21st Sunday in Ordinary Time B
John 6:60‐69
With regard to many things in life, it is often wise not to commit yourself too much. You should always expect that you could be wrong. You should be flexible enough to be able to correct yourself.
This applies to politics, for example. There are different answers to the question of how society should be organised. It is wise not to commit oneself completely to one certain answer, because one must always reckon with the possibility that one’s political opponent might make better proposals on certain points.
This principle also applies to science. A good scientist always reckons with the possibility that his theories may turn out to be wrong and have to be corrected.
And in matters of personal taste and fashion, it seems rather eccentric when someone says: only like this, and never otherwise!
Extreme views without alternatives are usually unreasonable and sometimes even dangerous. A smart person avoids extremes and remains flexible. For one could be wrong. Does this also apply to faith?
Over the past three Sundays, we have heard the teaching of Jesus about himself:
”I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.”
”If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you. Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life.”
This teaching is extreme. And there is no real alternative, since it is proclaimed with the claim of divine authority. The Jews who listen to Jesus are outraged by it. And today we hear that even many of Jesus’ own disciples feel provoked: ”This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?” Jesus continues to provoke them by announcing his return to heaven. This is too much for many of his disciples. They leave Jesus. And he lets them go.
Jesus demands a decision from his disciples: either they believe in him as the Son of God and Saviour of the world. With everything that this teaching entails. Including the teaching of his real presence in bread and wine in the eucharist. Or they do not believe, and consequently leave Jesus, and one of them will even betray him.
There is no balanced middle position. It is not possible to simply find Jesus very sympathetic, to consider some of his teachings to be good and helpful, but to remain sceptical about the more extreme statements, for example that he is the Son of God. A cautious, hesitant interest in Jesus may be a possible and, for many, necessary intermediate stage on the path towards faith. But in the long run, one must make a clear decision. A decision in favour of or against an extreme doctrine that is proclaimed with the claim of absolute truth.
Is it wise to accept this teaching? Are those who stay with Jesus all extremists? Are they acting unreasonably, or even dangerously? Has Jesus manipulated them, turned off their reason and broken their will?
No, Jesus lets even the apostles decide freely. He asks the twelve: ”Do you also want to go away?” They are free, they could go. But Peter replies: ”Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.”
The decision to believe in Jesus is not the result of intellectual study of his teachings and prudent considerations. It follows solely from a personal encounter with him, which already takes place in faith and grace: ”No one can come to me unless it is given to him by the Father,” says Jesus.
We receive faith as a gift from God himself, but we still have to choose it again and again. Faith is a gift, but it is also a virtue that we should practise. The First Vatican Council teaches that ”faith is a supernatural virtue, whereby, inspired and assisted by the grace of God, we believe that the things which he has revealed are true; not because of the intrinsic truth of the things, viewed by the natural light of reason, but because of the authority of God himself, who reveals them, and who can neither be deceived nor deceive.”
We encounter Jesus in the word of the gospel. We hear Jesus’ teaching about himself. And with the help of grace, we recognise that Jesus really is God. Only then can we accept his teaching. For it is the highest authority that speaks to us: God himself. There is no one else beside him who could proclaim another teaching with the same authority. ”Who shall we go to?” asks Peter. There is only one God. And because he is God, everything he says is true. And it is good for us to believe him, because he has the message of eternal life. And that is why it is wise and not at all dangerous to accept faith. Rather, it is dangerous not to believe. Because then you risk losing eternal life.
Once again, the question from the beginning: Is it wise to remain flexible even with regard to faith and not to commit oneself too much, as one could be wrong? The answer is no. Jesus demands a clear decision from us. If we believe in him and accept what he says, we win eternal life, and we can never be wrong, because He cannot be wrong. He is the Holy One of God. His words are spirit and life. Amen.
