The Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (2024)
Many of Jesus’ disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?”…
As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.
Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
—John 6:60, 66-68
This Sunday marks the end of a series of readings from the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John that is commonly known as the “Bread of Life Discourse.” Over the past several Sundays we have heard about how Jesus fed a vast crowd with only five small loaves of bread and a few fish and his teachings about the “living bread from heaven” that is the source of eternal life. Finally, last Sunday, in a great climax, we heard Jesus declare that this “living bread” is his own body: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink” (John 6:54-55).
In the Gospel proclaimed on this Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time, the Evangelist John tells us about how many of Jesus’ followers responded to his words: “As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.”
This is a sad and decisive moment.
Like the women and men in that crowd, our lives are also filled with choices. Although we might not think much about the myriad of choices we make each day, each choice is actually important because every choice we make comes with consequences. By committing ourselves to one choice—like extending or accepting a marriage proposal, being open to the gift of children, entering religious life, or simply making prayer a part of our daily lives—we are also choosing to let go of other options. This happens in countless ways—big and small—throughout our lives.
The most serious choice we can make in life, however, is our decision to follow Christ. And this choice, like every other, also has consequences for the way we live our lives.
To choose to believe in Jesus and his teachings—including our belief that his Body is true food and his Blood true drink (cf. John 6:55-57)—means to follow him in every aspect of our lives. There is no part of our life that can be compartmentalized or kept separate from the grace he offers or the demands that discipleship places upon us. As Pope Benedict XVI once reflected:
“Will you also go away? This disturbing provocation resounds in our hearts and expects a personal answer from each one; it is a question addressed to each one of us. Jesus is not content with superficial and formal belonging, a first and enthusiastic adherence is not enough for him; on the contrary, what is necessary is to take part for one's whole life ‘in his thinking and in his willing.’ Following him fills our hearts with joy and gives full meaning to our existence, but it entails difficulties and sacrifices because very often we must swim against the tide.”
Just like the crowd in this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus is asking us if we will stay with him or if we will choose another path. Each day provides us with an opportunity to renew our commitment to follow him. This is most especially true when we choose to receive the Eucharist.
Because, in the Eucharist, we recognize that Jesus has chosen to remain with us, nourishing and healing us, and giving us all of himself. In the Eucharist, we find the strength to say yes, again and again, to the Lord’s invitation to follow him.
Choosing to follow Jesus and to live according to his teachings means opening up our hearts to something new.
Jesus was offering words that were “eternal life,” but the people in crowd weren’t able to let go of their ideas about who Jesus was and what he was able to offer them. The words of this Sunday’s Gospel remind us that, when we make the commitment that comes with choosing to stay with Jesus and to live as he wants us to, we can become like Jesus. If we do this, in the end, we will be graced with the courage and love we need to offer all of our lives for God and for the good of all those around us.
O God, who cause the minds of the faithful
to unite in a single purpose,
grant your people to love what you command
and to desire what you promise,
that, amid the uncertainties of this world,
our hearts may be fixed on that place
where true gladness is found.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
-Collect for the Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time
