“Master, to whom shall we go?”
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
This Sunday's Gospel is one of those times where a choice must be made. Leading up to this story, in the Bread of Life Discourse, Jesus has been talking to the people and to his disciples about the Eucharist. While referring to himself as the "bread of life" often, it is when Jesus speaks of the bread he will give as his flesh and tells them that they must "eat his flesh and drink his blood" if they wish to have life that people are taken aback.
And so in this Sunday's Gospel, it is Jesus' own large group of disciples who say, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?" When Jesus doesn't then soften the blow or try to explain away his teachings as symbolic or misheard, but pushes back against the disciples' objections, we are told: "As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him." People left the Lord... and Jesus let them go.
Jesus then turns to his Apostles, the Twelve disciples closest to him, and asks, "Do you also want to leave?" This must have been an intense moment for them and for Jesus. It is a moment for them to decide whether they will have faith or whether they will try and find another way. A moment of tension and suspense, when their free will is on full display. And then Peter speaks for them all when he says, ""Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." The Apostles chose faith.
These moments of tension and suspense surround us often. In a world that demands scientific explanations for everything, that cannot accept that some things are a mystery, and that cannot comprehend something bigger than what we see, there are often moments where Jesus is asking us, "Do you also want to leave?" The temptation is surely great! But there is always that whisper of truth echoing in our hearts, that knows there is something bigger and greater than the here and now, and saying "To whom shall we go?"
Let us pray that, this week, we may listen to that whisper when those tough moments, those moments that demand faith, arise. And let us pray that the Lord meets us there and pours his grace into our hearts, that we may grow in faith everyday.
Want to read the readings for this Sunday? Click here to find them.