A tedious mission?

A tedious mission?

21st Sunday Ordinary Time – B

Five Sundays ago, the crowd wanted to make Jesus king. Now, most of those who have stayed through his long sermon about bread from heaven and eating and drinking his own flesh and blood are calling it quits. “This is too hard,” they grumble. “It was better when he just gave us food. Why does he have to say all this other nonsense?”

Note, Jesus was preaching to his disciples in the synagogue (John 6:59–60). It’s his disciples, not some random crowd, who’ve become tired of him. His shocking statements and his long, tedious mission are not what they signed up for.

The Eucharist binds and emboldens us together in Christ, who feeds us with the words of eternal life. Pray for me as I pray for you that we may speak with conviction in the Holy One of God. Click To Tweet

Jesus here is the patron of all who have the courage to preach, write, and say the hard stuff even if it means losing your followers. Those who risk being unpopular by giving people what they need instead of what they want. Those who are in it for the long road of conversion paved with simple acts of bravery, boldness, and self-sacrifice.

Our eucharistic “Amen” is saying yes to the hard things of discipleship; yes to sticking with one another even when others leave. The Eucharist binds and emboldens us together in Christ, who feeds us with the words of eternal life. Pray for me as I pray for you that we may speak with conviction in the Holy One of God.

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This post was first published in “GIA Quarterly: A Liturgical Music Journal.”
Image credit: Photo by jesse orrico on Unsplash.

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