Sunday:       Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Date:         August 23, 2015
Year:         B
The readings: [Jos 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b; Ephes. 4:32-5:2, 21-32; Jn. 6:53, 60-69]
The message:  Do you also wish to go away?
Prepared by:  CATHOLIC DOORS MINISTRY
Total words:  1648

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My brothers and sisters in Christ, as I look at our large gathering, I am reminded of those who gathered around the Lord Jesus when He said, "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you." [Jn. 6:53] What would be our reaction to such words if Jesus was here today? What would be our answer to the question, "Do you also wish to go away?" [Jn. 6:67] Or how about the gathering in the days of Joshua? What would be our answer to his comment, "Choose this day whom you will serve!" [Jos. 24:15]

As Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel who presented themselves before God, [Jos. 24:1-2] we also as Christians are gathered here before God. But this time, it is God who gathered us. For, as Jesus said, "No one can come to Him unless it is granted by the Father." [Jn. 6:65] It is by the grace of God the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit that we are drawn to the Lord Jesus who is "the way, the truth and the life." [Jn. 14:6]

Joshua's message during the First Reading echoed that we cannot serve two gods. Jesus said the same thing. "No one can serve two masters; for (you/the slave) will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." [Mt. 6:24]

Who were the gods of the ancestors in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites that Joshua was speaking about? Their gods were idols, [Gen. 35:4] objects of precious metals. Today, we can compare those gods to the many worldly possession that people place over and above the one and only true God. How many souls dedicate more time towards praising their personal property than they do towards their personal relationship with God? How many place more value in their car, their house, their cottage, their money, their jewelry, their spoon or unicorn collections, their stereo system, forgetting that all these goods were provided by the Lord God for their comfort?

The closing of the First Reading from the Book of Joshua tells us that the people were prepared to make a firm commitment in serving the Lord, "for He is their God." [Jos. 14:18] He is the Lord God who brought their ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did great signs in their sight. He is the Lord God who protected them all the way they went and among the people through whom they passed. [Jos. 14:17-8]

He is the same Lord God who brought our ancestors, including each and everyone of us, out of the kingdom of darkness. He is the same compassionate Lord God who, through the Sacrament of Baptism, delivered each and everyone of us from the slavery of sin. [Rom. 6:6] He is He who has done great signs in our sight to manifest His Divine Presence in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. He is the same Lord who "yearns jealously for the spirit that He has made to dwell in us," [Jas. 4:5] protecting His Church throughout its history so the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. [Mt. 16:18]

For those of us who do not wish to go away, choosing to serve the Lord God, what must we do? St. Paul answers that question in today's reading from the Letter to the Ephesians.

We are to be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven us. [Ephes. 4:32] During the past few years, we have heard a number of messages from the authorities of the Catholic Church. We had messages that called for the forgiveness of the debts to the poor countries. We heard messages that called for the forgiving of sentences to show mercy towards prisoners in the hope of their conversion. These are perfect examples of the love of Christ. For if we cannot share our wealth with the poor by forgiving their debt, how can we call ourselves Christians? If we cannot show mercy towards prisoners by forgiving their sentences, how can we call ourselves Christians? Did Jesus teach us to execute Divine Wrath on our brothers and sisters or did He tell us to turn the other cheek? [Mt. 5:39] For it is the act of love that changes the heart, not the act of oppression and revenge!

We are called to be imitators of God, as beloved children. [Ephes. 5:1] As Jesus came to serve, we are called to serve one another. Jesus said, "Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor." [Jn. 12:26] How do we serve the Lord Jesus? Jesus answers that question. "For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me." [Mt. 25:35-6]

Love is also manifested in the matrimonial relationship. Wives are to be subject to their husbands [Ephes. 5:22] and husbands are to love their wives, [Ephes. 5:25] just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. As the Church is subject to Christ, the husband is subject to the Church. All these truths have been revealed to us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the writing of the Holy Bible. While everyone is subject to someone of higher authority, this does not give the authority to the Church to abuse its power, nor to the husband to abuse his power. In love, we are to grow in holiness as brothers and sisters in Christ. We are to grow in holiness so the husband can present his wife to God in a beauty that is equal to the splendour in which Christ will present the Church to the heavenly Father, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind. [Ephes. 5:27]

We are all members of the Body of Christ. [Ephes. 5:30] As such, our membership requires that we tend to those under our authority in the same way as we take care of our bodies. No one hates his body. He nourishes it and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the Church. The Pope, as our spiritual father, nourishes us with spiritual food, caring for us as Christ cared for us. The Bishops nourish and care for their dioceses. The priests nourish and care for the sheep in their parishes. Husbands nourish and care for their wives who in turn nourish and care for their children. And each one of the aforementioned does so by humbly serving the other.

During today's reading from the Gospel of John, we heard Jesus say, "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." [Jn. 6:53] Through those words, Jesus was preparing the way for the revelation of His continued Divine Presence in the world through the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Jesus was saying, that unless we receive the Living Bread, the Holy Eucharist, we have no life in us.

Most likely, when Jesus spoke those words, none understood them for the Last Supper and the Resurrection had not yet come to pass. Like many said, "This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" [Jn. 6:60] Because of this, many of his disciples turned back, no longer going about with Jesus.

But those who had faith in the Lord, those who had been called by the Father, they trusted in Jesus. They trusted that in time, their hearts would be open to what Jesus was saying. They were disposed as Peter was when he said, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." [Jn. 6:68]

In His teachings, Jesus said, "It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless." [Jn. 6:63] These words are echoed in The Letter of James where it states: "The body without the spirit is dead." [Jas. 2:26] Among many other truths that Jesus was preaching, He was teaching that the new creation that we received during the Sacrament of Baptism, is the means through which we receive eternal life in the Kingdom of God. For, "no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit." [Jn. 3:5] No one can enter the Kingdom of God unless they were born again and have received the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Knowing these holy truths, what do we want to do? Do we also wish to go away? Or should we choose this day who we will serve? Whatever we choose, we must make sure that it is the right decision because there is no second chance once we are called to appear before the Lord Jesus in judgment. Whatever we choose, we better make sure we do it with a sincerity of heart for we cannot serve two masters. Whatever we choose, we better pray that it is in answer to the calling of God the Father, He who is our assurance of the blessed hope in the adoption and inheritance of the children of the Lord.

This week, let us reflect upon our commitment towards the Lord Jesus. Let us dread just the thought of Jesus asking us, "Do you also wish to go away?"

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The readings...

[The readings were taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (C) 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America.]

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First Reading...

"Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel: and they presented themselves before God.

And Joshua said to all the people, “If you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

Then the people answered, "For be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the people through whom we passed. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God." [Joshua 24:1-2a, 15-7, 18b]

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Second Reading...

"brothers and sisters, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Saviour. Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendour, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind - yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish.

In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, because we are members of his body.

'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church." [Eph. 4:32-5:2, 21-32]

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Gospel Reading...

"Jesus said to his disciples: 'Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.'

When many of his disciples heard this, they said: 'This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?'

But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, 'Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life: the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.' For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him,

And he said, 'For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.'

Because of this, many of his disciples turned back, and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, 'Do you also wish to go away?'

Simon Peter answered him, 'Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.'" [Jn. 6:53, 60-9]

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