Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Family,
Are you praying about the kitchen? Did you get around to reading Chapter Six of John’s gospel? … not necessarily in that order!
Marius considering kitchen options.
Marius has definitely considered the first question, judging by his affinity for icing. I’m not sure what being covered in icing means, however, so you probably need to keep up your prayers.
As for John’s Gospel, boy, what a powerful five Sundays we have had. We pictured in our minds the phenomena of mass feeding, commanding nature to become still, walking on water. Then Jesus pushes us to the incredible: to challenge us to believe that we must “eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood.”
Today, on the fifth Sunday of our journey with John, we hear, “This is a hard saying…” Here, ‘hard’ doesn’t mean ‘difficult.’ It means, ‘unacceptable, rigid, offensive.’ Jesus goes further and tells the followers that some will not believe because they can’t acknowledge the fact that Jesus is the way to the Father. They leave. It comes down to the ultimate rejection, not of a doctrine, but of a person. It didn’t matter what he said or the signs he worked. They left because they were locked in the own rigid way of thinking. As today’s gospel said, they went back to their former ways of life.
That is the burden that falls on Jesus. So much to give; so few to receive.
I’ve tried to imagine what Jesus must have felt like. I can’t. For one thing I don’t have the focus and attention to my mission as intensely as Jesus did. I can only hope and pray that I can be with Peter when he says to Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go?” “You are the holy one of God.” For the first time in John’s story, someone comes and expresses belief in Jesus for the right reasons, namely his origins.
When we return to Mark’s gospel next Sunday, things aren’t going to get any lighter. The scribes and Pharisees are going after Jesus because his disciples are not keeping certain regulations. (They were already beginning to reject being stuck in customs and ways that might have prevented them from following Jesus.) Jesus will handle it, but he pays a great price.
Receiving Eucharist here is being a part of the Jesus that lives in eternity, and because we receive him here we are already the stuff of eternal life. We pray we shall be able to stay focused and firmly committed to being like Jesus someone for others.
I’m about to make a really tricky transition, from the mystery of Jesus to our parish picnic/ gathering/barbeque/whatever you’d like to call a friendly gathering of folks from 4 – 6 p.m. (food serving time) next Sunday.
Maybe gathering people in the name of Jesus isn’t so tricky after all. We can do it in many ways, and that’s the life to which Jesus is calling us.
Bon Appétit!
In Jesus,
