August 23 - Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time : Do you want to quit?

 

First Reading  Joshua 24:1-2a,15-17,18b
Joshua and the people declare that they will serve the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm  Psalm 34:2-3,16-17,18-19,20-21
The Lord hears the cries of the just.

Second Reading  Ephesians 5:21-32 (or shorter form Ephesians 5:2a,25-32)
Husbands and wives should love one another as Christ loves the Church.

Gospel Reading
John 6:60-69

There are times in life when we are pushed to the wall, when we are ready to quit. There are times in life when we need something to hold on to. We see this in today's Gospel. The disciples of Jesus are pushed to the wall. Their faith in Jesus is challenged severely by what Jesus said earlier about giving them his body to eat. The disciples respond to the challenged in two ways: one group part company with Jesus and no longer walk with him. The second group meet the challenge successfully and remain faithful to Jesus. The group who left did so because they had their attention fixed on the problem where as the group who stayed did so because they had their attention fixed on Jesus. In which group do you want to be? The choice is yours?