Decide Today Whom You Will Serve.
Dear Parishioners,
When Israel reached the Promised Land, Joshua gathered them at Shechem to renew the covenant and express their intention of remaining with God, who set them free from slavery. He asked, “Decide today whom you will serve.” He recognized that freedom to worship is central to a loving relationship with God. Jesus, in today’s gospel, asks his disciples a similar question: Do they wish to stay with him or to leave?
As the Israelites passed through towns and cities, they too were also influenced by different cultures and religious practices they encountered along the way. There was a gradual assimilation of native peoples who had not been part of the exodus. With their acceptance of the Hebrew’s God, they too became part of the Israelites family. Therefore, the ceremony of covenant renewal was necessary for some; for others it was an act of official incorporation. Joshua takes the lead by indicating a clear choice of himself and his household. A free response to God’s love is the bedrock of a new covenant relationship.
This sets the tone on how decisive we are called to be in our relationship with God. In concluding the discourse on himself as the bread of life, Jesus does not take back anything he said. He does not try to make his teachings more acceptable. He does not even try to win back those disciples who left him. “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” Some of the disciples broke rank with him and left. Obviously, they did not fully understand Jesus. They were not open to learn or be guided by Jesus. They trusted only in themselves and in their instincts. There was no room for the spirit; this attitude made Jesus sad.
If Jesus’s teaching shocks us and strikes us as intolerable, it is because we are not willing to accept his existence for what it truly is. Jesus reminds us that “It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless.” Therefore, we must be open to the Holy Spirit, who makes it possible for us to grasp the truth of Jesus’ words and put it to practice. Jesus makes the point that his words are Spirit and life.
Jesus concludes his address to his disciples saying: “Yet among you there are some who do not believe.” Sadly, someone can be a disciple of Jesus and still not believe in him. Do you have doubts in the teachings of Jesus? I guess there is some unbelief in all of us to the extent that we are only willing to accept those teachings from Jesus which are in line with our views. Do we follow him only when he speaks our human language but turn against him when speaks to us in God’s terms.
There are people who are having difficulties with the Lord’s teaching on the Eucharist, marriage, sexuality and, recently, the church’s objection on the reception of Holy Communion by divorced and remarried Catholics. We are besieged by culture of death and the lifestyle so contradictory to the gospel. We are overwhelmed by the pressure coming from our society that shows little regard to God. Sometimes we feel ashamed of our Christian faith and unable to stand up for our beliefs. We give in so quickly and allow this hedonistic culture to control us. It must stop if we are truly believers. We must decide whom we should serve.
Let us remember that faith is not achieved by human effort, but by the action of God even though our cooperation is required. The apostle Peter is our new Joshua. I hope we reiterate his response to Jesus, speaking from the depths of our heart: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe.”
Sincerely Yours In Christ,
Fr. Vitalis Anyanike, Pastor
