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Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon
Peter answered him, “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.” John 6:67–69
These words of Saint Peter present us with the conviction we must
have when fidelity to the will of God becomes difficult. God is
demanding. He wants everything from us. We will only obtain Heaven
once we surrender everything over to the will of the Father and
believe all that He has revealed. If we fail to do so before we
die, we will need to be purified in Purgatory. There is no way
around this. God is a demanding God to the greatest extent
possible.
The truth is that this is all good. It is good that God demands
complete submission to His perfect will and teaching because these
are exactly what is best for us. From time to time, because of our
weak and fallen human nature, we can perceive God’s will as too
demanding and His teaching as too difficult. Do I really have to
forgive everyone completely? Do I really have to lay my life down
without reserve? Do I really have to keep the Commandments to
perfection? Do I really have to be perfect as the Father in Heaven
is perfect? Yes. But as we try to do so, we will experience many
temptations to give up, thinking that God’s will is too hard.
Today’s Gospel comes at the end of the beautiful Bread of Life
Discourse in which our Lord taught clearly, “Amen, amen, I say to
you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his
blood, you do not have life within you.” At the beginning of
today’s Gospel, upon listening to Jesus’ new teaching, many of His
disciples murmured among themselves saying, “This saying is hard;
who can accept it?” This teaching of Jesus is “hard” in the sense
that it requires a profound faith to understand completely. But
just because something is hard to accept does not mean that we
should not accept it.
Peter’s statement quoted above gives us the words we should say
whenever we find God’s will or His teaching difficult to accept.
When that happens, we must hear Jesus ask us the same question He
asked the Twelve: “Do you also want to leave?” Jesus will not try
to manipulate us. He will not back down when He sees we are
struggling. He will not lessen the requirement of being His
faithful follower. Instead, He will give us the freedom to either
believe or leave. And when we feel like leaving, we should always
remember Peter’s words, “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.”
Peter’s statement says all we need to know in the face of any
interior conflict of faith. Sure, we could leave our Lord and do
our own thing. But where would we go? To embrace the passing
pleasures of the world? To what end? If we believe and are
convinced that Jesus is the Holy One of God, then no matter how
hard, no matter how demanding, no matter how difficult, we must
embrace fidelity to God in all things. That act of fidelity,
especially when we struggle with some interior conflict, is the key
to unlocking the transforming power of God in our lives.
Reflect, today, upon any ways that you have felt God’s will or any
of His revealed truths to be difficult and demanding. When you face
such an interior challenge, what do you do? If your response is to
turn from God and become lax in your fidelity to Him, then reflect
upon Peter’s words to Jesus. Make those words your prayer, and let
that prayer strengthen your conviction to become an unwavering and
faithful follower of God.
My demanding Lord, in Your great love and mercy You require
everything of me. You ask me to give You my life in total surrender
and service of Your perfect will. When I am weak, give me strength.
When I doubt, give me faith. Help me, Lord, to always deepen my
resolve and to follow You with complete fidelity. Jesus, I trust in
You.
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Featured image above: Jesus in glory with apostles by Edouard
Amedee Didron, stained glass window in Saint Thomas Aquinas in
Paris, France, via Adobe Stock
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