TEXT:
THEME: You, O Lord, Are Eternal Life
In the Name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“I am the Bread of Life.” “Whoever feeds on My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me, and I in him.” “Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” Certainly these are hard sayings which men, with their reason and logic, cannot even come close to comprehending. And so men turn away from Jesus, offended by what He has said. To men, Jesus’ words are hard to understand, if not downright strange. Never mind what they had seen: five-thousand easily fed with two fish and five loaves of bread, the sick cured, the blind made to see, the lame made to walk, and the dead raised. Joshua told their fathers to choose whom they would serve, either the Lord or other gods. Their fathers offered only verbal pledges of allegiance, only to quickly turn away. These men, however, made no pretense of following the Lord, and respond, “Far be it from us that we should forsake other gods to serve the Lord, for it is the Lord who speaks to us in hard sayings, whereas other gods will satisfy whatever it is that we may desire. Therefore we will not serve the Lord, for He has been harsh with us.” And so, confident in themselves and their own works, these men turn back and walk with Jesus no longer.
You should not be so confident in yourself. Surely, these men are hypocrites and apostates, but they are also your co-workers, your neighbors, your friends, even your own family. They follow only for a short while, but fall away all too easily when their reason and logic are offended. If they do not believe, then certainly you can not either. They urge you to follow them, not Jesus. They say to you, “How can you possibly believe any of what He says? He does not make any sense.” Are you too offended by Jesus’ hard sayings? Does His claim of exclusivity offend you? Do you find it difficult that He who is Lord of all must suffer and die or is it the fact that you will be treated no better? Or is it that a loving God condemns the unbeliever to eternal damnation and torment? You who are parents, is it a hard saying that Jesus says He must be loved more than you? Are you offended that those who have previously fallen away are, by the grace of God, brought back to Christ? Or, surely you must be offended by the fact that those things which you consider “minor” or “little” are, in fact, truly sins for which you must be condemned. What about His saying that to live you must eat His Flesh and drink His Blood? If He offends you already with what He only says, what will happen when you see Him return from Heaven, where He was before, at the end of time for judgment? Is that what it will take to finally assuage your doubts, or will you simply be even more offended? Choose whom you will serve. Do you want to go away as well?
Repent.
Though hard, Jesus’ words are life, for He is the very Life of the world. Your flesh avails nothing for it can work no good thing. The Flesh of Christ, however, avails everything that is good for you. It is His Flesh which is perfect and which He sacrificed on your behalf and for your salvation and with which He still feeds and nourishes you to this day. Though the world tempts and urges you too to turn away from Jesus, you do not. You do not turn away for the one true Faith has been granted to you by the Father so that you may come to Him who is Life. The Spirit does indeed give life and the life He gives is Christ’s; He gave this Life to you when you were washed clean in the Baptismal font. It is because of your Baptism that you cling to the holy Flesh of Jesus and His life-giving Word while all others turn away. Because Jesus is Life, His words too are life; He is the Word of Life. It is He who spoke all that is into existence. It is He who created life in many a barren womb. It is He who is the Word made flesh in the virginal womb of a young woman. He is truly the Holy One of God, sent by the Father to make you holy.
Jesus says, “Be Baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Here, in the gift of Baptism, the Father grants to you faith in His only Son and the Spirit bestows upon you eternal life. In this, the one true Faith, your adherence to the sinful logic and reason of men are destroyed as the Spirit grants you true faith and true understanding. Jesus says, “I am the Bread of Life; he who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood will live forever.” No longer is this such a hard and strange saying to you! Now, this is a precious Sacrament for you; in fact, it is the true and eternal Medicine of Immortality given for you. Because the Father through the Spirit has brought you to the Son, you have eaten the Flesh of Jesus and drank His Blood. Now, you have life in you because Jesus spoke His Word promising you life in this gift of His very Flesh and Blood; but you also have life in you because you have actually eaten and drank of Him who Himself is Life Eternal. Jesus’ words are spirit and His Flesh is life; you have believed His words and eaten His Flesh because faith has been granted to you. Now, by this rebirth by the Holy Spirit and this eating and drinking, He who is the Holy One of God has indeed made you holy.
Jesus asked the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Bold as ever, St. Peter confesses the Truth saying, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that You are the Holy One of God.” Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but the Father who is in Heaven. Blessed, too then, are all of you! For the Father has revealed to you the very same Truth and you have rejected all false prophets and all false ways, clinging dearly instead to Him who is Eternal Life. Because the Father has granted the one true Faith to you, St. Peter’s confession is now your very own confession. “Do you want to go away as well?” “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that You are the Holy One of God, for You, O Lord, are Life Eternal itself.”
In the Name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.