More Than Just An Obstacle...

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Readings: Joshua 24: 1-2, 15-18; Psalm 33 (34): 2-3,16-23; Ephesians 5: 21-32 or Ephesians 5: 2a, 25-32; John 6:60-69

Picture: By Tadeusz Lakota on Unsplash

My dear friends, when is an obstacle more than just an obstacle? A man once went for a stroll in the woods with his dog. As they walked together, along a narrow forest path, the dog suddenly stood very still, and blocked its owner’s way. It even started to growl when the man tried to walk past it. At first the man was puzzled. It was only later, when he spotted a poisonous snake slithering across the path, that he realised the reason for his trusty companion’s curious behaviour… Sometimes an obstacle is more than just an obstacle. It may also be a warning, a call to greater vigilance and care. Don’t we find something similar in our scriptures today?

As we may recall from previous weeks, in the gospel, Jesus has been claiming that he is the living bread which has come down from heaven, and that those who wish to enjoy the fullness of life must eat (his) flesh and drink (his) blood. In response, many of the Lord’s followers say, This is intolerable language, or, according to another translation, This is a hard saying. Hard, like a huge stone blocking our way. An irritating obstacle obstructing our path. And yet, what the Lord is offering is also a warning, a caution not to work for food that cannot last. Not to turn our appetites into idols. But to feed on and to worship instead the One True God. Like that dog on the forest path, the Lord’s teaching is an obstacle. And more than an obstacle, it’s also a call. A call to conversion.

But not just any kind of conversion. At least not the kind that may erupt on special occasions, like festive fireworks, exploding loudly and suddenly, colourfully and excitedly, only to fade away, without leaving any trace. Instead, what the Lord is asking of his followers is something more enduring and all-encompassing. Something like what Joshua is asking of the Israelites in the first reading, when he tells them to choose today whom you wish to serve. Again, more than just an obstacle, the Lord’s teaching is also a call. A call to make a lasting choice, a life-defining commitment. As for me and my House, we will serve the Lord.

And in case we may feel discouraged by how demanding this sounds, the scriptures remind us that the Lord’s apparently hard teaching actually has a tender core. The second reading invites us to ponder how lovingly Christ treats the Church. How he sacrificed himself for her to make her holy. And how, as a man feeds and looks after his own body, that is also the way Christ treats the Church, because it is his body––and we are its living parts. Unlike the idols we may be fooled into worshipping, Christ doesn’t oppress those who commit their lives to his service. Rather, he treats us as parts of his very self, mercifully showering upon us his tender loving care. Again, more than just an obstacle, the Lord’s teaching is also a call. A call to an ever more intimate communion.

An obstacle that’s more than just an obstacle, but also a call to conversion, to commitment and to communion. This is what we find in our scriptures today. And yet, it’s not always easy to see all of this at once. Especially if the obstacle we encounter is unexpected. Such as a sudden tragedy or medical emergency, a painful loss or disappointing setback. Very often, in such moments, our vision is clouded, if only for the moment. Like that man on the path, we can see the puzzling behaviour of the dog, but not yet the poisonous threat of the snake. What then are we to do?

In the gospel, we find people taking one of three courses of action. The first is desertion. We’re told that many of Jesus’ disciples left him and stopped going with him. The second is continued discipleship. Much as Peter doesn’t understand what’s going on, even though he will have to struggle to live up to his commitment, and even if he may fall short, he keeps clinging stubbornly to Jesus. Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life… The third option is much less obvious. The gospel alludes to it when it speaks of the one who would betray him. For the first two courses of action don’t quite lead to betrayal. Neither outright desertion nor struggling discipleship. No, betrayal requires a willingness to lead a double-life. A life of continual compromise. The ability to go through the motions of discipleship, while nurturing a deserter’s heart. Something that Pope Francis calls spiritual worldliness. To claim to live in the Church, while keeping and promoting the values of the world. And this requires a certain degree of secrecy. Which is perhaps why Jesus is so blunt in asking the Twelve: What about you, do you want to go away too? The Lord is offering them, and us, the precious opportunity to uncover what may be hidden, even from ourselves. To examine our hearts, and to bring our doubts and reservations to him, so that he may address them.

Sisters and brothers, through the obstacles we may meet along the path of life, how might the Lord be calling us today?

