August_27_2006

Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, summoning their elders, their leaders, their judges, and their officers. When they stood in ranks before God, Joshua addressed all the people: “If it does not please you to serve the LORD, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your fathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now dwelling. As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

But the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD for the service of other gods. For it was the LORD, our God, who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, out of a state of slavery. He performed those great miracles before our very eyes and protected us along our entire journey and among the peoples through whom we passed. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God.”

Gospel
Jn 6:60-69
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.”

In life, we make choices, we make decisions. Some decisions are hard, others are easy. These decisions and choices that we make have certain implications and consequences for us or even for other people. I know that you as parents know this very well. At times, you have made tough decisions for your children and they did not like it. That’s all about life. The harder the choices, the deeper the love that is given.

Today’s first reading tells us one of the greatest moments in Jewish history. That moment when Joshua, (not me but Joshua of the Gospel), gives us a glimpse of Moses when he assembled the Israelites and put to them this grand question, this vital question, “Decide whom you wish to serve. Do you want to serve other gods or do you want to serve the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?”

As I speak of this, a TV program comes to mind. You remember one time I said, “The TV is my shepherd.” It is not my shepherd but at times, I watch it. I am reminded of that TV program where the participant has to make a decision. It is that decisive moment when you are told; you know this, “Deal or no deal?” What is your response? The participant will give his or her own response. This is actually the same “deal” with the God with a capital G, or “no deal” and then you go with the small god, with the little g. Now choosing God is choosing life. Choosing the little gods of ours, you know them, I don’t want to mention them, is choosing death.

The reading of the book of Joshua connects so well with the Gospel today. Jesus had just finished teaching one of the most difficult but central teachings of his church, the Eucharist. “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life within you.” For the crowds, this was difficult. They could not swallow this. It was a hard saying, “To eat his flesh and drink his blood.” This was, I would say, somewhat of a moment of crisis for Jesus’ followers. For many of the followers, it came to a point where they could not accept what Jesus was saying. They abandoned him. They went home. They said goodbye, adios.

I want to stress one little point here. That those that said adios, goodbye, they were honest with themselves. They said, “OK, we leave you” and they went. Up to this point, this is a kind of honesty, which is sometimes lacking in the church. We need that, to be honest with ourselves, to admit that if we cannot take it, we cannot take it.

This is interesting. When Jesus had said all he had said about the Eucharist, those that left him, he let them go. He did not say, “Wait, wait. I am only speaking in parables or metaphors, or let me explain what I mean.” He even made his point stronger. Even though Jesus was sad to see those people leaving him, he let them go. It was not great crowds that excited Jesus and that made him happy. Not quantity for him, but quality.

This is a point that applies in the church today, what mattered to Him, and what should matter to the church today, is the authenticity and the sincerity of those that remain.

Jesus then turned his face, looked at the apostles, and said to them, “Will you also leave?” I think that question is also addressed to each one of us today. “Will you also leave?” Jesus’ apostles, his disciples, were put at the corner. Their faith was challenged. The question was “were they ready to quit, or to hold on to Jesus?” What they did, we hear deep down, spelling it out. “Lord, with whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” The apostles reconfirmed their faith. They reaffirmed their faith.

That should happen with us also. When we are put at the corner, when we are to make a decision, do we go with Jesus or do we leave him? When there are problems, do we put our attention onto the problem as we saw in the gospel today? The problem was “how could this man give us this food to eat?” That was the problem. Peter saw that and he said, “We need to fix our eyes on Jesus. Let that be what guides us.” Even if we have a little problem, we must constantly reaffirm our faith, and look to Jesus. Look up, do not look down. The moment you look down, you will really see that problem and that problem will enrapture you and you will go nowhere. However, when you fix your eyes on Jesus, you will see the problem with faith, and it is that which will help you. May we, when we are in such times, those moments, be able to reconfirm our faith in Jesus.