Lord, To Whom Shall We Go?

     Today’s gospel begins, as it were, halfway through. The very first thing we hear is the disciples grumbling that ‘this’ (or ‘it’) is a ‘hard saying’, but nowhere is it explained what they are grumbling about. For four weeks now we have been listening to Jesus telling his disciples, in various ways, that he is the ‘Bread of Life’.

     Last week we heard Jesus saying ‘Unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood you will have no life in you.” (Jn 6:53) It is this that the disciples find hard to take. They refuse to believe and many of the disciples leave him.

     We are ourselves presented, then, with a very serious challenge: Will we choose God or will we reject Him? Will we choose Jesus Christ, whom the Father sent, or will we reject Him? Joshua, in the first reading, poses a similar challenge to the people of Israel. He has just led them across the Jordan River into the Promised Land. Joshua’s namesake Jesus throws out that same challenge to His disciples when some of them reject Him. “Will you also go away?” (Jn 6:67)

     This choice for God or against Him is the most fundamental decision in human life. It’s the most basic exercise of human freedom. Human freedom, first of all, is the power to accept God or reject Him.

     Joshua presents the choice to the children of Israel after he has led them across the Jordan River into the Promised Land—now that they have that land firmly in their possession. He addresses the people and reminds them of their whole history. He begins with their father Abraham who had been born on the other side of the Euphrates. God called Abraham out of paganism and in revealing himself, promised Abraham a new land and numerous descendants, and in the descendants of Abraham all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

     So Abraham answers the call of God and comes to that first Promised Land. There he has many descendants: Isaac and Jacob and the twelve sons of Jacob, and then, his descendants go down into Egypt, where for about 400 years they were slaves of the Egyptians.

     Joshua then reminds the people how God, through Moses, led His people out of slavery in Egypt through the Red Sea. For forty years He led them through the Sinai Desert, and now at last, under the leadership of Joshua, he has brought them into the Promised Land.

     Hence the challenge that Joshua throws out to the people: ‘Will you serve this God who has done such marvellous deeds for you?’ or will you serve those pagan gods your ancestors served? Joshua, the great leader of his people gives them an example and says, ‘As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.’ (Jos 24:15) And the people accept the challenge saying, in effect, ‘How can we choose otherwise, seeing all that the Lord has done for us?’

     In the gospel over the last few weeks, Jesus has been doing something similar. He talks about the manna in the desert and shows that he himself is ‘the Living Bread come down from heaven.’ (Jn 6:51) Joshua entered into the Promised Land, but Jesus is ‘the Son of God who entered into this world.’ (Rom 5:12) He gives his own body, and his own blood, in sacrifice for our salvation. He says all these things and he challenges us to believe this, believe these astounding truths, and through our faith to him, give our lives to him. He challenges us to receive him or reject him.

     Some of his disciples choose to reject him, so the Lord challenges all of us, ‘Will you also go away?’ (Jn 6:67) Peter, like Joshua, is a leader and he sets the example; he chooses Jesus, and says, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’(Jn 6:58)

     How could anyone choose otherwise, considering what Jesus has done for us? He is the eternal Son of God. He gave himself totally to us by becoming one of us. He gave himself totally for us on the cross. He gives himself totally to us in the Eucharist. He gives us as the bread of life the body that was nailed to the cross. He gives us as our drink that blood that he poured out for us. How could we fail to give ourselves totally in return?

fr Timothy Gardner lives at the Priory of St. Dominic, London.