The Angel's Touch

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: 1 Kings 19: 4-8; Psalm 33 (34): 2-9; Ephesians 4: 30-5:2; John 6: 41-51

Picture: By Jose Gasparian on Unsplash

My dear friends, what is it like be exhausted and hungry at the same time? To feel an urgent need to sleep and to eat? Of course, we can’t do both simultaneously. So which do we do first? I’m not sure, but aren’t we more likely to sleep first? After all, it’s possible to feel so tired that we can’t even stay awake long enough to finish a meal. And yet, once we fall asleep, isn’t it easy to forget to eat? Which is why we need someone to wake us up. Someone to remind us to nourish ourselves. Isn’t this what we find in each of our readings?

At the start of the first reading, Elijah is so exhausted that he prays for death, and then promptly falls asleep. But God doesn’t let the prophet die. For God has a new mission for him, which Elijah will have to travel all the way to Horeb, the mountain of God, to receive. And to help Elijah get there, God provides not only nourishing food to sustain him on the journey, but also the touch of an angel to rouse him from sleep. Get up and eat, or the journey will be too long for you. The touch of God’s messenger, rousing someone from sleep, so as to nourish him with food for the journey. Touch, sleep, and food. Seems like a simple enough story, except that the story also has a deeper meaning. One that becomes clearer when we consider that what God does for Elijah in the first reading actually mirrors what God had earlier sent the prophet to do for the people of Israel.

As we may recall, Ahab, the king of Israel at the time, had taken a pagan wife, Jezebel. After which, the king and all his subjects turned to worship Baal, the queen’s pagan god. And though they may not realise it, their idolatry leads the Israelites into deep spiritual exhaustion and starvation, symbolised by a terrible drought and famine that ravage the land. To save the people, God sends Elijah to call them back to true worship. So that not only does Elijah receive the touch of an angel, he himself is sent to be an angel for others. To awaken the people of Israel from their idolatry, and to remind them to nourish themselves by worshipping the one true God. To taste and see that the Lord is good. But queen Jezebel resists the prophet’s touch. Refusing to be awakened by God’s messenger, she actually seeks to kill him. Which is why Elijah is forced to flee for his life, becoming depressed and burnt out. The prophet’s afflictions in the first reading are the result of the sins of those he was sent to help.

So more than just a story about a lone prophet being rescued from physical tiredness, the first reading is also about how God seeks to save a whole people from false worship. For just as the sleep of idolatry leads to spiritual burnout and starvation, despair and death, the food of right worship brings true rest and sustenance, renewal of purpose and fullness of life. And the good news is that God never tires of sending messengers to touch those who fall asleep, to rouse them to wakefulness, and to remind them to eat. Isn’t this also what Jesus is doing in the gospel?

As we may recall from last Sunday’s reading, in the sixth chapter of John’s gospel, the Lord uncovers the subtle signs of the people’s idolatry. By seeking to make Jesus king, simply because he is able to provide them with free food (6:15), the people show that the god they worship is their own stomachs. Which is why Jesus tells them not to work for food that cannot last (6:27), but to feed instead on Jesus himself, the bread of life sent by God to nourish the world. And in today’s reading, we see that it’s not just the people who need to be awakened from idolatry, their religious leaders do too. By complaining to each other about Jesus, aren’t they showing signs of false worship? Not that there’s anything wrong with complaining in itself, provided it is done for a just cause. But their grumbling is born of jealousy and the need for control. It’s also a sign of their resistance to being roused from sleep. As queen Jezebel tried to do to Elijah, the religious leaders will soon seek to have Jesus killed.

And not only does Jesus himself touch others into wakefulness, he also sends disciples to do the same. Isn’t this what the author of the second reading seeks to do? More than just imposing burdensome obligations that individuals find hard to fulfil, the reading helps a community to recognise signs of its own exhaustion born of idolatry. Including the ways its members use words to tear others down, instead of building them up. And isn’t this what we too are called to do as Christians? Not just to feed ourselves at the Eucharistic table, but also to be sent out to touch others into wakefulness. Isn’t this a particularly urgent need today, living as we do in a society where so many feel burdened to the point of burnout? Like sheep without a shepherd (Mk 6:34)?

Sisters and brothers, what can we do both to better receive, as well as to become for others, the touch of an angel today?