***
Gospel: John 6:44-51
Jesus said to the crowds:
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets:
They shall all be taught by God.
Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my Flesh for the life of the world.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
Why is it so hard for some to believe? Or why do we who already believe struggle at times?
***
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him.”
This word, “draw,” implies a type of resistance.
It’s the same word that John later uses to describe Saint Peter dragging a net of fish ashore. Think of the resistance offered by the fish themselves, then the water, then the sand.
Peter literally pulls that net with all of his might.
***
Similarly, God is constantly drawing us to himself, yet we resist Him, much like a fish caught, flapping furiously in a net.
***
Some may resist the truth that Christ is fully present in the Eucharist.
He tells us plainly in today’s Gospel, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
We hear the Lord. Yet how often do we gaze upon Him with incredulous eyes? We question. Doubt. Try to rationalize.
Others may resist Christ’s invitation to, “Follow me.”
Like the rich young man, who walked away from the Lord “sad, for he had many possessions,” fear can paralyze us. God draws upon our heart and feet, yet we drag them in the sand.
We convince ourselves that if we take Jesus at his word then somehow we’ll lose out on life; we are better off making our own decisions.
***
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him.”
Where do I resist the Lord?
***
May we give up the fight, surrendering ourselves into the hands of Jesus, “who has loved us and given himself for us.”
***
***
Image credits: (1) Going by Faith (2) Reddit (3) RChiips.org