Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Joshua 24:1-2, 15-17, 18; Ephesians 5:21-32; John 6:55,
60-69)
The Olympics left us viewers with our mouths agape. How can
Simon Byles jump so high? How can the Chinese lift such enormous weights? How
can Noah Lyles run so fast? All the athletes demonstrated the triumph of the
body over lethargy and mediocrity.
However, in the end the body cannot achieve what is most
desirable. After all is said and done, we don’t long for a medal or
international fame. No, we human beings desire eternal happiness. It is
something spiritual that knows no end. As Jesus says in today’s Gospel: “It is
the Spirit that gives life; the flesh is of no avail.” Somehow, we must obtain
the Holy Spirit if we are to achieve eternal happiness.
Throughout the “Bread of Life Discourse,” we have heard what
we must do to obtain eternal life. Since Jesus, the true Bread from heaven,
knows the Father and reveals His will, we must believe in Him and put into
practice what He teaches. Does this seem impossible? Well, it is if we were left solely with our
own natural resources. However, because we cannot achieve this through human
efforts alone, Jesus has left us His Body and Blood. The Eucharist strengthens
us on the journey to eternal life just as steak and milk nourished the athletes’
bodies for the Olympic games.
Jesus wants a definitive response from us to His offer of
eternal life. Like Joshua in the first reading, no half-measures.
Unfortunately, many today want to follow Jesus only until the path becomes
rough. Then, like the murmuring disciples in the Gospel, they turn their backs
on Him. They are like children who reject a dime to grab the larger copper
penny.
Accepting Jesus means following His teachings, as we have
seen in the readings from the Letter to the Ephesians in recent Sundays. His
command in today’s reading is particularly relevant. Spouses must love each
other wholeheartedly, always considering the other’s well-being. It cannot be
denied that the letter teaches that the husband makes the final decision. But this
does not mean that the husband is always right and should never submit to his
wife’s will. Not at all. The two, as the reading says, are “one flesh.” The
husband must always take to heart what his wife says. Sometimes, simply for the
sake of variety, the husband will submit to his wife’s judgment.
This matter is crucial in a time that elevates individual
well-being above that of the family. For example, in some places, schools can
dispense contraceptives without parental consent. In some places today, so-called “puberty
blockers” (hormones that suppress the development of natural sex) can be given
without communicating with parents. The vast majority of parents want to do
what is best for their children. A wise person once said that the best thing
parents can do for their children is to love each other. If we want healthy and
wholesome children, parents must love each other with ever greater dedication.
Does it challenge us? Of course, but the strength to do so
(it’s worth repeating) comes from Jesus in the Eucharist. It is His own Body
and Blood that leads us pass the challenges of the world to eternal life.
