Resistance

Homily for Friday of the Third Week in Easter

Once again, the word that struck me as I read this Gospel text does not actually appear in the reading. However, I think the word resistance characterizes the reaction of the crowd to Jesus’ proclamation that his flesh is true food and his blood is true drink. According to St. John, Jesus addresses this proclamation to the Jews. At the end of the reading, we learn that Jesus has moved to the synagogue of Capernaum. In recording these details, St. John gives us a picture of what has happened since the beginning of this chapter of the Gospel.

The discourse on the bread of life begins with Jesus feeding the crowd in a deserted place. Having fed the crowd, the scene changes. The disciples begin the journey back to Capernaum but are stopped in their efforts by a storm. At that point, they see Jesus coming toward them, walking on the water. They are incredulous, unbelieving. They think they are seeing a ghost. When Jesus actually comes to the boat, the disciples intend to take him into it. They then realize that they have arrived at their destination.

In Capernaum the crowd has caught up with Jesus and his disciples. They asked Jesus for a sign. What more do they need? How can they simply ignore the fact that Jesus has fed them though it appeared that no one had enough food for the crowd? At this point, St. John returns to one of the primary reasons for composing the Gospel; namely, that the people come to believe in Jesus. Jesus directly challenges their faith. They have failed to appreciate who Jesus is. The crowd has now begun to disperse. There is no way that they could have found enough room in the synagogue of Capernaum for all of them.

Jesus issues a direct challenge. “Unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have life within you.” This proves to be the final straw. They completely resist Jesus’ contention that believing in him is God’s will for them.

Though we all believe that Jesus is present in the Eucharist, we also have to admit that we sometimes resist the words of Jesus, particularly the words that call for our conversion. As we go through our day, let us be mindful of not only the resistance of the Jews in today’s Gospel text, but also our resistance to the call that Jesus issues to all of us to place our complete faith in him.