Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 JOS 24:1-2A, 15-17, 18B
Responsorial Psalm PS 34:2-3, 16-17, 18-19, 20-21
- (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
- Reading 2 EPH 5:21-32 OR 5:2A, 25-32
Alleluia JN 6:63C, 68C
- Alleluia, alleluia.
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;
you have the words of everlasting life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel JN 6:60-69
Homily—August 25 & 26, 2018 21st Sunday
Joshua challenged the tribes of Israel in the first reading by asking, “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.”
What are the gods in our lives? What occupies most of our time? What takes up a large part of our budget? What keeps me from going to church? Let us respond like Joshua who said, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Let us serve the Lord and go to church even if it is difficult or inconvenient. The exception is when we are sick or the road and sidewalk conditions are too dangerous for us with slippery conditions due to snow and ice or dangerous wind or freezing rain.
Today is the fifth and final Sunday of our reading from John 6, the second longest chapter in the New Testament (Luke 1 is the longest). The church gives us five Sundays with this chapter precisely because of its profound Eucharistic theology. What began with the multiplication of the loaves ends the following day with nearly all of his disciples abandoning him and returning to their former way of life precisely because of this “hard” saying, “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.”
Jesus then asks the Twelve if they too will leave. We have the impression that if they had chosen to leave, Jesus would simply have started anew. He was not going to change his teaching to attract the crowds. Instead, he would teach what he knew to be true, for his words were Spirit and life. Jesus knows that nobody can come to him, can believe in him, unless it is granted by the Father. In our words, we say faith is a gift. We cannot come to Jesus unless we are given the gift of faith. Only if that special gift is granted by the Father will one believe. All the arguments, discussions, proofs, demonstrations, blog posts, and talks cannot guarantee faith. It is a gift given not by us, but by God the Father.
Peter’s response can be our own when faced with the overwhelming mystery of the gift of faith in the one sent from God. Yet, we should be humble with respect to this mystery, for the gift is not given to all, but only to those whom the Father grants it. In light of this it is good to be patient with those who do not share our faith. And when another does come to faith we can be assured that it is not because of our wondrous evangelization, our dedication to a particular program, or our having memorized specific Scripture verses. God grants faith to those to whom he will.
We can be thankful for this gift of faith that leads to eternal life. We can share it with others. But ultimately it is God the Father who is the giver. Once granted this gift, we, like the disciples, have nowhere to turn but to Jesus. In light of his challenging teachings, the response of Peter is our own. “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
As we go through life there are challenges to our faith and to our life commitments. The sad news coming out of Pennsylvania is unfortunate. We must protect and truly care for children. The Archbishop sent us a statement that I will include in a mailing next week because it is similar to my thoughts on this subject and it is longer than this homily!
We, as a church, have to be examples of goodness and if our sin is a crime we should immediately suffer the consequences so it does not happen to another.
Treasure and protect the gift of faith you have received. If your faith is weak pray for God’s grace to help you. Pray that you may be an example of faith that God can use to bring others to belief.
On March 14, 1986, if you had invested $10,000 into Microsoft stock, it would be worth more than $6,192,264 today. That’s a $619 return for every dollar invested.
Peter and the other “early investor” disciples who followed Jesus have surely reaped untold treasures where the Lord has gone to prepare a place for them. Meanwhile, the market is still open for those who want to invest in Jesus, the Holy One of God. I will continue to invest in the Church but challenge it to be honest and transparent.
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