John 6:60-69

Acts 9:31-42

Psalm 116:12-13, 14-15, 16-17

John 6:60-69

Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said,

“This saying is hard; who can accept it?”

Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,

he said to them, "Does this shock you?

What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?

It is the Spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail.

The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.

But there are some of you who do not believe.”

Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe

and the one who would betray him.

And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me

unless it is granted him by my Father.”

As a result of this,

many of his disciples returned to their former way of life

and no longer walked with him.

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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, every day I am faced with a decision to believe and follow you and your Son or return to my former way of life. Strengthen my resolve to follow you always. You truly give me life in your Son. I never want to be separated from you.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Doing the Works Jesus Did: Jesus promises that those who believe in him will do the works that he accomplished (John 14:12). In today’s Gospel, Peter includes himself in the group of those who have come to believe in Jesus as the Holy One of God, and, in the First Reading, we see Peter accomplish the works of Jesus Christ. During his public ministry, Jesus restored at least three people to life: Jarius’ daughter (Matthew 9:24-25; Mark 5:40-42; Luke 8:49-56), the widow’s son (Luke 7:11-17), and his friend Lazarus (John 11:1-44). These miracles and signs are all invitations to faith. Jesus tells Jairus: “Do not be afraid; only have faith” (Mark 5:36; Luke 8:50); he tells his disciples: “Lazarus is dead; and for your sake I am glad I was not there because now you will believe" (John 11:15); and he asks Lazarus' sister Mary: "Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:26). Jesus' miracles attest that the Father has sent him. They invite belief in him. “By freeing some individuals from the earthly evils of hunger in justice, illness, and death, Jesus performed Messianic signs” (CCC, 549). Peter has experienced Christ and seen his works and, through an act of faith, enters more deeply into communion with Jesus and with the Father. His confession today at Capernaum, “You are the Holy One of God,” parallels his confession at Caesarea Philippi, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:16).

2. Reactions to Jesus’ Bread of Life Discourse: The Gospel presents two different reactions to Jesus’ Bread of Life discourse. There were many disciples who murmured in protest. Despite the signs and miracles Jesus has done, they refuse to accept his teaching about the Eucharist: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53). They refuse to believe, break away from Jesus, and will not accompany him any longer. The opposite response is that represented by Simon Peter, who says to Jesus: “Lord, you have the words of eternal life; and we have come to believe and are convinced that you of the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-69). Peter walks by faith and is confident that by following Jesus he will receive the promise of eternal life. We learn today that faith is a gift from God that we freely reject or freely accept. That is why Jesus says: “No one can come to me unless it is granted to him by the Father” (John 6:65). God’s grace moves us and assists us in making an act of faith. We freely collaborate with God’s grace; our hearts are moved and converted to God; God opens the eyes of our mind, bringing us out of our spiritual blindness, and enables us to accept and believe the truth (CCC, 153). That truth is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, sent by the Father to redeem us and save us and bring us into the unity of his family, the Church. In Christ and through him, we are invited to become, in the Holy Spirit, God's adopted children and heirs of his blessed life (CCC, 1).

3. Peter’s Two Miracles: In the First Reading, we hear of Peter leaving Jerusalem to minister to the new people of God in Judean towns near the Mediterranean Sea. Just as he did miracles in Jerusalem, Peter works a miracle in the name of Jesus Christ in Lydda and says to the paralyzed man, named Aeneas: “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up.” Peter has received power from Jesus and exercises it in Jesus’ name. As well, he invites Aeneas to a deeper faith in Jesus, who now reigns in heaven. In a second miracle, Peter imitates the words of Jesus to the little girl. Jesus said in Aramaic: “Talitha qum,” which means, “Little girl, rise up!”. And Peter likely said in Aramaic: “Tabitha qum,” which means, “Tabitha, rise up!”. In this way, “Luke continues to show that what the apostles do and say in Acts is continuing what ‘Jesus did and taught’ in the Gospel (Acts 1:1). This occurs as they exercise great faith, confident in Jesus’ power and in their own authority to speak and act in his name under the leading of the Holy Spirit” (Kurz, Acts of the Apostles, p. 165).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you have pronounced my name and invited me to rise with you to new life. You invite me to follow you even when others reject you and the mysteries you reveal. You can do great things in and through me and I entrust myself to you today.

Living the Word of God: How am I called to follow Jesus today? Will I be like Peter and reaffirm my faith in Jesus and open my heart to receive his words of everlasting life?