Words of Eternal Life

 

Words of Eternal Life

Jn 6: 60 – 69

21sth Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Introduction

For the past three Sundays, our readings have been about Jesus who revealed himself to the crowd as the bread come down from heaven. Today’s reading, however, reveals the negative reactions of the crowd regarding this revelation with some of them deciding not to follow Jesus anymore.

Our Gospel begins with many of Jesus’ disciples saying: “ This saying is hard, who can accept it.”  They were referring to what Jesus has said; that he is the bread come down from heaven; that this bread is his own flesh; and that his flesh is real food, his blood real drink; that anyone who eats of his flesh and drinks his blood will know no hunger or thirst but will have eternal life.

The full revelation of Jesus as bread come down from heaven seemed too difficult to accept for Jesus’ disciples who, for all this time, have followed him closely as he taught and moved around Galilee. Not anymore.

Many of them turned away and decided not to follow Jesus anymore. The Gospel describes this turning away from Jesus this way: “ many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.”

Jesus told them that the words he has spoken to them are spirit and life and that it is only the Father who makes it possible for people to understand and come to him.

It must have been quite a scene to see many of Jesus’ disciples turning their backs at him. They have long followed Jesus perhaps because of his miracles. But when Jesus spoke to them about himself as the bread of life, they were turned off. The words of Jesus turned them off. The words of God, uttered by Jesus, turned them off.  They simply couldn’t make sense of what God was telling them in and through Jesus.

However, not all of them went away. As Jesus turned to the twelve disciples, he asked them candidly: “ Do you also want to leave?”  At this, Simon Peter answered: “ 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.”

Reflection

The word of Jesus is the word of God. Jesus’ words can sometimes turn us off especially when they demand from us faith and trust in him. These demands become particularly difficult when we don’t understand what God is telling us. But we really never get to  understand because we don’t listen well enough to God’s word.

Like those who left Jesus, we simply dismiss God’s word as hard and difficult. Because of this, we end up turning our backs on Jesus, eventually returning to our former way of life because we have not listened well enough.

 Returning to our former way of life would mean a life without Jesus. A life without Jesus would be a life without his life giving words. Jesus’ words are “spirit and life” because they show us the way to live life fully.

While this gospel may depict the sad reality of those who have forsaken Jesus because of his words, it also speaks to us about loyalty and fidelity to Jesus also because of his word. We see this loyalty and fidelity to Jesus in the twelve disciples headed by Simon Peter who said:“ Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

The words of Simon Peter reveal to us that the twelve disciples continued to follow Jesus because Jesus had words of eternal life. They followed Jesus simply because of his words, and not for anything else.

This gospel reading invites to listen to the word of God so we may understand what God is telling us.  It is careful and attentive listening to the word of God that makes us follow Jesus and not forsake him. It is attentive listening the word of God that gives us the certainty of where to go, just like the certainty of the twelve disciples who remained with Jesus as they said: 

“ Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Amen.

“ O that today you would listen to his voice!  Do not harden your hearts.”  - Psalm 95: 7-8