Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Choices

 53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
 60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
 61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit[e] and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

As a follower of Jesus, we must choose what we feed on: between the world and its stuff-the flesh, and ultimately nothingness and death, or the bread of real, eternal life, which means partaking of Jesus' "flesh and blood", sowing in and filling up on, the Holy Spirit- which is life abundant. One of Jesus' last acts with His disciples was the Last Passover, dining on His "flesh and blood", as they broke bread and drank wine together
Peter answered the Lord Jesus simply: Where else should they go? Another way to phrase this , really, is "You are the only one to run to, there is no other real choice to make! You, Jesus, are our stronger tower, refuge, and hiding place.
There is an old adage: "You are what you eat".
Today, beloved, feed on Jesus.

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