A Hard Saying (21st OT)
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August 24, 2018The word “Christian” literally means “follower of Christ.”
Because we are Christians, we are followers of Christ, but how many of us truly know what that means? Maybe we have never consciously decided to follow him, but we go to Church because of how we were raised or because of our spouse.
Unfortunately, many Catholics simply go through the motions in their spiritual life. They may receive their sacraments and celebrate holidays with their families, but is it possible that Jesus wants us to give more of ourselves to him? To follow Christ truly and fully, we can’t simply go through the motions. We can’t attend Mass and not reverence the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist. Jesus doesn’t want us to attend Mass only to think about the upcoming football game or work on Monday. He wants us to come to Mass, ready to receive his grace and give ourselves entirely to him.
In the Gospel this week, we finish Jesus’s discourse on the Eucharist. After he proclaims that we must eat his flesh and drink his blood to gain eternal life, his disciples must make a decision. Many say that his proclamation concerning the Eucharist is a “hard saying,” but some remain with him and grow in even deeper friendship with him. The same question faces us this week – will we choose to follow Jesus in all he teaches, even in the hard sayings, or will we abandon him for the easier path?
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First Reading ReflectionThe LORD, our God, protected us along our entire journey (Joshua 24:1−2a, 15−17, 18b)
We express loyalty in many different ways: by wearing our team’s colors on gameday, by donating to our alma mater, or by voting for candidates who represent our ideals. Loyalty has a way of interlinking our own interests with those of another. When we commit, our hearts are united, our interests are combined, and we look out for each other’s good. In this reading, Joshua is leading the Israelites in a covenant renewal ceremony. He exhorts them to pledge themselves to the Lord and to repudiate the false gods of their ancestors and neighbors. Specifically, he cites the gods of Egypt, the gods of the Amorites and the gods that the ancestors of Israel worshipped “beyond the River,” that is, back in Mesopotamia beyond the Euphrates. Joshua takes it for granted that the Israelites will “serve” a god. The underlying Hebrew word for this is avad, which means to serve, work, or worship. The Israelites had “served” Pharaoh in Egypt, but now will they commit to serving the Lord? Choosing for the Lord involves rejecting false gods. While we might not be tempted to worship the gods of the Amorites, our “idols” come in many forms: money, pleasure, security, selfishness, etc. We must repudiate our temptations and all evil in order to live for the good. Joshua sets the example for us: “Choose today whom you will serve . . . as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (24:15). Whom will you serve?
Second Reading Reflection
Christ nourishes and cherishes the church because we are members of his body (Ephesians 5:21−32)
Near the end of his Letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul gives us practical teachings about household order, explaining how to embody the Gospel in our family relationships. While he discusses parent-child and master-slave relationships, at the head of the list is marriage, the central family relationship of husband and wife. Sadly, the vision he presents for order in marriage and family life is often misconstrued as license for male domination or misogyny. But in fact, Paul presents a balanced and holistic teaching of Christ-like self-sacrificial love. Here the husband is entrusted with the leadership of the family, hence the wife’s call to “subordination” and “respect”
(5:22, 33). Yet the husband is not off the hook. Rather, he is called to love his wife “even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her” (v. 25). If we have a good appreciation of what Jesus endured for us on Good Friday, then the husband’s role is not one of domineering control, but of sacrificial, servant leadership. The husband is called to love his wife through his suffering on her behalf. In return, Paul notably does not teach the wife to “love” per se, but to “respect,” in which her appreciation for her husband shines through in her esteem for him. When lived out rightly, marriage is a beautiful icon of Christ’s union with his bride, the Church. Paul looks on in awe of this “great mystery” (v. 32). May our marriages and families truly reflect the grandeur of this great mystery!
Gospel Reflection
We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God (John 6:60−69)
At one point or another in life every one of us experiences failure. Failure is a time of crisis in which we can start to doubt ourselves, our purpose, and our plans. It is humbling to fail in relationships, career, or in any other area of our lives. It brings us face to face with our weaknesses and limitations. While Jesus, of course, is the ideal servant of God, the perfect evangelist, even he experienced failure. In this Gospel reading, which immediately follows the Bread of Life Discourse, Jesus’s followers abandon him. His teaching about eating his Flesh and drinking his Blood was too much for them to handle. After hearing it, “many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him” (John 6:66). This moment is a powerful lesson for us. Jesus did nothing wrong and yet his disciples departed. Sometimes when we fail, it is because we really dropped the ball and the negative consequences of our actions serve as a wake-up call to change. Yet, as Jesus’s example shows, it could be that our failure is not the result of mistakes, but the result of decisions and circumstances beyond our control. One thinks of the undeserved guilt that children of divorced parents often feel or the troubled conscience of the last person to speak with a suicide victim. If Jesus can fail, then sometimes we will too, even when the failure is not our fault. The important thing is to stay close to the Lord in the midst of our failures so that we can rebound from our mistakes with the help of his grace.
DISCUSSION:
What has been your experience of your faith journey?
Have you intentionally chosen to follow Jesus and give your life to him? If not, what is holding you back?
What would be the impact of one Christian living his or her life with the Eucharist as the center of his or her life?
What about a whole parish?
DIGGING DEEPER:
Sunday Mass ObligationIt is becoming more and more common that Catholics think Sunday Mass attendance is optional, but this is not what the Church teaches. In fact, skipping Sunday Mass intentionally is a mortal sin. It is a part of the commandments to keep the Sabbath day holy, and to love the Lord our God and no other Gods. If we do something else on Sunday instead of attending Mass, then likely that thing has become an idol to us, which is more important to us than God.
Of course, this is a diffi cult truth to share with people because it ultimately demands something of them. If they aren’t going to Mass on Sundays, they must change their actions. Nevertheless, each one of us truly desires to receive the Eucharist and be united with God in communion. To explain this teaching to someone concerning Sunday Mass attendance is truly a mercy, because it will hopefully bring him or her back into communion with the Church and with God.
Reprinted with permission from Opening the Word at Formed.org .
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