August 22 2021. Twenty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL John 6:60-69

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

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GOSPEL John 6:60-69

After hearing his doctrine many of the followers of Jesus said, ‘This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?’ Jesus was aware that his followers were complaining about it and said, ‘Does this upset you? What if you should see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before?

‘It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer.

The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

‘But there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the outset those who did not believe, and who it was that would betray him. He went on, ‘this is why I told you that no one could come to me unless the Father allows him.’After this, many of his disciples left him and stopped going with him.

Then Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘What about you, do you want to go away too?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘Lord, who shall we go to?

You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.’

THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Summary . . . If we try to understand Jesus’ teaching according to the criteria of the flesh, then we will never comprehend him! The criteria of the flesh stipulate that you only give if you expect to receive something back. We are nervous of Jesus’ offering of himself because we suspect that he is demanding something in return! It is important to comprehend the words of Jesus according to the criteria of the Spirit. Jesus wants us to look at him with the eyes of the Spirit and to follow him in freedom. He does not compel the disciples to follow him, but simply asks, “Will you leave me too?” Peter replies, “To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe that you are the holy one of God”. Like Peter, we must follow Jesus, not out of coercion, but because we see the beauty of Christ, his life-giving love, his generosity, his holiness.

The disciples find it hard to accept Jesus’ teaching because they listen according to the criteria of the flesh rather than the Spirit

This Sunday we hear the last part of the long and vibrant discourse of the Lord in the synagogue of Capernaum. In this discourse, Jesus offers himself to us in sacrifice, as bread, as a gift of the Father. He is not demanding something from us, but offering himself to us. In this gift, which we celebrate in the Eucharist, there is the promise of eternity for the recipient this provokes a reaction of incredulity and rejection. The text tells us that it is certain members of the disciples who reject him, not passers-by or strangers. The disciples begin to grumble, saying, “Who can accept this teaching? It is very difficult”. Why is this particular teaching so difficult? Jesus himself tells us why: “It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh is no good for anything. The words that I gave you are Spirit and life”. The “flesh” refers to our human and horizontally-oriented mode of being. Can the words of the Lord be comprehended within our carnal mode of logic? No, absolutely impossible! Our carnal logic functions according to principles like the conservation of energy: nothing can be created or destroyed. I am reluctant to accept gifts from another person because I fear that this will oblige me to make a repayment of some sort, a repayment that I may not be willing to make. Psychologically we defend ourselves against possible losses or sufferings. Thus, we listen to the words of the Lord according to the criteria of the flesh rather than the Spirit, even though the flesh (as Jesus says) avails nothing.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus invites us to follow him. True adult decision-making requires freedom and motivation on our part

This brings us to the crux of the matter. In the first reading, after the conquest of the Promised Land, Joshua surprisingly proposes that the covenant pledges be renewed. The people have been journeying for forty years in the desert. The Lord has shown his power in the battle for the possession of the land. Finally the people have been installed in the land that was promised to them. We have arrived at the last act in this process that began with the sending of Moses into Egypt. Joshua asks them: “Are you willing to serve the Lord, or will you follow the gods and idols of this land of Canaan, the very things that you were liberated from when you came out of Egypt?” This is an invitation by Joshua, not a command. In the Gospel, many of the disciples do not accept the gift that is being offered to them in Christ. They do not accept the gratuity of the gift; they do not accept the love that is being offered to them; they do not accept the state of their own impoverishment and that they are the object of acts of benevolence, like someone who is proud and will not accept assistance from another. Jesus turns to them and says, “Will you too leave me?” He does not say, “Please don’t abandon me! The marketing plan is going badly! We’re losing our share of the audience!” No, Jesus is not interested in anything that does not flow from human liberty. He does not force his disciples to follow him. Rather, he gives them the opportunity to leave him if they so choose. Jesus wants a motivated free choice on our part. All too often we tend to manage things using force and powers of coercion. Sometimes we ourselves prefer to be constrained in our actions rather than free. The dictators and despots of history did not appear by themselves. They have always been convoked by a part of the people. Freedom is an area of great uncertainty because it requires decision-making. It involves a certain uncertainty. The true foundation of authentic decision making is the free decision to go in an adult - rather than infantile – direction. Here there is the risk of making a mistake. Often we prefer to be led rather than choose to follow. We do not want the responsibility of adult decision-making.

What can motivate us to follow the Lord freely? Like St Peter, we are motivated by the Lord’s holiness, his generosity, his beauty, his love. Jesus does not want to coerce us to follow him. He wants us to know his beauty and his love and to opt for him in liberty.

The foundation of true decision-making is the liberty to choose the beauty of God, not obligation or coercion. Peter says, “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” We are Christians because Christ is beautiful, not because it is demanding to follow him. As Peter goes on to say, “We have believed and known that you are the holy one of God”. We have experienced his holiness and we trust in him. We obey him because he is beautiful and generous; because he is good and treats us well; because he does not disappoint us; because he does not follow our logic; because he follows the Spirit which is the deepest part of our being; because he does not follow our flesh, our banality, our superficiality; because he is something that illuminates our entire lives. We follow the Lord Jesus because there is no-one else who is so beautiful or interesting. “To whom shall we go?” Where else will we find what Christ gives? Where will we find such great love and mercy?