Saturday of the Third Week in Eastertide

Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life

# Eternal life is perceived differently by people throughout the ages and religions. In the Neolithic period, people believed in the existence of the soul, a different principle from the body. They built monumental monuments where they kept the bodies, the matrices of the soul. The chamber below the dolmens is closed by a door with a hole through which the spirits of the buried bodies can emerge.

Isis, as the wife of Osiris, is the goddess associated with the funeral rites. After finding thirteen of the fourteen body parts of her beloved, who had been murdered and butchered by his jealous brother Set, she gave him the breath of eternal life, and gave him a son Horus. In order to rejoice in eternal life, the Egyptians needed to keep their bodies and their names intact. Judaism proclaims the perenniality of the soul; eternal life is one of the foundations of Judaism’s beliefs. The World to Come, or « Olam haBa », is closely linked to Jewish eschatology and messianism. The New Testament refers to eternal life 43 times; the author who mentions it most is the apostle John (17 mentions in his gospel, 6 in his first epistle).

From the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John

At that time Jesus was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. Many of his disciples, when they heard, said  : « This word is harsh! Who can hear it ? » Jesus knew in himself that his disciples were grumbling about him. He said to them, « Does this offend you? And when you see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before!… It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is capable of nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

But there are some among you who do not believe. « For Jesus knew from the beginning who the unbelievers were, and who it was that would betray him. He added : « This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is given to him by the Father. « From that time on, many of his disciples went away and stopped accompanying him. Then Jesus said to the Twelve, « Do you also want to leave ? « Simon Peter answered, « Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. But we believe and know that you are the Holy One of God. «  (Jn 6, 60-69)

The defection of several disciples

Until now, Jesus had argued with the Jews, who were more or less opposed to his teaching. Now he left the synagogue, followed by his disciples, and several of them went into action. A crisis of faith occurred among them. These disciples, in great numbers, followed him from place to place to hear his word and to witness his works. One day Jesus was able to choose seventy of them to send on mission (Lk 10, 1).

For many, the end of the discourse was beyond their understanding and strength. Their comment : « This word is hard », did not only mean that they found it difficult to understand, but rather impossible to accept: who can listen to it and put it into practice? These disciples took Jesus’ last words as literally and materially as the Jews; but they found a stumbling block in the thought that Jesus had to suffer and die for the life of the world and that they themselves should appropriate the fruits of his death through a mysterious communion with him. This scandalised them.

This prospect was always a cause of scandal to the Jews, and even to the apostles, before they had received the divine Spirit. It is no different for many people today. Jesus knew in himself the secret murmurings of the disciples; he saw at once that they were caused by a failure of faith : « Does this scandalise you, is this an occasion for you to fall and to defect ? « 

« And if you see the Son of Man ascending where he was before ? « (Jn 6, 62): Did Jesus mean that they then became more scandalized, or that they then ceased to be scandalized? This is the question that divided the interpreters. Some, considering that Jesus could not ascend to heaven except by passing through a profound humiliation and the death of which he spoke, thought that he wanted to say to his listeners: « There you will find much greater reason to be offended. « 
Others, focusing exclusively on the idea of Christ’s ascension and glorification, felt that he was bringing home to his hearers the prospect of a time when it would be easier for them to understand the spiritual meaning of his words, to believe in him, in a word, to cease to be scandalized x result for many of Jesus’ followers who had not believed in him until then.

But was it the same for the men who, in the present situation, found in Jesus’ words only an occasion for scandal and fall? Was it easier for them to understand and embrace the person of Christ in his spirituality when he was separated from them and they had to walk by faith and not by sight? Could Jesus give this encouragement, this promise, to hearers who saw his miracles, heard his words, and yet abandoned him?

« Jesus softened this accusation by reducing to a few the number of those who refused to believe in him, to receive him as he had just presented himself to them in this speech. And yet, with this observation, John gave an explanation: Jesus was not surprised by this crisis of faith of his disciples, that he had expected it, that he had seen it in their hearts beforehand.

He knew from the beginning who those who did not believe were and who was the one who delivered him. What does the word « from the beginning » mean ? Most interpreters take it to mean the time when Jesus entered into his ministry and began to gather disciples. Jesus did not yet know them at that time.  The abandonment of many of his disciples caused Jesus deep sorrow ; but he also knew that a purification had to be made among those who had attached themselves to him, and he was less concerned about the number than about the sincere faith and absolute devotion of those who followed him in his humiliations.

This is why he asked the twelve apostles he had chosen this serious and solemn question : « Do you also want to go away? « Jesus wanted to test them and to provoke a full decision in them, for he wanted a people of open mind. He knew them well enough to know that all but Judas would remain faithful to him, and he had no doubt about their answer, but he wanted to hear it from them, for Peter’s beautiful profession must have helped to strengthen their faith.

Simon Peter said to him :  »Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life » (Jn 6, 68): these words were a cry of the soul, and Peter pronounced them with full persuasion, holy enthusiasm and ardent love for Jesus. Peter had already experienced that the words of Jesus were words of eternal life, which contain and communicate to the soul the imperishable life of heaven.

This affirmation of the objective truth of Jesus’ words was made with an intimate certainty based on personal experience. This confession of Peter was the same as the one that took place, according to the synoptics, in Caesarea Philippi.  Such was Jesus’ response to Peter’s confession! With what deep pain Jesus had to pronounce these words !

John did not want the readers to have the slightest doubt about the disciple designated by Jesus, and, sharing Jesus’ grief, he names him Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. He, in turn, could not help pointing out this terrible contrast : « He had to hand him over, one of the twelve !  »  John was not struck by this contrast until later, for at the time of Jesus’ statement none of the disciples knew which of them he had been talking about, and they were unaware of it until Judas consummated his betrayal. The uncertainty in which Jesus left them contained a dreadful warning for all.

Deacon Michel Houyoux

Links to other Christian websites

◊  stmarysparish.co.uk/news : click here to read the paper → Third Week of Eastertide Easter Week – Year B

◊  USCCB : click here to read the paper → Saturday of the Third Week of Easter

♥ Homily of Rev. Fr. Joenick Territorio