August 23, 2015

21^st Sunday in Ordinary Time B

Joshua 24: 1-2; 15-18; Ephesians 5: 21-32; John 6: 60-69

Down through the years I have made many, many choices. Each day I make several choices. The readings today talk about choices, but these are the major life choices and they are all involved with each and every person choosing God.

The first reading is taken from the Book of Joshua. Moses had died and was buried in the land of Moab, on the eastern shore of the Jordan River with the Promised Land in sight. Joshua was his successor and the purpose of this book is to demonstrate God’s continued faithfulness to the Israelites as they journey into the Promised Land. It begins with the conquest of Jericho and then onto those living in the Palestinian mountain range and then two sweeping campaigns against the city states. Then began to form the borders of the eventual Holy Land. Today’s reading is taken from the last chapter of the book and Joshua has gathered all the tribes together. He reminds them of all that God has done for them and they promise to serve only God. But Joshua says in the next verse (v 19), “You may not be able to serve the Lord, for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God who will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If after the good He has done for you, you forsake the Lord and serve strange gods, He will do evil to you and destroy.” But the people answered Joshua, ‘We will still serve the Lord.” I take time to look at all that the Lord has done for me—this is an impossible list to assemble since God has done everything for me every day. Do I realize this, I’m ashamed to say no. Am I grateful for all that God has done and continues to do for me? I try but the few times I say ‘Thank You’ pale against the number of times I forget. And God continues to love me at all times and helps me each and every moment. The question before me: am I choosing God each moment or do I fall back into my own comfort zone of taking care of me? The message for me today is Choose God!

Paul is writing to the Ephesians today and the selection is an example of a household code, rules for the correct running of each household in antiquity. These codes followed the strict patriarchal standards of Greco-Roman society. They limited the leadership and behavior of women and slaves. Why does Paul spend time on these? Paul and his readers expected the final coming of Jesus (the Parousia) in their own lifetime. Since this was coming they didn’t spend time on addressing social issues. Since this is in today’s letter it suggests a more developed church emerging and thus beginnings of their misunderstanding of the final Parousia. Its saying: this is how things are to be…this is our culture…this is how we have been raised. And I apply these to myself: this is what my religion is all about…this is how I was raised and taught…this is the faith that has been passed on to me. What am I preferring to my faith?

The Gospel selection today concludes the Bread of Life Discourse. Now the disciples must make a choice. For some of them, Jesus’ self-description as the bread of life that must be devoured is taken literally. They find this ridiculous. It is way “too hard”, so they leave. Where do they go? Back to the life they had been living, the beliefs that they had been following, all without Christ. What a horrifying thought. Living without Jesus…yet often in my daily life I choose not to live the way Jesus taught me and showed me. Life is the continued falling but realizing that I’m forever loved and the Lord picks me up. Leaving this, is horrific. And Peter said, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that You are the Holy One of God.”

John, A Devotional Commentary offers this wonderful meditation: “Jesus had just delivered a central teaching to the people concerning the gift of His body and blood as a source of life to all Christians. The reality of this truth must be as much a part of our spiritual lives as food and drink are to our physical lives. Yet, even Jesus’ own disciples found the teaching hard to understand, and even harden to accept.

John tells us that some of those who listened to Jesus turned away at this point and followed Him no longer (John 6:66). As a consequence, they received nothing more from Him. However, those whose minds were open to God were able to receive the promise of eternal life, even though their understanding of His words remained incomplete. This contrast between those who left and those who remained illustrates an important spiritual truth: A mind dominated by the flesh insists upon understanding before it will believe. However, the spiritual mind will believe even before it has full understanding.

If we try to grasp the truths of God’s kingdom with our human minds alone, we will conclude that the gospel is foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18). In order to understand what pleases God, we must call upon His Holy Spirit for enlightenment—in prayer, in scripture, and by seeking His will throughout the day. Often we believe that if we had more education, greater intelligence, or deeper understanding, we would be more able to please God, be ‘better Christians,’ and live His word more readily. But we must recall Jesus’ words: ‘It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail’ (John 6: 63).

To think according to God’s mind, we must ask the Spirit to teach us. God said: ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than you ways and My thoughts than your thoughts’ (Isaiah 55:9). All our human resources were affected by our fall into sin and are therefore unable to bring us into a personal, living knowledge of the Father. It is only by the Holy Spirit that spiritual truths can come to life for us and bring us into a new relationship with God. Let us ask the Spirit to enlighten our minds and give us greater understanding about the truths of our faith.”

So I reflect on:

• What teachings of Jesus do I find most difficult? What about them makes them that difficult for me?
• How can I try to put other people’s interests ahead of my own? What would my world look like if everyone did this?
• Who is God to me today? What difference does God make in my life? What might my life be like without my belief in God?
• How does Jesus fulfill God’s covenant with me and all Christians? Do I feel a direct connection to God through Jesus?
• How do I reconcile the communal message of the gospel with society’s belief in individual freedom?

Sacred Space 2015 adds:

“The teaching about the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is difficult. Believing in it is an act of faith, itself a gift of the Father. Like any gift we receive, it is useless unless we use it. We renew our faith each time we kneel in Jesus’ presence and adore Him.

Jesus did not try to explain away what He had said, even when ‘many of His disciples no longer went about with Him’. He knows that He is nothing less than the longed-for divine presence in our world. Lord, deepen my commitment to You and to Your Word.”