Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life

 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"  When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?  What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.  And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."   From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"  He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

- John 6:60-71

Yesterday we read that the leaders in the synagogue in Capernaum quarreled among themselves about Jesus and His teachings in our recent readings, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?"  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.  For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.  He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.  As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.  This is the bread which came down from heaven -- not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead.  He who eats this bread will live forever."  These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"  When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?  What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.  And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."   From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.    My study bible notes here that even His disciples took Jesus' teaching on His Body and Blood as a hard saying -- and that many walked with Him no more.   Of course, within all the denominations and movements of Christianity there are still those who find this a hard saying and reject the sacramental eating of Christ's Body and Blood, thereby not "walking" with this teaching.    The nature of this Mystery is extremely difficult; therefore some have sought to define it rationally or to explain Christ's teaching away, making it purely metaphorical.  My study bible says, "Either extreme is dubious; to reject this sacramental teaching is to reject the witness of the Scriptures and the unanimous teaching of the Church throughout history.  (See also yesterday's commentary.)

Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"  He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.  Jesus Himself notes that many of His followers have deserted Him, and He turns to the twelve to ask if they also want to go away.  But there is power in Peter's answer; Peter, speaking for the Twelve, turns to the truth He knows.  Jesus has the words of eternal life.  Moreover, He is the Christ, the Son of the living God.  This is a unique place, not simply another philosophical way of life or path to spirituality.  Nevertheless, Jesus knows He will be betrayed by one of these twelve.

We come to a point in Jesus' ministry where His teachings are so controversial, they stir up so much antipathy and consternation, that His followers begin to desert Him.  To eat Christ's flesh and to drink His blood remains a "hard saying," unless we can grasp a notion of Mystery, something beyond our capability to understand precisely how it works.  This is the realm of faith, where we accept that Christ is mystically present in the Eucharist, and so this has been the teaching from the earliest apostles.  Even though others fall away, there is something more here to be found:  as many no longer choose to follow Him, so the disciples' faith grows stronger, with the exception of the one who will betray Him.  Peter tells the truth:  ""Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life."  This is the kind of reckoning we have that comes at rare and memorable moments in life, when we're faced with a depth of struggle and suddenly have a glimmer of truth -- how we really feel about something or someone, what the truth is for us.  Who else has these words?  Where would they ever find them?  We can all ask ourselves the same questions.  Is Jesus crazy, or does He say things that have no sense to them?  No, His words are beauty and truth, and they are the words of eternal life, and all that He teaches must be taken in context with the rest.  Furthermore, there is more to the experience of the Twelve with Christ.  Again, Peter uses language that makes it clear He is speaking for all of them:  "Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  This is the product of their experience, and experience is all-important to our understanding of our faith.  Where else do we find what we find with Christ?   Do His very life, and very words, not sustain and and come to us in ways that we come to believe and know that He is Christ, the Son of the living God?  Experience is important, and ours is an experiential faith.  It is one of communion, and not merely abstract philosophy.  What do we find in our worship?  In our prayers?  Do we not, with experience, come to understand these words are true, and that His very life works in our life to bring salvation, help, change, transcendence, hope?  This is the reality the disciples have come to know and to share.  It is the sign of growth in their faith, and so we should come to understand that our own lives of faith are a process, a journey, a path -- a way, in the true sense of the original Greek word (ὁδὸς/odos) which also literally means "road" (See John 14:6).   If we look at Christ's word and teachings, at the experience of the Twelve, even at those who no longer walk with Christ, we see that we are indeed on a road, and so much depends on which direction we're taking on that road.  We're either on that road with Him, or we're not.  All of our bumps and turns and detours or pauses along the way may be distractions and difficulties, but so often it is a question of reconciling our own experience within the heart so they become learning curves.  Sometimes a stumbling block is just that -- something to catch our attention and come back to this road a better way, with a better grasp of just what is asked of us and what our lives with Him are all about.  Peter will go through several of these "stumbling blocks" in the Gospels (for instance, here).  Which way are you walking?  Jesus teaches, "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).   But we need to understand that our goal isn't perfection in the usual sense in which we think of its meaning.  Rather, the word Jesus uses in the original Greek of the Gospels has the root of the word for "end" (τέλειος/telios) -- meaning complete, full, mature, and has come in context to be understood as indicating the fullness of the Christian character.  What we want is the long journey of faith, experience, the fullness of going toward the end of that road, Christ Himself.  He points us to the Father, whom we should be like -- as we are on that road on the way there, in the process of always becoming, in His words and truth, and in the fullness of the Eucharist, in Him, in the eternal and abundant fullness of life itself.