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 to 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 had 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 

 

This week we have been reading chapter 6 of John's Gospel, in which the eucharistic concepts of Christ as the bread of heaven, and also the sacrifice He will make on the Cross have been introduced.  Yesterday's text told us that the Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, 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 to 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 had 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 comments here that even His disciples took Christ's teaching on His Body and Blood as a hard saying, and many walked with Him no more.  To this day, there are still those who reject Christ's own words concerning this sacramental eating of His Body and drinking His Blood, and so do not walk in His teaching.  My study Bible further notes that because of the difficulty of grasping the depth of this Mystery, many attempt to define its nature in a rational way, or to explain away His words completely, giving them simply a metaphorical meaning.  But either extreme is dubious.  To reject this sacramental teaching is to reject the witness of the Scriptures and the unanimous teaching of the Church through its history.  

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.  Here is St. Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ as it appears in John's Gospel, within the context of other disciples turning away because of His hard saying on His Body and Blood (see above).  Let us note also the injection here of the note of betrayal, even among Christ's most intimate set of disciples, the twelve.  

For the first time in John's Gospel, the note of betrayal to come is mentioned.  Here, after a long discourse on Himself as the bread of life, and the bread which came down from heaven, Jesus finally interjects the truth about how His Crucifixion will come about -- the means by which He will give His flesh for the life of the world (see yesterday's reading, above).  Perhaps it is most noteworthy that just as other disciples desert Him for his hard saying about His Body and Blood, so it is at this time that Peter's faith is not simply crystalized, but the confession of faith (on behalf of the twelve as well) is made -- that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.  John's emphasis is important and interesting.  Not only is Jesus the Son of the living God, with its emphasis on the power of life itself, but Peter's confession is also one about the very words Jesus offers to them and to the world.  His are the words of eternal life.  In the following chapter of John's Gospel, the temple officers are sent to arrest Jesus, but are unable to do so.  When asked by the religious authorities why they have failed, the officers reply, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  As this Gospel begins with the teaching that Jesus is Logos, the Word, so we understand that in His very words is the power of eternal life also.  As Jesus says, "For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak" (John 12:49-50).  The power in His very words is the power of eternal life, rooted in the Source of all, God the Father.  Let us note once again that all things are determined through our response to these words of eternal life:  just as other disciples turn away, so Peter makes his confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ.  And just as this confession is heard on behalf of the twelve, so Jesus introduces the fact of betrayal among them, calling the one who will betray him a devil, indicating that in that betrayal is the power of the spiritual forces that oppose Him.  As we go through Lent, we head toward Holy Week and the story of the Crucifixion, death, and Resurrection of our Lord.  As Jesus informs the disciples about the betrayal to come (which they no doubt scarcely can comprehend), let us take into account what we know about that betrayal, that it is through Christ's death that the devil and death itself will be defeated, for all of us.  So let us also ponder that no circumstance can keep us from the love of God, nor from God's work in us and in the world.  Our present lectionary readings also give us selections from St. Paul's letter to the Romans.  Let us read his words:  "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . .  Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:35-39).  Neither will betrayal by a devil; for with God not only are all things possible, but for God's purposes all things may be used (see Romans 8:28).  When we see tribulation in our own times and in our lives, let us remember that God has a place and a way for us with which to meet all things.  We can say with St. Peter, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ

 

 Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house.  But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her.  So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.  And immediately she arose and served them.  

When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.  And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.  

 

Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place.  And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."  And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

 

- Luke 4:38–44 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus, after visiting His hometown of Nazareth and being rejected there, went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.  Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.  And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.  Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

 

  Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house.  But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her.  So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.  And immediately she arose and served them.   My study Bible remarks that this passage and 1 Corinthians 9:5 (in which Simon Peter is called Cephas) indicate that Peter was married.  Christ's healing miracles, it notes, are diverse.  In this case, He heals by a word.  In other cases, He heals by touch (Matthew 8:1-4).  This healing is immediate and complete, but others are gradual (Mark 8:22-25) or they require the cooperation of the person or their loved ones (Luke 8:54-55).   All of Christ's miracles, my study Bible adds, manifest His redemption of ailing humanity.  We note also the language here:  Christ rebuked the fever.  My study Bible quotes St. Cyril of Alexandria:  "That which was rebuked was some living thing unable to withstand the influence of Him who rebuked it, for it is not reasonable to rebuke a thing without life and unconscious of the rebuke.  Nor is it astonishing for there to exist certain powers that inflict harm on the human body."

