We
reach the grand conclusion of the great Discourse on the Most Holy Eucharist
today, as it is related to us in the Gospel of St. John. This
doctrine and reality are central and essential to Jesus whole mission. He came
into the world to redeem it and to give it the “key to life.” The Eucharistic
presence of his own real Body and Blood in transubstantiated elements of bread
and wine is that key! It is not a secret key, nor an invisible key, but it does
take something very special in order to see it, use it and operate it: it takes
faith, simple faith! Faith being the gift of God and our cooperation with it,
which gives the ability to see all things as God sees them, as they really are;
and to use them the way he intends for them to be used.
It is quite apparent that many
of Jesus’ disciples did not accept the gift of faith, and so they could not use
it; and therefore their only course of action was to murmur about his insistence that they eat his real flesh and drink his
real blood, and so they walk away confused and probably a bit annoyed that
following Jesus around for so long a time ended with this impasse. Jesus
then makes reference to how things are seen with the eyes of faith, rather than
the human eyes: all things, but especially religious things must have something
to do with “Spirit and life” – these things are “super-natural” – these things
are the fruit of the activation of a simple and real faith!
And so, Jesus says to those
who wander away, then “go, go, but remember I told you that no one can come to
me and remain unless it is granted him by my Father,” apparently, for the time
being, it has not been granted to you – but maybe, in time; I will pray for you
for a time in the future when you will be more pliant to the action of the
Spirit in your life.
And
you,
he then turns to the Apostles and says, do
you want to go too? After I have very carefully given you the benefit of
countless hours of “private lessons” and practical experience even on difficult
matters to understand – do you want to
leave me too? But then Peter, speaking for the rest, as he always did said
to him: Lord, to whom shall we go (quo
vadis?), you have the words of eternal life; we have come to believe and are
convinced that you are the Holy One of God. How relieved Jesus must have
been, we can see him smiling at Peter now, and the others, and saying to them: thank you, for your sakes, thank you, and
you shall see and hear even greater things in the very near future!
The first reading today, in a
sense gives us another decision made for
God, rather than against him, a walking away: Joshua, addressing the elders of
the tribes of Israel said: decide who you
will serve from now on (which way are you going to go?); but as for me and my household, we will serve
the Lord. Any other kind of life, such as the kind the other tribes were
involved in, just did not seem right to Joshua – and so he made his choice and
God was very pleased. And, because of
Joshua’s example, the rest of the tribes chose the Lord too.
Sometimes, it takes a simple
straightforward statement in favor of God and his ways for others to activate
faith, to “get onboard” – like Joshua, like Peter, like all the Apostles and
their successors – and billions of disciples of Christ throughout the ages – we
too can influence others to set their sights on heavenly goals, and to modify
their earthly sojourn in order for it to end up in the right place at the right
time!
Taste
and see the goodness of the Lord, and then tell everyone you
can about it, and let them know that it is for them too!
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