The Words of Eternal Life

Jesus - The Son of God, who is God, and who is with God, came to reveal God in a way He had never been revealed before. And in that and from the fullness of that revelation of divine glory, we receive grace upon grace.

This is after the miracle of satisfying the hunger of thousands of people with five loaves and two fish. The Gospel here presents the disciples’ reaction, a reaction which Jesus Himself deliberately provoked.

John who was present with the other Apostles — in John 6:66 says: “After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him”. Because they did not believe in the words of Jesus who said in John 6:51-54: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven... he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life” They took it in a literal sense, whereas these words foretold the passion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, in which He was to give Himself for the world’s salvation.

When Jesus talked about Flesh and Blood the people imagined it to be a cannibalistic practice. Jesus was actually saying to them, No, if you would continue to the end and saw me ascending into Heaven, you would understand that I am not talking about flesh and bones, but rather I am talking about what those things symbolize, that 'it is the spirit that gives life, and the flesh is of no avail.' The words that I speak to you, these are spirit and life.

Jesus said to the twelve, "Will you also go away?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." John 6:67-69 

Seeing that many of His disciples were deserting Him, Jesus turned to the Apostles, asking them: “Will you also go away?” As on other occasions it was Peter who answered on behalf of the twelve: “Lord, to whom shall we go?”

St Augustine in his homily says of John 6: “See how Peter, by the gift of God and the renewal of the Holy Spirit, understood Him. ‘You have the words of eternal life’. He says: ‘And we have believed and have known that You are Christ, the Son of God’; that is, You are that very eternal life, and that You give in Your Flesh and Blood only that which You are. 

The mark of a believer: A person who cannot quit!

When Jesus said to them, "Will you go away also?" it is clear that He would have let them go if they had wanted to. He does not hold anybody against his will. Responding to our Lord's words, Peter says:

Lord, we have been thinking about it. We’ve allowed ourselves to ponder what it might be like to turn away from You. Peter might as well have said, Lord, wherever we look for another Lord, another way, another salvation, another meaning, they all come up short. We can’t walk away.

What you say to us has met our deepest need, has delivered us from our sins and freed us from our fears. Your words, Lord, are life giving. 

Jesus may confuse us at times, and baffle us with things He says, and provoke us, and offend us. Yet He is still the Only one my heart will ever need.

No one speaks to my heart the way You do. No one was ever so meek, gentle, simple, kind and so worthy of honour, so deserving of obedience and so patient with a person like me. So full of love, there is none like You. 

Where shall we go? There has never been anyone like you, Jesus. No one ever taught like you teach. No one ever loved like you love. There is so much tenderness. My heart can’t forget what it feels when it is loved by You.

A world without Jesus is a world without love. 

And how do you come to the point of I’m done wandering. It will be when I know that nothing in this world holds my attention. It is You! I’m not going to fight or resist. I surrender. I will not sit on this fence any longer looking frantically for another philosophy to life. No, Jesus, I’m done looking at the world. I’m Yours. 

      

How does that happen? v63: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” Notice the connection between the Spirit of God and the words of Jesus. “The Spirit gives life; my words are spirit and life.”

And the Spirit works through Jesus’s words illumining our mind and setting our heart on fire. A fire that once lit enflames everything it comes across. Love is a burning fire and nothing stops once the course is set.

That’s why we say, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” John 6:68. We have seen the glory of His birth, and the glory of His death for our sins. It is the Spirit that gives us this life. And nothing will separate us from Jesus. That is what it means to have eternal life. 

Lord, we have watched you, "We have believed, and have come to know." This implies a process that has gone on for a course of time. Peter is saying, ‘You are the Holy One of God,' You are the Sinless One. You fulfill the prophecies. You are the Christ, there is no place to go.

Those who continue always feel this way about Jesus. They know their weaknesses, they know that despite the many times they do not understand what is happening to them yet they cannot leave. 

In Christ we have a love that can never be fathomed; a life that is everlasting; a rest that can never be disturbed; a hope that can never be disappointed and a light that shines ever so brightly. There is a tenderness, there is compassion and there is gentleness and a humility that is so inviting to the heart that needs to come home to rest. 

When I enter St. Peter’s Church, the word below Jesus, is a simple word, ‘COME’. My heart, relaxes.

If you have found Jesus to be like that, where else can one go? Who could ever measure up to that? 

Who can you go to? And after finding Jesus, you would never want for anything else and why would you?" This is what Peter is saying to Jesus.

Only Jesus

Nobody could replace Jesus as the disciples’ Master.

• As Peter said, "You have the words of life eternal" John 6:68.
• "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." John 10:11.
• "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." John 1:29.
• "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." John 14:6
• "My Lord and my God!" John 20:28. What other man could the disciples recognise as God?

Please continue with:
Give Thanks!
Great Faith! 
God's Ways
Purgatory... 
Reverence to...GOD!
It's a wonderful LIFE!