’So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” ‘ From John 6:56-69.
“He was there for us. We’ve now got to be there for him whilst he’s going through this.” Sean, 17, of Freddie Flintoff as he recovered from a serious car accident.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of gaining eternal life through eating the bread of heaven which is his flesh and blood, to be offered on Good Friday as his body is pierced and blood flows from the wounds the soldiers inflict on him. However this happens before the Last Supper and those with Jesus are bemused, wondering what on earth he’s talking about and finding it all too hard to understand. They complain about it, and even his disciples say that it’s a hard teaching with many refusing to follow him any more with Jesus even challenging those who remain and asking if they also want to leave. This must have been a difficult time, before Simon Peter replies that there is no-one else to whom they could go for Jesus has the words of eternal life and is the Holy One of God – although he was later to deny him.
Earlier, Jesus had referred to the manna in the wilderness when the Israelites were given sufficient food for the day. Initially, there had been thankfulness for the escape from Egypt (Exodus 15:1-22) but this quickly turned into complaints as the Israelites began to doubt and found it hard to trust in what is happening. Even though God
miraculously provided water, quails and manna for them, the people complained and began to grumble about Moses and his leadership. So it is with Jesus: even though he has miraculously provided food for the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:1-14) the people begin to complain about him and to doubt what he is saying. His followers reject Jesus as the manna to which he refers but, in the way they grumble about him, treat him just as the Israelites responded to manna in the wilderness – showing that he is the manna on which they could feed. Many, however, choose not to.
As they turn from him, Jesus suggests that this is because some of them do not believe (v64) but this word can also be translated as trust or reliance. The people don’t trust him, despite what they have witnessed earlier, just as the Israelites doubted Moses despite what God provided for them. Jesus suggests that trust is key when he says that they can abide in him and he in them (v56) – regardless of the circumstances and perhaps because of them. Abiding with Jesus is challenging when he baffles his followers with his teaching and learning from him is difficult, particularly when many want their physical rather than spiritual needs met by him. Having seen him at first as a Moses figure, to continue the discipleship he offers is a challenge many can’t or won’t undertake and they turn back rather than abide with him.
Recently, the former England cricketer Freddie Flintoff began to coach a team of lads from the streets in Preston, using the sport to try to encourage them to do more with their lives and develop their skills. Some fell by the wayside although others committed to what he was offering, and ideas of a tour in India were mooted. During this time, Freddie had a bad accident whilst filming for Top Gear and his recovery was delayed by not only his physical wounds but also the flashbacks and anxiety attacks that he suffered. Sean, one of the lads from a difficult background who had not easily settled, realised that Freddie needed help and time and seemed to commit to that, saying: “He was there for us. We’ve now got to be there for him whilst he’s going through this.”
Abiding comes in many forms.
With my prayers; pob bendith,
Christine, Priest Guardian.