STAY OR LEAVE -21st Sunday Ordinary Time, Year B
It’s important to leave people free. That doesn’t mean that we don’t try to influence people to do what is good for them. Parents are most anxious that their children do what is right and good for them. They may try to show them the consequences of following one way or another. The way we use our freedom has consequences.
The Church leaves people free. It presents the Gospel and the moral and spiritual teachings, and it hopes and prays people will accept and follow the Gospel teachings, because they lead to good consequences and true freedom. The Church forces no one to be baptized or to come to Mass on Sunday or to keep the commandments.
That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t state the truths and the obligations in these situations, or the consequences that follow. People have to be left free, and people have to take their own responsibility for their actions, living and life. Many deny consequences, and don’t consider the bad or good consequences flowing from what they do and how they live their moral and spiritual lives here and in eternity.
We may be free to say about some Gospel or Church teaching: “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” This is what many of Jesus’ disciples said in response to His teaching on the Bread of Life, the Living Bread come down from heaven, His Body and Blood in the Eucharist. Jesus asked them “Does this shock you”? The teachings of faith are not the kinds of truths that can be measured. They are accepted on faith in the Lord. Faith is a gift that helps us believe.
Jesus didn’t force them to accept the teaching. We are told that “As a result of this, many of His disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied Him”. Jesus didn’t try to stop them. He didn’t change His teaching on the Bread of Life. But that had to be a very sad moment for the Lord and for the other disciples.
The Church in every age has people who leave the Church because of its teachings, which they can’t accept. The Church is saddened when people leave. And yet it knows no one can be forced to believe or to stay in the Church. But it has bad consequences. It means a less and incomplete faith life for the person. The whole Gospel of life is no longer open to those who leave.
We can wonder what happened to those original disciples who left the Lord’s company. They missed out on many more teachings and many more experiences that the other disciples had. Many of them may have heard Jesus was crucified. They may have heard that His disciples were claiming He had risen from the dead and were experiencing being raise up in their persons and lives by the Holy Spirit. They would have missed the disciples who stayed, and taking part in Christ’s mission. Today the same is true for people who can’t accept the full gospel of teachings of Jesus. They settle for less of the teachings. They miss many dimensions of life in Christ and the Church.
It can be frightening to know how free the Lord leaves us, to stay with Him and the Church, or to leave His company. After many of the disciples had left Him, Jesus asked the others: “Do you also want to leave?” The Lord asks that question of all of His disciples in every age. The answer to that question has a whole set of consequences affecting our life in this world and in the world to come. It’s a very real question for all who leave the Church, where the Risen Lord dwells and reveals and carries out His saving actions. Some may not realize the full consequences of their response.
Hopefully we will always use our freedom to stay with the Lord and His Church. We will place our faith in the Lord and therefore in all His teachings. Jesus loves the Church. As Paul says in Ephesians, “Christ handed Himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the Church in splendor…”
May we always say with Simon Peter, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God”.
Be free by staying with the Lord and His Church!
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