The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to take a leap of faith as our response to areas of our relationship with God seem to be in discord with our present understanding.
In the reading from the Prophet Joshua, the Tribes Renew the Covenant.
* [24:2] Beyond the River: east of the Euphrates; cf. Gn 11:28–31. (Joshua, CHAPTER 24 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 34 offers praise for Deliverance from Trouble.
* [Psalm 34] A thanksgiving in acrostic form, each line beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In this Psalm one letter is missing and two are in reverse order. The psalmist, fresh from the experience of being rescued (Ps 34:5, 7), can teach the “poor,” those who are defenseless, to trust in God alone (Ps 34:4, 12). God will make them powerful (Ps 34:5–11) and give them protection (Ps 34:12–22). (Psalms, PSALM 34 | USCCB, n.d.)
The reading from the Letter to the Ephesians defines the Christian Household and the relationship between Wives and Husbands.
* [5:21–33] The apostle exhorts married Christians to a strong mutual love. Holding with Gn 2:24 that marriage is a divine institution (Eph 5:31), Paul sees Christian marriage as taking on a new meaning symbolic of the intimate relationship of love between Christ and the church. The wife should serve her husband in the same spirit as that of the church’s service to Christ (Eph 5:22, 24), and the husband should care for his wife with the devotion of Christ to the church (Eph 5:25–30). Paul gives to the Genesis passage its highest meaning in the light of the union of Christ and the church, of which Christlike loyalty and devotion in Christian marriage are a clear reflection (Eph 5:31–33). (Ephesians, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of John, Peter proclaims that Jesus has the Words of Eternal Life.
* [6:60–71] These verses refer more to themes of Jn 6:35–50 than to those of Jn 6:51–58 and seem to be addressed to members of the Johannine community who found it difficult to accept the high christology reflected in the bread of life discourse.
* [6:62] This unfinished conditional sentence is obscure. Probably there is a reference to Jn 6:49–51. Jesus claims to be the bread that comes down from heaven (Jn 6:50); this claim provokes incredulity (Jn 6:60); and so Jesus is pictured as asking what his disciples will say when he goes up to heaven.
* [6:63] Spirit,flesh: probably not a reference to the eucharistic body of Jesus but to the supernatural and the natural, as in Jn 3:6. Spirit and life: all Jesus said about the bread of life is the revelation of the Spirit. (John, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)
Rev. Martha Slocombe asks “How many times in life are we pushed or nudged into growth?”
In John 6:60-69, that's what Jesus was doing. After the disciples complained that following Jesus was so hard that they didn't understand why anyone would do it, Jesus said, "Does this shock you?" Jesus laid it out for them and says that he's got "Spirit and life," which is the most important thing of all. Many of his followers left and gave it all up. Because it was hard and they were being confronted with that inevitability. But for those who stayed, it solidified their dedication to Jesus who has "the words of eternal life." It made them come to terms with the fear of the difficulty: that it was worth it. That life following Jesus provided meaning and growth, even when it was hard. (Slocombe, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Eat Life - Drink Life,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"'Unless you eat My Flesh and drink My Blood, you shall not have life in you,' says the Lord. Eat life - drink life. You will then have life, and life is complete. Then the Body and Blood of Christ will be life for each person under this condition: what is eaten visibly in the Sacrament be spiritually eaten and spiritually drunk in truth itself." (excerpt from Sermon 102,2) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 6:60-69 notes that Peter, speaking for himself and the rest of the Twelve, cut through the confusion with one simple question: “Master, to whom shall we go?” (John 6:68). There was no one like Jesus. He truly was “the Holy One of God” (6:69). Peter couldn’t let his lack of understanding derail him. He trusted that if he stayed close to Jesus, asked questions, listened carefully, and kept an open heart, he would one day get the answers he sought. Even if it took years, he would still stick with the One whose love and grace had changed his heart so dramatically.
Do some of Jesus’ words confuse you or scandalize you? Don’t let them cast a shadow over everything else you have heard. Certainly don’t let them cause you to doubt his love for you or for others! Instead, draw closer to him. Recall how patient he has been with you, and resolve to be just as patient in waiting for the answers you seek. And remember: you have the gift of faith for just this very purpose. Allow that supernatural grace to help you trust in the Lord even when you don’t understand.
Jesus truly is the Holy One of God. There’s nowhere else you can go to receive all that he has for you.
“Lord, help me to stay close to you, especially when I have questions.” (Meditation on John 6:60-69, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the challenging scenario confronting Joshua and the refugees from Egypt as they pondered their path as Servants of Yahweh. The Stoic influence in the Ephesians passage outlining the responsibilities of men and women in marriage is a hint that Paul, who in Corinthians paid little attention to marriage, may not have authored Ephesians. Friar Jude notes the possibility that the Bread of Life Discourse may have been written in stages as “flesh” associated with the Real Presence becomes opposed to the Spirit. Friar Jude reminds us that Peter is given an unusual positive betrayal for the Gospel of John.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares his paradigm for the transformative process of spiritual maturity:
ORDER: At this first stage, if we are granted it (and not all are), we feel innocent and safe. Everything is basically good. It is our “first naïveté.” Those who try to stay in this first satisfying explanation of “how things should be” tend to refuse and avoid any confusion, conflict, inconsistencies, or suffering. Disorder or change is always to be avoided, the ego believes, so let’s just hunker down and pretend that my status quo is entirely good, should be good for everybody, and is always “true” and even the only truth.
DISORDER: At some point in our lives, we will be deeply disappointed by what we were originally taught, by where our choices have led us, or by the seemingly random tragedies that take place in all our lives. There will be a death, a disease, a disruption to our normal way of thinking or being in the world. It is necessary if any real growth is to occur.
This is the Disorder stage, or what we call from the Adam and Eve story the “fall.” Some people try to return to the original Order and do not accept reality, which prevents them from further growth. Others, especially today, seem to have given up and decided that “there is no universal order,” or at least no order to which they will submit. That’s the postmodern stance, which distrusts all grand narratives, including often any notions of reason, a common human nature, social progress, universal human norms, absolute truth, and objective reality. Permanent residence in this stage tends to make people rather negative and cynical, usually angry, and quite opinionated and dogmatic as they search for some solid ground. [1]
REORDER: Only in the final Reorder stage can darkness and light coexist, can paradox be okay. We are finally at home in the only world that ever existed. This is true and contemplative knowing. Here death is a part of life, and failure is a part of victory. Opposites collide and unite, and everything belongs. [2] (Rohr, n.d.)
We are attracted to scenarios that offer security and certainty even as the Spirit is our guide to the necessary and mysterious fullness of Life as followers of Jesus Way.
References
Ephesians, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 25, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ephesians/5?21
John, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 25, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/6?60
Joshua, CHAPTER 24 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 25, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/joshua/24?1
Meditation on John 6:60-69. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 25, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/08/25/1060210/
Psalms, PSALM 34 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 25, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/34?2
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 25, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/order-disorder-reorder-8-25-2024/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). You Have the Words of Everlasting Life. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 25, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=aug25
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