21thSunday in Ordinary Time(Cycle B, Year I)
Community Word: Those who believe in Jesus, the Living Bread, will neither hunger, nor thirst.
Theme: We will never hunger or thirst when we are steadfast in following Jesus.
Promise: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.”(Ps 34:19)
Reflection:
For the past few weeks, we have been reading about how Jesus awed His followers as He healed the blind, the sick, the lame and the crippled (Jn 5:3), amazing them with the miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fish (Jn 6:11). These miracles were witnessed by multitudes of people, thus His disciples grew in number.
But in today’s Gospel, people were turning away from Him. Why? Because they found three of His statements too difficult to accept. First, He declared himself to be the“bread from heaven” (Jn 6:51); second, He exhorted His disciples to feed themselves on the”flesh and blood of the Son of Man” (Jn 6:54), and third, He declared that”He came from God” (Jn 6:57). These teachings were far too radical, too contrary to His audience’s traditional beliefs and religious practices. Many may have turned away sadly, with heavy hearts; others perhaps felt relieved to be going back to their familiar, less demanding ways.
In many ways, we are no different from His followers in the Gospel. We came to know Jesus as the “Son of God” (Lk 1:35), our Lord and Savior, the second person in the “Holy Trinity” (Lk 4:18, and continue to walk with Him and worship Him through our community Bukas Loob sa Diyos. We too, have witnessed enough of His wondrous deeds of healing, provision and protection as we serve Him and his people in our mission fields, enough to reinforce and strengthen our faith and commitment to follow Him.
Why, then, do we still doubt when faced with challenges in our community and parish work, or when things don’t turn out as we planned? Why do we get discouraged when we hear teachings and homilies that convict us, or comments that are not favorable to us? Why do we even consider resigning when we are uncomfortable with our assigned task, or tasks that may not agree with what we have become accustomed to? These are the times when Jesus turns to us and also asks us, “Do you also want to leave?”(Jn6:67).
Our response should be that of Peter and the apostles, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,”(Jn 6:68). That’s when we turn to Christ, who sees what is not outwardly visible and who is the only one who can “heal our broken hearts and restore our crushed spirits,” (Ps 34:19).
Perhaps many of His followers who left that day eventually came back, more open and more willing to accept God’s word. Upon their return, they may have been better prepared to let the word of God pierce their spirits, touch their hearts, and allow the strange, challenging, frightening, but beautiful love of God transform their lives in the same way many of us have been made ready to offer our lives to do what pleases Jesus and to follow Him wherever He may lead.
Prayer:
Lord God, oftentimes, Your ways are far beyond my comprehension, but I know in faith and without doubt that You love me so much. Give me the fortitude to trust in Your loving heart especially on things that I do not fully understand as I journey in this life, knowing, loving and serving you in my community. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
1. Was there a time when you doubted some teachings that you could not accept, or teachings that do not conform to your personal opinions, or circumstances?
2. How steadfast are you in your commitment to follow Jesus or do His will even in the face of personal challenges and emotional burdens?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
August 23, 2015 (Sun) Jos 24:1-2,15-17,18/Ps 34:2-3,16-17,18-19,20-21,22-23/Eph 5:21-32/Jn 6:60-69
August 24, 2015 (Mon) Rv 21:9-14/Ps 145:10-11,12-13,17-18/Jn 1:45-51
August 25, 2015 (Tue) 1 Thes 2:1-8/Ps 139:1-3,4-6/Mt 23:23-26
August 26, 2015 (Wed) 1 Thes 2:9-13/Ps 139:7-8,9-10,11-12/Mt 23:27-32
August 27, 2015 (Thu) 1 Thes 3:7-13/Ps 90:3-5,12-13,14,17/Mt 24:42-51
August 28, 2015 (Fri) Mt 25:1-13/Ps 97:1,2,5-6,10,11-12/Mt 25:1-13
August 29, 2015 (Sat) Jer 1:17-19/Ps 71:1-2,3-4,5-6,15,17/Mk 6:17-29
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
