I suppose today’s question comes under the general heading of being a liturgical question. As you know, our Gospel Readings follow a three-year cycle in which the focus is on a different gospel each year. So last year, during Cycle A, most of the Sunday gospels were taken from the Gospel according to Matthew. And next year, during Cycle C, most of the Sunday gospels will be from the Gospel according to Luke.
So, if you’ve been listening carefully, my question for you today should be easy. My question is: What Gospel is the source for today’s reading for the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time of Cycle B?
If you wanted to say “Mark,” your answer would be wrong! Although most of the Cycle B readings are taken from the Gospel according to Mark, the readings for the Seventeenth through Twenty-first Sundays in Ordinary Time, during Cycle B, are always from the Gospel according to John, not Mark. For the last five weeks, ever since July 30th, we’ve been listening to Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel. And, yes, if you were listening very closely to the Gospel read three weekends ago, you may recall that it was, in fact, taken from Mark’s Gospel. The reason, of course, is because that particular Sunday was August 6th on which we celebrate the Transfiguration of the Lord, a feast day that takes precedence over the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
But normally, for five weeks during the Summer, we hear Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel, which is called the “Bread of Life” series of Gospel Readings. Why does this happen? Why do we interrupt the readings from Mark with an entire chapter from John?
Some might point out Mark’s gospel is the shortest of the four gospels and maybe we need a “filler” from John’s gospel to complete Cycle B. Although this might be a superficial answer, I think the real answer is: to be sure that we hear this basic message, this basic truth, from John’s gospel, Jesus Christ is, indeed, the “Bread of Life.”
Last week we heard Jesus state to all who listened to him: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.
● Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.
● For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
● Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.
● Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.
● This is the bread that came down from heaven.
● Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
And in today’s gospel we heard how not everyone could accept these words he spoke to the crowds. We heard how “… many of his disciples [… many of his followers …] returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” And when Jesus asked the Twelve if they, too, wanted to leave him, we heard Peter’s response on their behalf: “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”
Perhaps, it’s essential we are reminded of this basic truth more than once every three years. It’s essential we are reminded Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life and, when we gather for Eucharist, we hear his words of eternal life and eat his flesh and drink his blood. In doing so, we become Eucharist. We become members of his Body.
Again, we are reminded of this truth as we listen to the words written by Saint Paul to the Ephesians, in which he describes the relationship of Christ and the Church in terms of the ideal relationship of husband and wife. For Paul writes: “… husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.”
What, then, does it mean to be, to actually be, “members of his body?” Perhaps we can gain some additional insight from our First Reading for today from the Book of Joshua. In this reading we heard how Joshua, the successor of Moses, gathered together “… all the tribes of Israel …” and said: “If it does not please you to serve the Lord, decide today whom you will serve … As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
And the people responded: “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord for the service of other gods. For it was the Lord, our God, who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, out of a state of slavery. He performed those great miracles before our very eyes and protected us along our entire journey and among the people through whom we passed. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”
Yes, the Israelites decided they must serve the Lord God, since they had seen “… those great miracles before [their] very eyes …” They recognized God had protected them on their journey. And what about us? Do we see the great miracle which transforms the bread and wine we behold into the body and blood of Christ we eat and drink? Do we recognize how he protects us on our journey? Are we willing to serve the Lord, for he is our God? And how do we serve the Lord, our God? Is it through being members of his Mystical Body? Is it through our service to one another in his name?
This weekend we are, once again, given the opportunity, the gift, of being able to serve one another in his name. This weekend, we can become actively engaged in Ministry Sunday. When this part of our Eucharistic celebration is ended, we are, again, invited to go forth and become Eucharist for the sake of others.
We have a choice. We can jump directly into our cars and race off to participate in those all-encompassing events of our lives: shopping, watching afternoon sports on TV, napping, doing errands, and working around the house. We can be self-centered and do what we feel like doing to exist in this world. Or we can enter the Large Hall and learn how we can join with others in ministry to others.
Yes, we can be like those “… disciples [who] returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” Or we can be like those who serve the Lord and one another for “… we are members of his body…” and “… he is our God.” The choice is yours.
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time; August 27, 2006 (Ministry Sunday)
Josh 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b; Eph 5:2a, 25-32 (short form); Jn 6:60-69