Reflection for Sunday 22nd August

It is in our hands

One day a minister of a Church had a member of his Congregation come up and ask him a question. He said’ ‘Now, in my hand, I have a little bird — a little bird — and I want you to tell me, if you are from God, whether the bird in my hand is dead or alive.’ And the minister looks him in the eye knowing what it means, because if he says, ‘The bird is alive,’ he will squash him, and if he says, ‘The bird is dead’, he will open his hands and let him fly. And so, the minister says to him, ‘The life of the bird is in your hands.’

In today’s Gospel we come to the end of Chapter 6 which began with Jesus multiplying the five loaves and the two fish. The Jewish people wanted a Messiah who would free them from the Roman occupying forces and to provide them with plenty of food. However, Jesus wanted to give them more than that. What he offered them was eternal life. Whether they accepted this or not was in their hands. As we heard some of them rejected Jesus and decided to walk away and not follow him anymore. They thought talk of eating his body and drinking his blood was all a bit too much.

In the First Reading Joshua made it known to the people that the faith of their ancestors is not enough. In other words, to rely solely on an inherited faith is not sufficient. At some point a decision must be made as to whether we are going to appropriate the faith that was handed on to us and make it our own. 

Just like he did with his audience at that time Jesus looks at us today. In speaking to us about himself as the Bread of Life Jesus lets us know that he has come from God, that he is one with us and in turn is inviting us to become one with him. He is not asking us to do this as a once-off event. Jesus is asking for our lives. Will we accept his invitation, or will we walk away thinking that it is all a bit too much? And if we decide to walk away, where will we go? 

The choice is in our hands.  

Fr. Alan