21st Sunday – Joshua 24:1-2,15-18; Psalm 33:2-3,16-23, Ephesians 5:21-32; John 6:60-69
“Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God”.
This speech was difficult, in which Jesus claimed that He was the Bread that came down from heaven; that He must be eaten and that whoever does so has eternal life. Yes, difficult. Was it also scandalous? To such an extent that you would give up following Jesus?
If we remember that this “eating” means above all accepting Jesus, with all its consequences, then it is no wonder. After all, it means that we must abandon the beaten path. Moses, Elijah, the scribes fade into the background. The zeal of the Pharisee is no longer enough either. We must accept Jesus with His path to the cross and the requirement to love as He loved. It is a difficult path. . .
Today we also have our Moses and Elijahs, we have our scholars in the law and our own vision of religious zeal. The question is, where is Christ really in all of this? Are we not building our faith on a completely different foundation? On the foundation of our own ideas and habits very far from the Gospel?
But in reality, only Jesus has the words of eternal life. Even if because of Him a person in this world – humanly speaking –has to constantly lose. There is no other path to a happy eternity.
I realise, Lord, that there is no other path to salvation than You. Forgive me for entering this path so clumsily, and that there are only opposition and fears in me. I know that by accepting You I am not doing You any favour. It is You who show it to me. . .