21st SUNDAY B
TO WHOM SHALL WE GO?
My dear sisters and brothers in Christ, today’s liturgy continues the discussion on the Bread of life which began five Sundays ago. Just as a reminder, five weeks ago, Jesus fed a large crowd of about five thousand men with five loaves and two fish. They had twelve baskets full of left over. The people attempted to make Jesus a king by force but he eluded them. The following Sunday we were told when they eventually found him in Carpenaum they asked him ‘master when did you get here?’ but Jesus knowing their intention rebuked them, “You are not looking for me because you have seen the sign, but because you had enough bread, work not for food that do not last but for that which lasts to eternal life.” The next week, the people came to Jesus asking him to give them a sign, just like Moses fed the people with manna in the desert, but Jesus told them that it was God not Moses who did this and that he is the bread come down from heaven. Last Sunday, the people began to murmur among themselves since Jesus said they have to eat his body and drink his blood and Jesus re-affirmed this. Today the same argument continues and there lies our faith. It is the Eucharist, the bread that is broken for us, the Body of Christ.
First Reading (Joshua 24: 1-2. 15-18)
This is a very crucial point in the life of the people of Israel. After they had taken possession of the promised land, Joshua who succeeded Moses as the leader of the people, gathered everyone at Shechem for a profession of faith. He wanted them to make a free choice of religion. They have seen Yahweh at work from the land of Egypt all through their sojourn in the wilderness up to the time of the battles for the land of promise which they now posses. They have also come to know the gods of the Amorites, many of them: of rain, of sun, of the river, of fertility, of harvest, etc. Yet they knew before and had heard the story of the gods their fore-fathers worship before they came to know the one true God. Here are options before them they should choose. For Joshua, he made it clear to the people that their choice will not change his own decision. As for him and his household, it is the Lord they will serve.
The answer of the people was without any hesitation, ‘we have no intention of deserting the Lord and serving other gods!’ That is perhaps for us a good answer from these people. But, were they able to remain faithful to this worship of the one God? In our own lives, do we not behave like these people did? When some people lose a close relative or someone is very sick in their home, they are tempted to see a diviner or a witch-doctor for consultation. Are we not sometimes tempted to seek power through unconventional means to achieve our goal? This is another occasion for us to renew our vows.
Second Reading (Ephesians 5: 21-32)
One of the most important of choices many make in life, is about their life-partner. Everything before that choice seems to prepare a person for it and everything after is shaped by that decision. It is therefore important to make the choice one can truly live with till death.
The greatest form of union with God on earth is found in Holy Communion while the greatest form of unity among persons, is found in the marriage of one man and one woman. The spearing of any of these unions is undesirable in Christian and particularly Catholic teaching. Paul's aim in the second reading is therefore to encourage a perfection of this union in the way the man and woman are subject to one another out of reverence to Christ.
In this passage, Paul writes to the married people in the Church of Ephesus to live their lives in a way that could promote unity and not separation. He seems to address some of the things that normally cause confusion in the home— The issue of power sharing and respect. These are two areas of conflicts in homes. Most people want and expect to be served, to give orders and when others object it often results into insults and shouting and sometimes quarrels.
Paul therefore looks at the husband-wife relationship. He relates this to the relationship between Christ and the Church. While peace reigns between Christ and his bride, there should be peace in the homes of his followers as well. He begins by giving a general remark ‘give way to one another in obedience to Christ.’ Here Paul refers to the relationship between Christ and his followers for he came ‘not to be served but to serve...’ (cf Matt 20:28). How does this apply in practice to family life? Paul says that, ‘wives should regard their husbands as they regard the Lord.’ It is true that from the teaching of the Church on marriage, the two are partners in love, yet there is the need for the wife to respect her husband. That respect is necessary for Peace to reign in the home. That is the service that belongs to the woman. On the other hand Paul calls on the husbands ‘to love their wives just as Christ loved the Church.’ This is much more serious than the charge to the women. But it is also necessary. A man who loves his wife, will take good care of his home, he will prolong his own life, he will not raise his hand to beat his wife but correct her with gentleness, he will not take unilateral decisions in things having to do with the life of the family without consulting the wife, he shows that he loves himself.
Gospel (John 6:60-69)
After hearing his doctrine, we were told that many of those who were following Jesus said, ‘it is an intolerable language.’ For them it was unacceptable. Many of them therefore left him and will not go with him any longer. Look at the attitude of Jesus in all of these. We often say that, ‘the truth is bitter.’ He was not ready to compromise the truth. He wanted them to either accept it or reject it. He did not call them back for any negotiation. In fact when the twelve remained he asked them, ‘what would you, do you want to go away too?
This takes us back to the first reading, Joshua asked the people to choose whether to serve the God who brought them out of the lands of Egypt or the gods of the Amorites and the ones worshipped by their fore-fathers across the river. In that episode, the people chose to serve God. In the case of the Gospel, the disciples chose to follow Jesus. ‘Lord, whom shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life…’ This is not a feeling of helplessness but an acknowledgement that they have come to the truth and cannot afford to abandon this way.
Jesus’ teaching on the Bread of Life remains the same today. His body, the Eucharist is still the food for our journey of life. We must hold on to that truth. Many stopped following him because of that teaching. Many more have followed him since then understanding the truth of what Jesus handed down to his disciples at the Last Supper and commanded them to do it in his memory. Our worship is structured to lead us from listening to his word, to receiving the Word made flesh in the Eucharist.
We must remain focussed on the life that Jesus offers; Christ is truly present in the Eucharist, in body, blood, soul and divinity. Several Eucharistic miracles, have shown that to be true. Many of the saints have drawn strength from the Eucharist to lead good and holy lives and to truly affect the lives of others for good. Our lives as Christians is deeply rooted in the worship of the Eucharist as the source and summit of what we do. We can, in the midst of our doubts and the challenges of everyday respond with the Apostle Peter, ‘Lord to whom shall we go?’
Let us pray: Lord, renew our faith and make us firm in our resolution. Amen. May the Almighty God bless you, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
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