We have arrived at the fifth and final homily in our Bread of Life reflections. We have seen four dimensions of the Eucharist: Food, Faith, feelings and Fission (in the nuclear sense). Today we see the fifth dimension. Like the first four, it begins with the letter "f". It is a word central to the Bible and that word is freedom! Freedom is used many different ways in our time, but for the person who follows Christ, it means the power to choose what is right, to make a choice for the good. It is not the ability to do whatever we want; that is anarchy!
Our readings today focus on this freedom to make important decisions. Joshua tells the Israelites, "Decide today whom you will serve." St. Paul tells husbands they have to make a choice: Are they going to love their wives? Not just in an emotional or romantic way. That kind of love comes and goes. Rather, St. Paul tells husbands to love their wives like Christ loves the Church; down to the last drop of his blood. And in turn, wives should give themselves completely to their husbands. In the Gospel Jesus confronts his disciples with the greatest choice of all, "Do you also want to leave me?”
God has given us freedom - a great gift, but also a bit frightening. Pope-emeritus Benedict said, "Freedom is a springboard from which to dive into the infinite sea of divine goodness, but it can also become a tilted plane on which to slide towards the abyss of sin and evil." He spoke these words to the boys and girls of Rome's prison for minors. No matter how limited we feel, God has given each of us the gift of freedom. Our readings remind us that it is up to us to decide how to use it.
In addressing his disciples Jesus makes it clear that the decision comes down to something very concrete: The Eucharist itself. These past weeks we have been hearing Jesus say over and over again, "I am the Bread of Life, whoever comes to me will never hunger...The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world...Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you...my flesh is true food and my blood true drink.” An essential part of being a disciple of Christ is believing in the Eucharist and consuming it for strength to follow in the Master’s footsteps. This requires faith and, as we have learned, faith is a gift. "No one can come to me," says Jesus, "unless the Father draw him." We receive the gift of faith in Christ, by asking for it in prayer and helping it grow stronger by mindfully receiving his true presence in the Eucharist.
All of this is wonderful to reflect on, but it also has practical implications: We have to make a choice. It’s not enough to inherit our Christianity as cradle Catholics; each of us has to become an intentional disciple who deliberately chooses to believe and follow Jesus. Our faith becomes real, personal, and intentional when we confront questions like: Are we going to live our faith outside the walls of Church, even when no one is looking or no one else is doing the right thing? Will we worship Jesus when the priest lifts his Body and Blood at Mass? Will we approach Communion with reverence? Will we spend time before Jesus, truly present in the Blessed Sacrament here in church, especially in adoration? Will we consciously make time for the Lord everyday for quiet prayer? Or, will we be like the many people in today’s gospel that left the Lord and no longer followed him because his teaching was too hard and demanding?
God is so respectful of us and our freedom that he lets us decide. He won’t make us believe or force us to receive the Eucharist, even though these are the very things that will bring us happiness and life. When human freedom is partnered with the power of God’s grace, amazing, inspiring, and joyful things happen. When human freedom is used only for personal satisfaction, —- apart from the Lord, ——- it always ends up bringing some sort of disorder, sadness, and pain. An excruciating reminder of this truth is the recent news of abuse and cover-ups in Pennsylvania where priests and bishops used their freedom in the most disordered and cowardly ways. And all of us will experience the fallout for years to come. Human freedom is an incredible gift that must always be used in a responsible and holy way, lest we inflict pain on others.
Pope Benedict gives us a final image to wrap things up. He compares the Corpus Christi procession to Mary on the road to her cousin Elizabeth. Mary carries Jesus inside her just as we carry Jesus in the monstrance. Mary consciously chooses to accept the responsibility to be the mother of God with all the challenges and sacrifices that come along with it. Perhaps that is what is so beautiful and exciting and slightly terrifying about every pregnancy for families expecting a child. They are deliberately accepting their unborn child with all the sacrifices and obligations he or she brings. In living our faith in Christ, we face a similar choice to carry him within us and accept him with all the sacrifices and obligations that follow. Take time to consider the words of Joshua, "Decide today whom you will serve." And above all, Jesus' question: "Do you also want to leave me?" We have a choice; God respects our freedom. I pray our freedom will be a springboard to God and not an inclined plane toward sin. Hopefully we can be inspired by the image of Mary carrying Jesus within her. She can help us realize the true potential of our freedom. She can help us say the words of St. Peter: "Master, to who shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."
