Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church
Anyone who knows about earthquakes also knows about aftershocks. They follow the big one. Perhaps the earthquake image can describe the effect of some of the statements and challenges Jesus lays out for the early Christian community.
Today’s Gospel is easily seen as a continuation of yesterday’s Gospel in which Jesus clearly calls himself the living bread from heaven. He is clearly implying that just as the people of the Exodus depended upon the manna which fell from heaven, so he is the same kind of life-giving bread that must be eaten. That plain statement without explanation must have rattled the spiritual tectonic plates of the disciples and must have shaken them to the core. We can almost see their shocked expression as they turned to one another asking “What did He just say?”
Today’s reading might be the aftershock as the writer describes the struggle among the disciples to digest what Jesus is saying. The logical steps of Jesus might be these: 1) Do you believe that I come from the Father, which is far beyond your human understanding? 2) Do you believe that I desire to give my life Spirit to you which includes both my body and my spirit? 3) Do you believe that to follow me means to receive my entire person, body, and spirit and let it become a part of you?
Some chose to walk away. Then came another jolt to the bystanders (and us): “What about you, will you also leave?”
Reflection by Fr. Daniel Petsche, OSB
Posted in Article for Easter, Daily Reflections