25 August 2024 -- ^21st Sunday “B”

Jos 24:1-2a.15-17.18b; Eph 5:21-32; Jn 6:60-69

Homily

Over the last four Sundays, we have read in the Gospel the long discourse on the bread of life, found in chapter 6 of the Gospel of John, where Jesus declares himself the living bread given to the world by his Father, and where he calls for total faith in his person and in his message. The epilogue to this discourse, which we read today (before resuming the reading of Mark's Gospel next Sunday), was a turning point of great importance in Jesus' ministry and especially in his relationship with the crowd of disciples who followed him, and in particular the twelve Apostles.

It is part of the psychology of any people, especially if it is oppressed or occupied by another power, to wait for a liberator. The Jews were waiting for a messiah who would deliver them from Roman oppression (since Rome was occupying them at the time). As soon as Jesus began to teach, and especially as soon as he performed a few miracles, large crowds followed him. He would easily have enough followers to organise a sedition. Moreover, when he fed the crowds by multiplying the loaves, they already wanted to crown him king. The time has come for Jesus to force them to choose between their dreams and who he really is.

In fact, when Jesus made it clear that he had not come to re-establish a material and political kingdom, with this mysterious phrase: ‘It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is useless’, the crowds abandoned him en masse. Then Jesus turns to the ‘Twelve’ (a symbolic number that appears here for the first time in John's Gospel) and says to them, ‘Do you want to leave too?’

This question shows how important obedience to the mission received from his Father is for Jesus. There can be no compromise on this point. He was prepared to see not only the crowd of disciples who followed him leave, but even the Twelve, whom he himself had chosen. Moreover, he is aware that not all of them will be faithful to him to the end. When Peter hurried to answer in the name of the Twelve, Jesus replied sadly: ‘Did I not choose you (all) the Twelve?... and yet one of you will betray me.’

Already in the Old Testament the People of God had repeatedly found themselves in situations where they had to take a stand: Either believe in Yahweh and accept all the consequences or do as the pagans did. We have an example of this in today's first reading, where Joshua forced the twelve tribes of Israel to take a stand for or against Yahweh. It was in this collective act of faith that this hodgepodge of diverse tribes -- each with its own traditions and beliefs -- became a true people.

And so it is with us. We all encounter circumstances in our lives - in our personal lives as well as our community lives - where we are obliged to take a stand. These are usually circumstances in which, in order to be faithful to the faith we profess, we must do certain things or refuse to do them. In such circumstances, not only is our Christian identity made manifest, but this identity is even given to us or reinforced.

In each of these circumstances, God confronts us with our human freedom and says to us: ‘Do you want to leave me too? Let us always have the courage to say with Peter and like him: ‘Lord, to whom shall we go?’, whatever the price we have to pay.