Where Else Shall We Go?
Saturday 21st August 2021
Jesus' declaration that He was the living bread come down from heaven and the source of eternal life proved too much for some of His followers. They could not believe in such claim and started to drift away. This was unacceptable language and they were no longer prepared to walk with Him. Neither surprised nor disappointed at their reaction, Jesus did not take back anything He said nor try to make His teaching more acceptable. It was the parting of ways. He turned to his disciples and said: "Will you also walk away?” This was a moment of crisis. What Jesus was demanding of them was not understanding, but faith in Him. There was no way they could avoid making a choice of being for or against Jesus. Peter said for everyone: “Lord where else shall we go? You have the message of eternal life and we believe."
And what happened then, still happens. We are faced with decisions to make about following our Lord. Do we stay or do we go away? This is the drastic choice that faces all who come in contact with Jesus. It’s not just a matter of accepting that certain beliefs are true but it involves a personal commitment at the level of the heart and of the mind to live by the values of Christ. The personal option to belong to Jesus regardless of where life may lead us is at the centre of our faith and is an ongoing struggle. It is so easy for us to compromise, pick and choose from Christ’s teaching what suits us. God does not always correspond to our idea of Him or to what we would like Him to be. So Christ invites us to surrender and entrust ourselves to Him. This means learning to rely on God rather than ourselves when the road ahead is uncertain. Most of us of course have doubts and face difficulties about our faith, but like Peter, we would be lost without it.
May our prayers be a response like Peter’s, from the depths of our hearts: "Lord where else shall we go? We believe you have the message of eternal life."
Stay well and safe.
Fr. Arsenio