Staying on the Journey

Dear Friends,

In the midst of this pandemic that won’t let go and in the ensuing civic climate that is so lacking in mutual cooperation, let’s turn to today’s readings for solace, wisdom and courage to go on.

The Israelites that Joshua leads in the first reading are second generation travelers, born after the exodus began. They were on the journey but without conviction and without commitment. Joshua says to them, “Decide today whom you will serve and be faithful” (Joshua 24.15).

In the Gospel, we have a graphic picture of how the claims and promises of Jesus aroused cynicism, ridicule and contempt. How could this man give us his flesh to eat and his blood to drink? “This sort of talk is hard to endure,” (John 6.60) the people said. They rejected the very thing that could get them through life with its harrowing aspects. Many of them left Jesus’ company.

Perhaps some who left after his sermon on the Eucharist went away sad. They may have wished that Jesus had not said what he said. Now they had to make a choice as the Israelites did in the book of Joshua.

Jesus turned to his close followers: “Do you want to leave me, too?” (John 6.67).

A wonderful thing about Jesus is that He is not insecure. He permits his disciples to make a choice. But even though He left people free to choose, Jesus himself did not back down from what his critics called his “hard sayings.” He didn’t say: “Look. You misunderstand me. I was only speaking in symbols. Let me say it another way.” Jesus meant what he said and said what he meant. And then he waited for his disciples to respond. He waits for us, too.

Some of us may have indeed gone away – gone away from Christ or at least from the Church. Perhaps the fragile bud of or faith, the enthusiasm of our service, our sense of belonging, was crushed. Maybe we found the church forbidding, unyielding, unloving and have walked out the door. Maybe some of us got up one Sunday and didn’t go to church, and after that it was easy not to. Others of us may be like the Israelites, drifting within our church and never really making a choice. Maybe our minds and hearts have gone away, but our feet still take us to church. If we’ve stayed and been alert, we are still not exempt from Jesus’ question, called as we are to deepen in faith with Jesus.

We do not know how it will be for us when we are tempted to go away because God seems to demand so much.

When we can’t seem to find words to respond to the God who asks us, “Will you stay or will you go away?” we can at least borrow the words of Peter to make our own – to say them over and over again until they come to us as naturally as breathing:

                                “Lord, to whom shall we go?

                                Your words are the word of eternal life.

                                We have come to believe and are convinced that

                                You are the Holy One of God” (John 6.68-69).

~Sister Joan Sobala