At the Threshold of Decision

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 23, 2015

First reading                                    Joshua 24:1-2,15-18

Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem; then he called the elders, leaders, judges and scribes of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. Then Joshua said to all the people, ‘If you will not serve the Lord, choose today whom you wish to serve, whether the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are now living. As for me and my House, we will serve the Lord.’

The people answered, ‘We have no intention of deserting the Lord and serving other gods! Was it not the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors out of the land of Egypt, the house of slavery, who worked those great wonders before our eyes and preserved us all along the way we travelled and among all the peoples through whom we journeyed? What is more, the Lord drove all those peoples out before us, as well as the Amorites who used to live in this country. We too will serve the Lord, for he is our God.’

Psalm                                              Psalm 33:2-3,16-23 

Second reading                              Ephesians 5:2,25-32

Follow Christ by loving as he loved you. Husbands should love their wives just as Christ loved the Church and sacrificed himself for her to make her holy. He made her clean by washing her in water with a form of words, so that when he took her to himself she would be glorious, with no speck or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and faultless. In the same way, husbands must love their wives as they love their own bodies; for a man to love his wife is for him to love himself. A man never hates his own body, but he feeds it and looks after it; and that is the way Christ treats the Church, because it is his body – and we are its living parts. For this reason, a man must leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one body. This mystery has many implications; but I am saying it applies to Christ and the Church.

Gospel                                               John 6:60-69

After hearing his doctrine many of the followers of Jesus said, ‘This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?’ Jesus was aware that his followers were complaining about it and said, ‘Does this upset you? What if you should see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before?

‘It is the spirit that gives life,

the flesh has nothing to offer.

The words I have spoken to you are spirit

and they are life.

‘But there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the outset those who did not believe, and who it was that would betray him. He went on, ‘This is why I told you that no one could come to me unless the Father allows him.’ After this, many of his disciples left him and stopped going with him.

Then Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘What about you, do you want to go away too?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.’

Reflection

By Rose Markell

In response to those who cannot accept His teaching, Jesus does not soften the hardness of His message. If they are troubled by the thought of Him descending from heaven, what will they think about Him ascending back to where He has been originally?  Because both descending and ascending imply that He is a heavenly being, the very claim scandalizes His hearers in the first place.  The point simply is that since they do not believe Jesus descended from heaven, they will probably remain unconvinced even if he ascends back to heaven.

Jesus continues the defense of His teaching by setting the notion of flesh over against the spirit.  He insists that the flesh, which here refers to the human way of being in the world, cannot give life.  He points out that only the Spirit gives life, and then He claims that His teaching is both Spirit and Life. And Jesus know that in many instances seeing is not believing because those who have followed Him as disciples have seen the wonders He has performed, yet they do not believe.  Faith in Jesus is not something that comes easily or naturally.  It is a grace given by God.  This grace may have been available to all, but Jesus knows that some will accept Him and some will not.  And as a result of this particular discourse, some of the disciples no longer follow Him.

Jesus then says to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?"  And Peter answers Him, "Master, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life".

Our consideration of Jesus' teaching about the Bread of Life leads us to the threshold of decision.  With all these many different religions going on, and all these confusions in the world nowadays, will we choose Jesus, despite the incredible claims He makes?  Or will we decide to stay where we are, satisfied with the life we are living, or still going and looking for the right religion, like a friend of mine, who went from one religion to another, till the day he died and never found what he really wanted?

Prayer

Dearest Lord,  please show us the way, we believe in You. You are our true God and only You have the words of eternal life. We trust in You.  Please enlighten the minds of those who are so confused, may they see the light in You again.  This we pray through Jesus, Your Son, the Bread of Life.  Amen.