Good morning good people, May the Lord bless you with peace and health in the Holy Spirit. It is 22nd August 2021. Though it is the feast of Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Lord’s day takes precedence. Hence we celebrate the 21st Sunday of the Ordinary Time.
We reflect on Joshua 24:1-2, 15-18; Ephesians 5:21-32 and the Gospel of John 6:60-69.
“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.”
Faith is indeed a conscious decision we make in believing or refusing to believe God. It is indeed a challenge and a test for each one of us when we face with situation, we cannot process it humanly speaking.
We all love to sing a hymn: I have decided to follow Jesus; no turning back and no turning back. But I would like to ask: Have we decided to follow Jesus?
A bishop made a pastoral visit. In view of it, the parish priest trained all children how to respond during the mass and prepared them thoroughly. He told them repeatedly that when the bishop tells, the Lord be with you, the children all have to answer – And also with you. Bishop started the Mass, but the mike did not work. So, he turned to the parish priest and said: something is wrong with the mike. The well-trained children in one chorus said: and, with you. Are we having a parroting faith?
The readings of the day invite us to respond with a decision that we can celebrate daily.
Life is not between chance and choice; it is a moment of choice.
In the first reading, Joshua calls the people of Israel to decide. The Lord expects a statement of hope as a new era in the history of salvation unfolds. Joshua, the bravest commander in Jewish history, invites people to choose whom they wish to serve: the God of their ancestors or the false gods of the land they now inhabit. Joshua tells the people. Whatever your decision, be sure to say, “I and my household will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15). Just like Joshua, we too have the responsibility to invite our families to choose God. “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse— the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known. (Duet. 11:26-28).
The first and the third readings call us to make the right decisions in our lives. Even if the whole world opposes the truth about the Mystery of Faith, the Eucharist, it cannot be distorted. “The Eucharist is ‘the source and summit of the Christian life. and it remains the bone of contention between church and believing communities.
The Jewish tradition teaches us: We are not the chosen people, but the choosing people.”
It is no wonder, many left Jesus after listening to the discourse on the Eucharist. The confession of Peter on behalf the rest stresses the importance of the Word of God. Yes, the Word of God gives life, heals, empowers, cleanses us, and remains a light to our living.
The choice that Joshua offered to the people of Israel echoes in the Gospel today. Whether to join with Jesus or to join with the unbelievers, the choice is ours. Many followers were confused after listening to the discourse on the Bread of life. The language of Jesus was too powerful for them to understand.
When we are confused, we do not know to make the right decision. An old lady went to the shrine of St. Michael. She bought two beautiful roses and went near the statue of the Angel and prayed for a while holding the flowers in her hand. Then she left one flower for St. Michael and another one flower for the devil under his foot. Seeing this devotion, the parish priest got irritated and called her to the office to explain her actions. She said to the priest, father, you are a well-educated man, and you know everything. I am a simple woman who believes in God. Explaining why she kept the flower for both she said: if I went to Heaven, St. Michael would treat me well; or if I go to hell, Satan will take care of me.
Do you want to leave also?
A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. “I’ve gone for 30 years now,” he wrote, “and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I cannot remember one of them. So, I think I am wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all. “This started a real controversy in the “Letters to the Editor” column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher: “I’ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this. They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!” The entire controversy ended with this response.
Joshua and Jesus respected the freedom of choice in the life of people. They were not forcing anything. It is not about Jesus one time and forgetting Him rest of our life. It is a life commitment to keep on choosing in every moment of our life.
Our faith is the decision either for or against Jesus. Without faith in the Words of the Lord, we cannot believe the Bread of Life.
Faith is a free choice. Our freedom is expressed in our personal commitment to Christ.
Are we attending church to maintain a status in society, and to join a group?
It is indeed the day of the decision once again for each one of us.
One author puts it this way: “In you is light and away from you is darkness; in you is boundless love, and away from you is selfishness and brokenness; in you is truth, and away from you is falsehood; you have the words that sustain divine life in me and away from you I mostly hear words that sustain only worldly life.”
May the Lord help us to make up our minds to follow Jesus till the end. God bless you.