Will You Leave Too?

Gospel: John 6: 60-69

The entire sixth chapter of John's Gospel is a foreshadowing of Holy Week in the life of Jesus.  We began this chapter with huge crowds following Jesus wherever he goes, just as what will occur on Palm Sunday.  By the end of the chapter we find everyone abandoning him and Jesus nearly alone, just as we will on Good Friday in Holy Week.  In both cases the motivations are the same.

At the beginning of this chapter the crowds wanted to make Jesus a king so that he might provide bread for them always.  They were looking for a faith that did not require anything of them: the Messiah would do it all and we would just enjoy the benefits.  But as the chapter progresses Jesus speaks of believing in him and eating the bread of life, just as he will tell the disciples at the Last Supper to "do this in remembrance of me."  He was not talking about creating a ritual, but rather in each one of us living and offering our lives for others as he did.  

This is what the crowd could not accept; this is what frightened the disciples and they hid in fear for a time.  It is not enough to accept the mercy and gifts of God; we ourselves must become the mercy and gift of God to others in the world.  To partake of the bread of life, to be in communion with the Lord Jesus is to become Christ in the world.  Our faith invites us to repeat the words of Peter - Lord, to whom shall we go? Or, to quote a modern sage: Where else would you rather be but right here, right now?