:22, 1997
The Message m for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana
9
Commentary m
ion to a sermon: Rejection and a profession of faith
Commentary for
1997: Twenty-First
Ordinary Time: Cycle B:
6:60.69
For the past four Sundays the
gs were taken from
first reading consisted of
by which Jesus fed five
people with a few loaves of
and a few fish. We noted that
the Gospel of John the miracles
"signs," i.e. they signify or
a reality beyond themselves
seven of these signs rang-
from Jesus changing water into
the wedding feast of Cana in chapter two to
of Lazarus in chapter eleven. To
of these signs John attaches a sermon or dis-
explaining the significance of the miracle in
to the identity of Jesus, who he is, what
does.
To the miracle of feeding five thousand John
;ermon demonstrating how Jesus' teach-
new manna that the Father is giving from
right now, how Jesus is not only the ultimate
of the words or teaching of God in the
Torah incarnate. Since the Scrip-
spoke of the study and observance of the Torah
eating and drinking, John applies this metaphor
teachings and to Jesus himself as the
as God's final teaching to be taken
Spiritual food, a food that gives immortal life.
were made in the second and third
from John 6. The fourth selection,
went a step further. If Jesus as God's
is to be received under the symbolism
through faith in him and his teaching, then
himself, i.e. his flesh and blood, are to be taken
and drink in a sense so real that John insists
l the truth of this three times and with an oath. At
he uses language nearly gross, that to have
life one must gnaw or munch on Jesus.
drinking blood!
F
By FATHER
DON DILGER
COLUMNIST
When we recall that John
writes for Jewish people, whether
Christian Jews or other, to whom
the Scriptures absolutely forbid the
use or ingestion of blood in any
form, and to whom Jesus' words
would have sounded like cannibal-
ism, rejection was to be expected
even within the Christian commu-
nity. This reaction is what John
describes in this final selection
from John 6. "Many of his disciples,
when they heard it, said, 'This is a
hard saying. Who can listen to it?"
What was said earlier of Jewish
opposition to Jesus' words, that
they murmured, is now said of the Christian com-
munity itself. John therefore equates these Chris-
tians with the ancient Israelites who would not
trust God in the wilderness and were ultimately
rejected from the promised land. John next argues
from a greater to a lesser point. If we believe that
Jesus as a human being (son of man) has been
taken into the glory which the Son had with the
Father from eternity, then it is surely possible that
the words of Jesus about eating his flesh and drink-
ing his blood can be trusted. John adds a caution,
"The words that I have spoken are spirit and,life2
In other words, only one born of the spirit, a believ-
er, one who has committed to Jesus and his words,
is capable of accepting this teaching. As John wrote
earlier in the sermon, "No one can come to me
unless the Father draws teat person." For them
and for us, where the senses fail, faith comes to the
rescue. Thus John adds, "It is the spirit that gives
life. The flesh is of no help."
As there were unbelievers among the ancient
Israelites, so it was to be among the new Israelites.
John writes, "There are some of you who do not
believe." Then he reassures his readers that this
was not entirely unplanned, when he adds, "Jesus
knew from the first who those Were that did not
believe, and who it was that would betray him."
John had already compared unbelievers in the
Christian community to the ancient unbelieving
Israelites who were rejected from entering the
promised land. Now he compares them to Judas. He
adds this additional indictment when he portrays
Jesus as saying, "Did I not choose you, the twelve,
and one of you is a devil?' He spoke of Judas the son
of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was to
betray him." How could this happen not only with
Judas but with those who followed his example by
rejecting this teaching? The answer: "This is why I
told you, none can come to me unless it is granted
by my Father." Or as John writes in I John 2:19,
"They left us but they were not of us, for if they had
been of us, they would have continued with us, but
they went out, that it might be evident that none of
them are part of us."
John notes that many disciples withdrew from
Jesus and refused to be seen with him. So much for
the negative reactiop. The author could hardly close
this chapter without a positive reaction from faith-
ful Christians. Simon Peter becomes their
spokesperson. At this point in the story John por-
trays Jesus saying to the twelve, "Do you also want
to go away?" Peter answers for all faith-filled Chris-
tians, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the
words of eternal life, and we have believed, and
have come to know, that you are the Holy One of
God." This great profession of faith returns to earli-
er themes of this chapter. The Scriptures affirm
that the words of the Torah give life. Jesus is the
Torah incarnate. His words give eternal life. His
credentials? He is "the Holy On of God," a name
derived from Isaiah 49:7, used of the Servant of
Yahweh. In Isaiah this servant is loathed and
despised by some but will be victorious because he
is chosen by the Lord who is true to his words.
where our senses and understanding fail, we join
with Peter to profess that the words of John in this
chapter are words of eternal life from God who is
faithful to his words and sent his Holy One to
reveal them. Amen! Amen!
Readings: Joshua 24:1.2a, 15.17, 18b; Eph.
esians 5:21.32.
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Golden Jubilarians
Clarence and Emma (Buechler) Wilmes will celebrate their
fiftieth wedding anniversary with a Mass of Thanksgiving
at 10:30 a.m. Aug. 31 at Holy Family Church, Jasper. A din-
ner for invited guests will follow at the Knights of Columbus
Home in Jasper. The couple requests no gifts. They were
married Sept. 6, 1947, at St. Ferdinand Church, Ferdinand.
They are the parents of three children: Allen Wilmes of
Auburn, Betty Verkamp of Jasper, and Arthur Wiimes of
Indianapolis. They have seven grandchildren. Mr, Wilmes
is retired from Jasper Lumber Co.; Mrs. Wilmes is retired
from Holiday Liquors.
Golden Jubilarians
Linus and Hilda (Metzger) Rahman of Ferdinand will cele-
brate their fiftieth wedding anniversary with a Man of
Thanksgiving at 2 p.m. Aug. 23 at St. Ferdinand Church,
Ferdinand. A dinner for family and friends will be followed
by an Open House from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Ferdinand Com-
munity Center. The couple requests no gifts. They were mar-
ried Aug, 26, 1947, at St. Ferdinand Church. They are the
parents of 11 children: Marcella Harpenau of Branchville,
Carol Lueken of Birdseye, Martha Demuth and Frank Rah.
man, both of St. Meinrad, Margaret Hoffman, Mary Jo
Giesler, Doris Klein, Alan Rahman, Edwin Rahman, Steve
Rahman and Connie Rahman, all of Ferdinand. They have
25 grandchildren, and four great.grandchildren,
