The Word God Spells

John 6: 60-69
Acts 9: 31-42 / Ps 116:12-17

Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.
(Luke 6:69)

Though we may fail to understand,
Yet from Your Word we shall not part;
Trust in Your love is our command,
Lord Jesus, dwell here in my heart.

Many of Jesus’ disciples, when they heard Him speak like this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you that do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him. And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him. Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

Reflection

Most of the Jews who followed Jesus all over Galilee and Samaria did so because of the miracles that He performed; and even if many of them came to believe that He was really sent by God, they were not willing to discard their antiquated traditional forms of worship to follow Him in His New Covenant. Being God, Jesus knew who these ‘hangers on’ were, and was not disappointed by their departure from Him. He was more concerned with the formation of His small group of apostles, whose fidelity (except for one) had been tested and proven true. In fact, Peter’s response reflected the apostles’ general sentiment: the choice was clear, ‘You have the words of eternal life; we have believed, and have come to know, that You are the Holy One of God.’ We see in the first reading how Peter was rewarded for his faith and fidelity to Jesus. He was even given power by the Holy Spirit to raise the dead back to life (Acts 9:41).

In the context of today’s Gospel, we can see why many Catholics leave the Church: they do not have enough trust in the teachings handed down by Jesus through His apostles and the Magisterium of the Church. They do not seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, or pray for His discernment. Jesus said that it is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh is ultimately useless. Many of us trust too much in our own knowledge and understanding, when in fact it is in faith that we receive the Holy Spirit’s wisdom to understand the ways of God. This is the challenge posed to us as His disciples: whether we will continue to believe in Jesus even if His teaching is hard to accept. This is how God tests our fidelity.

Your ways o Lord are beyond human knowledge, ‘as high as the heavens are above the earth.’ Grant us the grace to believe even if we do not understand, and the hope that in the end our minds and hearts will also be enlightened. We have come to trust in Your words because of the many times You have shown us Your love. Amen.

Matthew 1: 16,18-21,24
2 Sm 7:4-5,12-14,16 / Ps 89:2-5,27,29 / Rom 4:13,16-18,22

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife into his home.
(Matthew 1: 24)

St. Joseph, humble spouse of Mary,
Blessed model in our hurts and pain,
Inspire us never to grow weary
Serving God for our eternal gain.

Joseph (was) the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to send her away quietly. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife into his home.

Reflection

Of all the saints and martyrs of the Church, none enjoys more prominence — aside of course from his blessed wife, who happens to be the Mother of God — than St. Joseph. His stature is not only by virtue of being the foster-father of Jesus, our Redeemer, as well as spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and head of the Holy Family, but by his exemplary gifts of humility, obedience, patience and great faith in God. The Church honors this great saint as its model and patron saint of fathers and husbands, of laborers, especially craftsmen, and as protector of the universal Church. And yet so little of the life of this humble saint is featured in the Bible. He is only mentioned in the Nativity account of the first two chapters in Matthew, and only in passing in the Gospel of Luke, and none at all in the other two Gospel accounts. It is only by inference that we can have a glimpse of the man’s strength of character, who never spoke a single word in the Gospel accounts. When he learned that his betrothed was pregnant, there was no rancor or bitterness in his heart, but rather a deep concern for the safety of Mary, who would have been stoned to death on mere suspicion of adultery. He never questioned his role when an angel appeared to him in a dream on two occasions, but immediately took action (Mt.1:24, 2:14). When their child Jesus went missing for three days, and they finally found him in the temple, Joseph uttered no word of chastisement; it was Mary who complained to Him, saying, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety” (Lk.2:48-49). As the adoptive father of the Redeemer, he performed his duties as provider and protector diligently, and was content to stay in the shadows of Jesus and Mary, the principal characters in God’s plan of salvation.

St. Joseph is my patron saint, having been born a day before his feast day. He is my model of what an ideal husband and father should be. His strength of character has always been my inspiration in fidelity to my marriage vows, and his humility and great faith in God the ideals worth aspiring for in my life. I follow his example in my attitude towards my children, providing for all their needs and protecting them from evil influences, but never imposing my will on them, acknowledging that God has put them under my care and stewardship. In the spiritual plane, like St. Joseph, I am also their “adoptive father”, who must give them the proper moral and spiritual guidance that will hopefully lead them to their heavenly Father.