When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.  And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.    Let us note here first of all that we're given a sample of a "day" in Christ's early ministry.  During this Sabbath, Christ was in the synagogue and rebuked the unclean demon (in yesterday's reading; see above).  Then Jesus left the synagogue and went to Simon Peter's house, where He rebuked the fever of Peter's mother-in-law.  Here the sun is setting (this is actually the start of a new day in the ancient Jewish reckoning) and so the people all come with their sick and those with various diseases, and bring them to Jesus to be healed.  Again, part of this healing is the expelling of the demons, who are once again rebuked by Christ.  And also again, as in yesterday's reading, the demons know exactly who He is; they know the messianic secret.

 

Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place.  And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."  And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.   This is the same day that begun (at sunset) with the healing of the sick and demon-possessed, only now it is daylight.  Perhaps Jesus went to a deserted place for prayer or rest.  But the crowd sought Him out,  and tried to keep Him from leaving them.  This is a repeated experience in the ministry of Jesus.  My study Bible comments, regarding His response to them, that Christ's primary mission was to preach the kingdom.  It notes that miracles and healings testify both to the truth of the message and the identity of the Teacher (see Luke 5:24).  The same pattern holds true in the Church (Acts 4:29-30).  

 

We have repeatedly read about Jesus acting to rebuke in several ways.   He rebukes a fever in the case of St. Peter's mother-in-law, He rebukes the demons who speak and identify Him as the Christ, the Son of God.  In that latter case, Christ's rebuke is like a muzzle, His command is for them to be quiet (literally so, in yesterday's reading, above).  So let us examine directly what a rebuke is, and what is meant by this.  Oddly, perhaps, this word in Greek is related to "honor."   It has to do with placing proper weight on something, giving it the proper value.  In this case, the word meaning to rebuke (ἐπιτιμάω/epitimao) indicates, according to Strong's Greek Concordance, meting out a due correction, even a warning to prevent something from going wrong.  So "rebuke" as an action of Christ is yet another action of authority, a kind of authority that has the ultimate discernment regarding what is fitting and right, and what is not.  Jesus has this authority to assign values, including, apparently, negative values.  It is yet one more aspect of His identity as Son of God.  He can teach us what is good to say, what is not good to say.   It's very interesting to note that, although what the demons say is quite true, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, that they know something that the people don't know, it's nevertheless inappropriate and not good for them to say it.  Hence, Christ is the One who is the ultimate judge of all things (John 5:22), and here in His authority He makes it clear that His identity must not be publicly revealed except in the proper way and at the proper time.  This gives us several avenues to consider:  First of all, the demons are those in rebellion against God; even a truth spoken from them is misleading, inappropriate, used improperly, and a hindrance to God's plan for salvation and Christ's mission in the world.  This alone gives us a great deal to consider in terms of our own discernment when we speak to others, and how, for example, we respond to our prayer lives and where God would lead us -- including who we listen to and why.  Even what is true can be used in a false and misleading way.  If the demons were enabled or allowed to continue to reveal the real nature of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, all of the misunderstandings and inappropriate expectations of the Messiah would trample upon Christ's ministry, creating chaos for Him.  Soon enough, this will happen in its own time and in the ways we will see; but it will all be used by the Lord for the Lord's purposes.  Christ also rebukes the fever of St. Peter's mother-in-law.  Like St. Cyril of Alexandria responds, this would indicate that there is a type of "living thing" that is the cause of this fever being rebuked by Christ.  Again, Christ's authority and discernment is being expressed in the rebuke.  Is this fever caused by a demonic force, or something else?  Perhaps it is so, as St. Cyril in his wisdom states.  This fever has the effect of disabling in a temporary way this woman who would be the elder woman of the household, the one who -- minus the fever -- becomes upright and serves Christ and His ministry (immediately she arose and served them).  In other words, she not only is engages the honor to serve Christ and this beginning ministry, but she becomes able to take her rightful place in the household.  Thus Christ's rebuke again puts things in a way that are fitting and right, bestowing the proper honor and value and rectifying a situation.  What we perhaps are meant to learn from this action on the part of Jesus is His role as the ultimate discerner and judge of all things.  It is Christ who can mediate and assign values, teaching us what is proper and true and what is not.  Even a true statement in a false place or manner of use becomes bad, a misuse of knowledge for misleading purposes.  Something done at the wrong time, not at the proper hour or with the proper preparation, also becomes a false step, a way to mislead and waylay God's purposes and Christ's plan of salvation.   In today's world, there is a high price placed on information.  That is, information of all and almost any kind.  We have a proliferation of sights, internet portals, social media, and all kinds of technologies designed for gathering information in all kinds of ways.  But what the story in today's reading seems to tell us is that there is a proper time for all kinds of things, and an improper way to use even what is true.  St. Paul writes, "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify" (1 Corinthians 10:23).  Let us pray that we will use discernment, in both consuming and hearing information, and in spreading it.