However, Jesus knows our nature much more than we know ourselves. He decided to give a little test to the people who were following him. He said to them, "In all truth I tell you, you are looking for me not because you have seen the signs but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat". (Jn 6:26) Plainly, what Jesus was saying to them was that they were following him because he had given them something to eat. I would imagine that many of them would have denied that they were there because they were given food. Jesus pressed his point and said, "In all truth I tell you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you". (Jn 6:53) When they heard these words many people left because they considered this to be intolerable language (Jn 6:59) Jesus did not panic. Instead he turned to Peter and said, "What about you, do you want to go away to?" But Peter, the disciple replied, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the message of eternal life." (Jn 6:59) Peter replied in this manner not because he understood precisely what Jesus was talking about. He remained with Jesus because as a disciple he had total trust in whatever Jesus was saying in spite of not being able to rationally understand the words of Jesus.
We are called to be disciples of Jesus and not merely to be part of the crowd; following what the majority says or how the majority acts. This entails three very specific directions. In the first place, to be a disciple means to follow Jesus every single moment of our lives. My cousin is an expert in karate. In my second parish where I was serving as an assistant priest, I noticed many young people hanging around the church and school yard, doing nothing. I asked my cousin whether he would be prepared to start a karate class in the parish. The idea was to give these young people a venue where they could meet and make good use of their time. After some months, my cousin asked me to visit the class. There were about fifty people of different ages. They were all talking and teasing each other. When my cousin entered the room they all fell silent. Then he went to the front of the room, stood still and all the people bowed to him. Then he started to give them instructions in Japanese and all would obey him. After the class finished, he came over to me and asked me what I thought. I told him that I was very impressed. What really impressed me was that he spoke to them in a foreign language and they all obeyed him. Now they were going home and their parents would speak to them in English. Would they obey? Not very often. I asked him why were these students so eager to follow what he was asking them to do. He told me that the answer was very simple. They all wanted to be like him, to be able to obtain a black belt and therefore they were prepared to follow him in whatever he asked them to do. This is what discipleship means, to follow one master Jesus and no one or nothing else.
Secondly, to be a disciple of Jesus entails obedience to the direction, teachings, values and principles of Jesus Christ. This is a very hard word for many of us. We do not like to obey. We all like to command. However, Jesus did not become a human person like us to offer us a few suggestions. What he said was a command. During the last supper, when he took the bread and said to his disciples, "This is my Body", he did not add that if they found it hard to believe or to understand then they did not need to take him seriously. In the same manner, when he took the chalice filled with wine and said to his disciples, "This is my Blood", he did not also say to them that it will be perfectly O.K. with him if they qualified what he had just been saying. Jesus did not go through such a painful passion in order to propose a do as you like way of living. He had one purpose, To make us understand where we came from, what is our purpose in living this life and where our final destiny is going to be. We come from Him. We are living in this world, to make our society a much better place to live in based on the values and teaching of Jesus Christ. We are destined to live with our God for eternity. To achieve this, there is a specific way of acting and believing. To be a disciple of Jesus means to embrace totally and solely the way of acting and believing of Jesus Christ.
Finally, this entails a decision to change if and when needed, from our way of doing things to the ways of Jesus. This is what is meant by "repentance". This word is found both in the first reading of today as well as in the gospel. Repentance entails three basic steps. Firstly, we need to be honest. We need to admit that there are certain areas in our lives that need to be changed. There are areas in our lives where we are still in control, where our God is a total stranger. Secondly, with honesty, there is also the need to say that we need to change. To admit our need is the first step. This needs to be followed by a determined decision on our part that we do not want to go on living and acting in this way. Thirdly, we are called to admit that by ourselves this course of action is too hard. We need God's help. This is where talking with someone for guidance and right direction is very important. Moreover, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is a very powerful opportunity where we come before our God, to be honest, to decide to change and to ask for His help to put into practice our resolve.
God bless.