Father God, thank You for the influence of St. Joseph, Your model of devotion to Jesus and fidelity to His Mother. As we honor his name, grant that he may also be our intercessor for the graces we need to fulfill our own mission in life. Amen.

Luke 16: 9-15
Rom 16:3-9.16.22-27 / Ps 145

If then you have not been trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?
(Luke 16:11)

To win the confidence of friends
We take the path of integrity;
But the greatest reward depends
On our prudence and fidelity.

“And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes. Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they ridiculed him. So he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of others; but God knows your hearts; for what is prized by human beings is an abomination in the sight of God.”

Reflection

The message in today’s Gospel is quite difficult to comprehend, especially coming after Jesus related His parable of the dishonest steward, where He even commended the steward’s craftiness. Was he condoning the desperate schemes of the steward who cheated on his master for the benefit of his master’s debtors, so that when he got fired from his job he could be “welcome in their homes?” Our Lord’s stand only becomes clearer when He said: “For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of Light.” (Lk.16:8)

More likely, what our Lord meant when he said “make friends with dishonest wealth” was for His followers to imitate Him in mingling with “tax collectors and sinners”, to evangelize the marketplace. And that “when it fails” (our material pursuits, worldly business ventures), we will in fact have a better chance of going to heaven than when it prospers. Most people turn away from God when they become rich. Failure with mammon may therefore lead to success with God. This reminds me of a friend who never came to establish a personal relationship with Jesus until his business went bankrupt, his house and lot were foreclosed, and his wife had left him. In the darkest period of his life, he finally learned how to pray. It had to take a series of crises to make him realize how important God is in his life. Happier now, he said he is grateful for his losses, because through them he has found true riches.

You made us see, Lord, that prudence and fidelity are more important than craftiness and business acumen. Remind us always to be honest not only in large matters but in small ones as well, because great sins develop from little indiscretions. Help us, dear Saviour in these times of economic difficulties to be more honest in our work, to be models of true service and integrity. For it is only by such good examples that we can give glory to Your kingdom here on earth. Amen.

John 6: 60-69
Acts 9:31-42 / Ps 116

‘Do you also wish to go away?’
(John 6:68)

Tho’ God’s ways lie beyond our ken,
Tho’ His words are hard to comprehend,
Trust that we will see the truth when
Everything unravels in the end.

Many of the disciples who heard Jesus’ discourse on the Bread of Life said, ‘This teaching is hard; who can accept it?’ But Jesus, being aware that His disciples were complaining about it, said to them, ‘Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones who did not believe, and who was the one who would betray Him. And He said, ‘For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.’ Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with Him. So Jesus asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe that you are the Holy One of God.’

Reflection

Jesus had two important reasons for speaking in words that none of His disciples could understand. First, He was actually prophesying the transubstantiation of the Holy Eucharist, in which future generations would eat to gain eternal life. His words in John 6:54-55 are enough proof that the bread and wine in the Eucharist are truly changed into His Flesh and Blood. If He was merely speaking figuratively, (as Protestants claim) wouldn’t He have told His disciples not to take Him literally to prevent them from leaving en masse? And Jesus’ Words were meant for all future generations of Christians.

The second reason why His teaching seemed “impossible to understand” was because Jesus was “separating the chaff from the grain.” He was testing who among His followers had total faith and trust in Him. Once He had proven their fidelity, He would reveal the meaning of His words when He broke bread with them for the last time before His death (Lk.22:19- 20) : “This is my body which will be given up for you . . .”

Remaining steadfast in our faith, and trusting that God will see us through when we are undergoing trials and severe difficulties is the essence of fidelity. We have heard the phrase “fairweather friends” before, and can relate it to John’s Gospel. The Jews followed Jesus because they were fed and healed. But just because they could not understand His message, they opted to turn back and no longer followed Him. Many have left the Church and turned to other faiths just because they were disillusioned with a bishop or parish priest. How far are we willing to go with Jesus? How often do we read our Bible in order to understand the meaning of His words? How often do we receive Him in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist in order to become closer to Him?

Lord God, teach us to discern what lies beyond the realm of our understanding. Like St. Peter, grant us the wisdom to seek You, Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Indeed, where else could we go in this fleeting, temporal existence? Only You have the words of eternal life! Amen.