Gospel Reflection Aug 25 – Deacon Frank Iannarino
Sunday, August 25
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
John 6: 60-69
Gospel:
Many of Jesus’ disciples who were listening said,
“This saying is hard; who can accept it?”
Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,
he said to them, “Does this shock you?
What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending
to where he was before?
It is the spirit that gives life,
while the flesh is of no avail.
The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.
But there are some of you who do not believe.”
Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe
and the one who would betray him.
And he said,
“For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me
unless it is granted him by my Father.”
As a result of this,
many of his disciples returned to their former way of life
and no longer accompanied him.
Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
We have come to believe
and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”
Gospel Reflection:
For five weeks our Gospel reading has been from the beautiful sixth chapter of St. John. The sixth chapter began with Jesus feeding a great crowd with just five loaves of bread and two fish. It developed further with Jesus, telling the crowd that he had a better food he wanted to offer them, the bread of life, which was himself. We heard Jesus insist last week “… whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood as eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.” His listeners respond as we will hear in this Sunday’s gospel: “…this is a hard saying, who can accept it?” And they started walking away.
If anyone doubts as to whether Jesus wanted them to take him literally when he said, “this is my body,” this passage should take away all doubts. Jesus didn’t call his followers who were leaving him to come back. He did not run after them or say “wait…don’t go…you misunderstood me. What I said, I meant symbolically.” Jesus knew they heard him clearly and they understood him perfectly. He let them go their way. He just asked the Apostles, “are you going to leave me too?”
Like those who struggled hearing these words of Jesus centuries ago, these words may also be a challenge for many people today to grasp. When we believe something we cannot understand, or we cannot prove, when we believe it simply because someone we trust told us, we call that faith. This was the faith. Peter showed when Jesus asked the apostles if they were going to leave. Peter responded, ” … to whom shall we go?”
Peter didn’t understand completely what Jesus was saying any better than those who were leaving Jesus, but, as he said further: “… we have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”
Many of us know that sometimes Peter put his foot in his mouth, but this time he answered perfectly. It is as good an answer as we could give to anyone as to why we will be at Mass this weekend.
Deacon Frank Iannarino