The context of Today’s gospel is quite surprising. You know, Jesus completed His beautiful and profound discourse on the Holy Eucharist stating clearly that His flesh is real food and His blood is real drink and that unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood you have no life in you, and as a result of His teaching, there were many who “returned to their former way of life and no longer walked with Him” any more. In other words, Jesus’ teaching (today about the Eucharist) was difficult for many to accept and believe.
We can see also, that after many leave Him as a result, He does not back-pedal or change what He said. Instead, He asks His Apostles if they wish to leave also.
What can we see in today’s gospel? I can see complete freedom to choose. Jesus never pressures me and anybody to believe what He taught. Instead, He offers an invitation and respects my free will, to believe or reject of His teaching. As the Apostles are truly free to accept or reject it, we are truly free as well. Nothing is changed for ages on that case. It is this freedom that allows all of us to radically deepen our faith in Jesus or totally reject it.
So, today my reflection about gospel leads me to these experiences:
1) I’ve seen a few times some priests who were trying – at any costs – to keep people in the church. You know… When they noticed that people started walking away from church because they didn’t like doctrine from the pulpit or disagree with the church’s teaching… For example: believers didn’t like to listen anything about purgatory or confession and sin… in a result priests changed their teachings… instead of preaching about what is true they started preaching what people wanted to hear. Just to keep people in church.
But today’s gospel shows to us that Jesus wasn’t like that. For Jesus, quality was more important that quantity. Jesus wasn’t scared that many will leave Him. Instead, He let the people be free. But He didn’t change his teaching, He also didn’t running around the villages to catch the people, and at any costs pull them back to His disciples. He wasn’t like that. And I like Him like that – total respect for free will.
2) “Master, to whom shall we go?” – these words of Peter reveal an important thing: this was a difficult situation when people were walking away from Jesus; but Peter and the other Apostles were aware that they must believe despite the difficulty. Just because many left Jesus and refused to accept His words wasn’t enough reason for the Apostles to leave Him, also. In fact, we can hear in Peter’s words a manifestation of faith that they have come to believe in Jesus so completely that leaving Him would be utter foolishness. Where would they go? Why would they leave? Peter reaffirms his faith in Jesus even though following Him at that moment was not the “popular” thing to do. And I like his point very much.
I’m thinking today, upon my own level of commitment to Jesus. I know that I’m completely free to follow Him or to leave Him, and He respects my free will very much. But I also know, that if somebody wants to follow Him, he/she can’t do it half way. Jesus’ words are powerful, challenging and demanding. He wants us to believe in Him and follow Him with our whole hearts and with profound commitment.
So, I know nothing about tomorrow or a month ahead but today I’m ready to do it. What about you?
Tomasz MAMELKA - Timperley 