Bible
Study: Joshua 24:1-2A, 15-17, 18. / Ephesians
5: 21-35. / John 6:60-69.
Today’s
readings reminds us of a well-established and undisputable fact – truth is
bitter. There is this thing about the truth that makes it harsh and
unacceptable. Like a bitter herb, truth is often very difficult to swallow. It always
comes as a shock and can turn friends into enemies within seconds. People generally
do not like to hear or be told the truth. And as one musician once sang: “If you
stand for the truth, you will always stand alone.” Today, Jesus was left
standing alone with his disciples in today’s Gospel passage.
Why did
the people walk away from Jesus? Because he told them something they didn’t want
to hear. He didn’t tell them to come and receive miracles, he didn’t tell them
that all their financial problems will end, he didn’t tell them to come so he
can point and kill their enemies, neither did he tell them to come and receive
fruit of the womb or job opportunities.
Yes, Jesus
did not tell them to come and receive signs and wonders yet he was telling them
about the greatest miracle ever since the world began; the miracle of God himself
becoming available to us live and direct in the form of bread and wine. Remember
that this was a crowd that came to Jesus because they wanted something to fill
their empty stomachs. Now they walk away from Jesus because he is offering
something that is more than ordinary food. We too come to Jesus to seek a lot
of things from him but there is only one thing Jesus want us to have; his own
body and blood in Holy Communion.
The bitter
truth is that Holy Communion (the Eucharist) is more important than every other
thing we seek from Jesus be it healing, be it money, be it children or job,
just name it… anything you can think of. None of these things is as precious as
the gift Jesus renders to us by allowing us to eat and drink his flesh and
blood. Does this sound harsh? Perhaps it does because it is the truth and you
may as well walk away from the church right now if you feel disappointed.
Many
times, I hear people talk about the Catholic Church in very derogatory terms. They
say things like, “there is no power in the catholic church,” meaning, that,
things do not happen here, there is nothing like “testimony time,” during our
mass, people do not fall and roll on the floor, no miracle session, and we don’t
have priests who prophesy the future on behalf of people. They see our church
as a dull church where the mass doesn’t even last long enough.
Even our Charismatic
brethren have this strong belief that it is because of them that people are not
leaving the church. They feel that without their style of prayers and what they
offer, many people would abandon the church. Some Catholic priests today go as
far as copying the Pentecostal pastors changing the order of Mass and bringing
in items that are not part of the liturgy in a bid to “keep the people from
leaving.” They do all-night sessions and hold powerful crusades which are very
good spiritual exercises but unfortunately, they rush over the Eucharistic
Prayers as if this part of the mass is not so important and fail to reverence
Christ present in Holy Communion. They forget that there is no prayer that can
be greater than that, which brings Jesus into the sacred species. They are more
concerned with making the people feel good than whether or not they have led
them to repentance and to Jesus. Once again I ask, “Am I sounding too harsh?”
Maybe, but don’t forget that truth is bitter!
In the
Catholic Church, we do not advertise. We don’t go on television to announce
miracles, we do not use bill-boards calling for people to come for special
Sunday anointing (as if there is any Sunday that is not special) or things like
that yet this church that has lasted longer than any other church in the world
continues to blossom. What keeps us going is the Holy Eucharist.
When the
people walked away from Jesus, he turned to the twelve and asked them whether
they too wouldn’t want to leave. That is, Jesus was prepared to be left with
nobody than to compromise the truth. He knew that the success of a church was
not a measure of the quantity of its members but in the quality of their faith.
Jesus was not interested in numbers as much as he was interested in eternal
salvation. Today churches compete for numbers because of pecuniary issues.
As Peter
asked Jesus “To whom shall we go?” Who else has what Jesus is offering? Who else
can give us life? No one! No one can love us to the point of giving us his very
flesh and blood to serve as nourishment for our souls. This is the ultimate
sacrifice which love alone can inspire. That is why St. Paul in our second
reading draws an analogy between the Sacrifice of Christ for the Church and the
relationship that ought to exist between a man and his wife. “Husbands, love
your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to
sanctify her… For no one hates his own flesh but rather
nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church.”
In all of
these, the choice is still up to us. We are free to decide either to walk away or
remain firm in the church that Christ loves so much by sacrificing his flesh
and blood for us in Holy Communion. We are free to go in search of miracles and
signs and wonders, we can even decide to visit native doctors (some of whom
have even upgraded their shrines to church-like structures) but as for me and
my family, I will add my voice to that of Joshua, “This is where I will remain
and I will serve God in my Catholic Faith for the rest of my life.”
Let us
pray:
O my good
Jesus, I come to you. Deepen my love and appreciation for your body and blood
that I may not search for in vain among material things that which you alone
can provide in Holy Communion. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. Happy Sunday.
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