Should I Stay Or Should I Go?
August 28, 2024
Fr. John Riccardo
Dearest brothers and sisters: All good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls. Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27
Even though we’re beginning to open up the letter of James this week, my mind is still lingering with the Gospel from last week (John 6:60-69). In fact, I might suggest there’s a connection between these words from James and all that John recorded in that most momentous passage.
Let’s quickly remind ourselves what we heard last week in the Gospel. Jesus has just finished His famous “bread of life” discourse. His words about His flesh being real, or true, food, and His blood real, or true drink, have, understandably, left His hearers stunned. They don’t understand what He’s saying or how this could be possible. “This saying is hard,” many in the crowd respond, “who can accept it?” Then comes an intensely sobering passage: “As a result of this, many of His disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied Him.” In James’ language, perhaps, we could say that these men and women heard the word but were not willing to be doers of the word, and so they departed. The staggering part of this, at least for me, is that Jesus not only lets them leave, He turns to the Twelve and asks them if they want to go too, at which point Peter utters his beautiful response, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the word of eternal life.”
Now, to be clear, Jesus didn’t, and doesn’t, want anyone to leave. God’s desire is that all men be saved. Jesus died for the ungodly, and every one of us is in that number. But I do have to make a choice, and so do you. Daily. And, at least for me, it’s hard.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force” (11:12). What does that mean? Is Jesus telling us to take up arms and compel people to become Christians? No. The violence that is being called for is a violence you and I need to choose to do to ourselves each and every day. Why? Because the sad, humbly and often humiliating truth is that our wills are seriously bent. I want to be the lord of my life, at least in some areas, and if you’re honest you do too. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the great German pastor, once wrote, “When Jesus bids a man, ‘Come and follow’, He bids him, ‘Come and die.’”
The sober truth is that Jesus has many “hard sayings,” not just this one about the need to eat His flesh and drink His blood or else we will have no life in us (cf. John 6:53). He tells us of the absolute imperative to forgive from our hearts (Mt 18:21-35); He tells us we need to take up our our cross daily (cf. Lk 9:23); to love Him more than husband, wife, son, daughter or even our own self (cf. Lk 14:26); to renounce all our possessions if we are to be His disciples (cf. Lk 14:33); He warns us of the need to enter through the narrow gate (cf. Mt 7:13); to not be sinfully angry (cf. Mt 5:22); to love and pray for our enemies (cf. Mt 5:43-47); we will be judged as we judge others (cf. Mt 7:2); He speaks shockingly about divorce (cf. Mt 19:9) and lust (cf. Mt 5:27-30); He tells us He is present in the poor, hungry, naked, sick and imprisoned and that whatever we do or do not do the least of these we do or do not do to Him (cf. Mt 25:31-46) – it turns out there are many challenging things Jesus says. I recently came up with more than 30 such sayings.
What might we do with all of this? Personally, I am going to ponder one of these each morning for the next week and more. Perhaps you’d like to join me. In praying with them, I need to constantly call to mind the One who is speaking to me is the One who has rescued me from Sin, Death and Satan, and thus proven His love and trustworthiness like no other. May the Holy Spirit give us grace to not simply hear Jesus speak these personally to us, but to do them.
ACTS XXIX Prayer Intentions
August 2024
For the bishop’s retreat we will host on our campus the week of August 5. May this respite be a time of renewal, refreshment, fellowship and attentiveness to the Holy Spirit.
For our collaboration with the Seminary Formation Council and the retreat for pastoral supervisors who will be with us. May this be an anointed time to prepare pastors to fruitfully accompany transitional deacons through this process of personal renewal and missionary discipleship.
For our meetings with 4PM Media this month regarding future projects and collaboration. May the Lord be gracious in revealing His plan to us.
For our brothers and sisters in the Lord who will be traveling from the UK to visit our campus, that we would be open to the Holy Spirit’s leading.
For our Board of Directors, our Episcopal Advisory Council, our benefactors and prayer partners.
For God’s protection upon the ACTS XXIX team.