Joshua 24:1-2a, 15-17,18a
After Moses died, God selected Joshua to lead the Israelites across the Jordan River into the Promised Land. Years later, as his death approached, Joshua wished to ensure that the people would not forget all that God had done for their ancestors. In today’s reading, we will hear a renewal of the covenant made at Mt. Sinai.
Ephesians 5:21-32
The last part of the letter to the Ephesians, which deals with family relationships, is conditioned by the household structure of the time – slaves, children, wives – with the husband as "patriarch" over all. Today’s excerpt talks about husbands and wives. Later, this letter will talk about the relationship between children and parents, and between slaves and masters. What we learn is not that we should re-create ancient social structures. Rather, we learn the timeless truth that Christ’s love for us should affect the way we love one another.
John 6:60-69
Bishop Untener’s Homily
That’s quite a statement by Peter. And the more you think about it, the more you appreciate what a statement it is.
If this were an old fashioned Confirmation, and the Bishop asked questions, here’s what I’d ask. First of all...
QUESTION: What was Peter’s line of work before he became a disciple of Jesus?
ANSWER: He was a fisherman.
Now it wasn’t as though Peter was a peasant who had a line and a hook, caught a couple of fish every day, and sold them for whatever he could get. Peter, along with three partners, owned a fishing business. They owned boats and nets and equipment. Which leads to my next question...
QUESTION: Can you name two of Peter’s three partners?
ANSWER: If you named two of these three partners you were correct: Andrew (his brother), and James and John (the sons of Zebedee).
You’ve heard that in the Gospels many times, but probably didn’t notice it. I’m sure you remember the passage when Jesus called Peter and his brother Andrew as they were casting their nets into the sea. There’s another familiar passage that names the other two partners, and also indicates that there were others working for them. It was the time when, after preaching on the shore, Jesus got into Peter’s boat and told him to put out into deep water and lower the nets. (I always find that one interesting. Peter is skeptical – here’s Jesus, a carpenter, telling Peter, a fisherman, how to fish.) Peter tells him that they’ve been working all night and the fish aren’t running... but if Jesus insists, he’ll do it, so he goes out and lowers the net. Here’s how it reads from there:
When they had done this they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing.
They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that they were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." (For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee who were partners of Simon.) (Lk 5:6-10)
Peter’s business was located in Capernaum, a town on the north end of the Sea of Galilee. That’s another indicator that this was no small-time operation. There was a road that ran east and west right through that town, and the road was called the "Via Maris" – the "sea road." It connected the great cities in the east (modern Iraq and Iran) with the Mediterranean Sea, which opened up the way to the great cities of the west. It was a main trading route, and that’s where Peter and his partners had their business.
So... in today’s Gospel passage, when Jesus asks the twelve if they want to leave him too, and Peter steps forward to answer that question, he speaks as someone who knows his way around. In effect Peter says to Jesus: "Lord, we’ve seen a lot of people come and go. We’ve been with you for a long time and heard what you have to say. We’ve seen what you’ve done. You’re on to something, and my partners and I have come to the conclusion that you are the one we want to follow. You have the words that make sense, the way of life that makes sense. We’re with you, even if others walk away."
It helps to know all that background about Peter and his business partners. They knew how to keep books and make hard decisions. They weren’t pie-in-the-sky people who went with every fad.
But there’s more to it than that.
In this section of John’s Gospel Jesus says some very interesting things about the fact that it is the Father that draws people to him. Listen to these three statements Jesus made at different times in this section:
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them. Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. No one can come to me unless it is granted them by my Father.
Becoming a disciple of the Lord is more than something we can calculate on a computer, more than something we can find on the internet, more than something we can add up on a balance sheet. We’re dealing here with God. This is way more than the whole universe can hold, way more than something we can put into words.
It’s something deep down inside of us, put there by God. What drew Peter and his partners to Jesus was something inside of them. "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them."
We aren’t consumers who pick out a product. We’re disciples, chosen by God, drawn to the Lord by God. We need to get in touch with that. We need to sense it, experience it, and respond to it.
There are bound to be doubts along the way. You can’t have a brain and not have doubts, because a brain can’t hold the truths we believe. But the question we need to ask is, "Am I drawn to the Lord by God? Is there something inside me pulling me in this direction? Am I called to this?"
There are a lot of indicators that we are. Most of us were baptized into this before we even knew what was happening. We were born into this time and place. We were set in this direction by people who were part of our lives.
There is something here far greater hear than eye has seen or ear has heard. We use our reason. We use our feelings. But most of all, we open ourselves up to God’s initiative, and we respond to it.
That is what we need to realize. That is something we may seldom think about. We’re used to making choices of all kinds – but none like this. We’re dealing here with a call... a call from God.
Am I called? That is the only question. And if I am called, then there are only two possible answers: I can answer yes, or I can answer no.
We answer "yes" with every "Amen" we say at Mass:
"Through Jesus, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours Almighty Father, forever and ever. Amen."
"The Body of Christ. Amen." "The Blood of Christ. Amen."
I invite all of us to sense the wonder of it all, to realize that we have not simply made a consumer decision. We’ve been called... by God. And the call is so strong that we turn to Jesus and say with Peter and his partners and the rest of the 12: "Lord, 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."
Originally given on August 27, 2000