 60-69
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/082221.cfm
-------------------------
O God, who cause the minds of the faithful
to unite in a single purpose,
grant your people to love what you command
and to desire what you promise,
that, amid the uncertainties of this world,
our hearts may be fixed on that place
where true gladness is found.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
(Collect of Mass)
Our Gospel this Sunday, as we close our reflections on the Holy Eucharist according to John over the last few Sunday's, albeit last Sunday with the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, bring us to a very crucial juncture that must have caused Jesus great disappointment. He has completed his commentary on what seemed like a great scandal to his disciples, perhaps even on some level among his own chosen twelve, about his literal desire that, “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.”
The eating of flesh with blood was strictly
prohibited among the Jews and supported by the Book of Leviticus. It became a foundational teaching for
hundreds of years and any compromise or watering down of that prohibition was
considered blasphemy. Dietary laws were based upon this premise and even today
when we hear of “kosher” food, it makes reference to this practice.
So Jesus’ uncompromising words eating his flesh
and drinking his blood was repulsive to any Jew. Is Jesus implying cannibalism? Is he
delusional caught up in his own fame? This man has completely lost it. In some form the Gospel seems to imply such
from the disciples who had been following him.
This crossed the line and was just too much to bear further.
Despite his opportunity to explain his words in a
more symbolic form, he emphasized all the more its literal meaning. So, he was
not speaking metaphorically. The early Christians saw in this the words of Jesus
as they broke bread together and shared from a cup of wine that Christ was
truly in their midst. By the time they
were gathering for their Eucharist, we have a post resurrection faith. The same
is true for us. Yet, the crowds around
Jesus, as we hear this Sunday, took his words only in an earthly sense. They said: “This saying is hard; who can
accept it?”
Jesus then explains that his words are Spirit and
life. That his words are inviting those
who hear them to see a new, spiritual reality where God has entered our fallen
world, raised it up, and now dwells among us in the true spiritual presence of
the Eucharist, under signs of bread and wine.
Yet, even though the word “spiritual” is used this does not imply
something ethereal. There is that fully
true and real spiritual existence in which the presence of the risen Lord
becomes real and lasting for us. In one sense it is not there for us to fully
understand, it is mystery, but for us to be grateful and humbled by our Lord’s
profound act of mercy.
Despite Jesus’ attempt to challenge their
thinking and expand their limited vision sadly, “many of his disciples returned
to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” In desperation he turns to his own trusted
twelve and asks if they also want to leave.
Peter, on behalf of the group , states essentially, “To whom shall we
go? You have the words of eternal life.” Peter’s beautiful expression leads us
to see the spiritual hunger of the Apostles and their deep respect of Jesus’
words.
Will you leave me too? Living the life of a
faithful Christian and also a faithful Catholic is not an easy thing these
days. If we take our faith seriously, we will be loyal even in those moments
when we may not have clarity of understanding.
The Church maintains teachings that fly in the face of popular and
progressive culture. Positions on
marriage, the protection of the unborn child, the priesthood, same gender
attraction, the definition of freedom and the exercise of justice and the role
of women in the Church, the exercise of decision making and the role of layity
in leadership, etc have caused many to question an “out of date” Catholicism.
Or maybe it’s our obsession with science and
technology these days that has so influenced our thinking. Science and technology, for all of its wonder
and benefit, demands perfect clarity. One wants to be precise as possible
before a conclusion is drawn, measured, and finalized. It demands tangible, measureable proof not abstract
or spiritual influence. To imagine a measure of truth beyond what we see and
can verify stretches our thinking. Not unlike
those who rejected Jesus’ words in the Gospel this Sunday.
Or maybe the lack of participation these days is
the result of scandals in the Church. There
is no doubt that religious leaders among us have caused great harm and we find
ourselves in a time of healing and reform.
While great strides have been made, the Church and each of our personal
lives is indeed in constant need of reform.
It can be said there are many other reasons why the faithful have become
on some level no longer faithful.
In the end where do we stand and with who? Do we
stand with the Lord, as we hear in the first reading from the Book of Joshua,
or do we turn to another? So Peter’s response to Jesus question, “To whom shall
we go?” is maybe a question of our age as well. Let’s not forget the Good News
that Christ brought us is still the same good news that must be preached and
lived.
When we gather for the Mass we hear the words of Jesus
echo in every celebration that he is intimately, truly, mysteriously present to
us under the signs of bread and wine. He
is literally food for us and we must consume this food as we do all others. The
real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist has never been compromised and despite
the waves of history, remains amazingly intact. It is truly the “source and
summit of the Christian life.” Our questions, our doubts, our lack of
understanding can be placed before the altar as we are called to remain
faithful Christians.
What Christ does in the Eucharist, what he
promises us, is not only eternal life, as if that alone isn’t enough, but also
an experience of community and family as God intends. Communion creates a
unity, a common life among us. It brings
disparate and diverse collections of people, who come with thousands of opinions
on politics and how things should be and labels of conservative and liberal
somehow strangely and peacefully together as one Body. The Body in which Christ is the head and
calls us to look beyond limits and to rest in his Spirit and to live his
life.
“The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and
life.” Jesus is calling us to surround with
compassion those who suffer, innocent victims of displacement and war, those on
the fringe of society, and to bring light and hope to our world.
No comments:
Post a Comment