Do you want to leave also?
It must be very painful to suffer rejection, especially by a person whose only intention is to do good to those from whom he receives rejection. A week ago today, we heard how after Jesus had fed the 5 thousand with bread, they were so enthused, convinced that this must be the Prophet who was to come, and how they attempted to force him to become king.
The next day they came looking for him in order to get more free bread. When he told them off it was not to humiliate them but to invite them to yet a greater gift he could offer them: do not work for food that you eat and go hungry again, look rather for food that endures to eternal life. Up to that point they understood him, and even asked that he gives them that food always. But when he told them that he is the bread come from heaven and that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood, they felt scandalized and offended: they said that this was intolerable language; how can he give us his flesh to eat? Does he think we are cannibals? From that day, many of his followers started leaving him. That was painful to him, for he only wanted to do good to them.
Even more painful was his knowledge that even among his apostles there were those who did not believe in him. Sadly, he asks them whether they too want to go away. Peter answers for all: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Not that Peter and his companions had understood the teaching. But he stayed because he was convinced of the truthfulness of Jesus. And that is all that Jesus asks of us.
We too have many needs which we come to Jesus for. He can grant them and sometimes he actually does. But he wants us not to confine ourselves to looking for solutions to these temporal challenges, but to accept the great gift he has to offer, that is, himself. Since no one can come to him unless the Father draws him, we pray that the Father draws us to Jesus to understand the truth that he conveys to us through the daily celebration of the Eucharist.
