This Sunday offers us great opportunities to assess our lives, mainly what role Jesus plays in our lives. In the context of the Gospel message, Jesus gives us a very direct answer– “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” Jesus speaks of being a worthy disciple. But what criterion does Jesus give to be a worthy disciple?
During the Ordinary Time of the life of the Church, we have many great opportunities to “get to know” Jesus better through all of the different aspects of His life and work. So in the months to come, we will walk with the disciples alongside Jesus and learn the rhythm of day-to-day life – a pattern of learning and teaching, love and service.
At last, we have arrived at the end of the many weeks which were taken up with the celebration of and reflection on the ‘Paschal Mystery.’ It began with Ash Wednesday, went through Lent, the celebration of Holy Week and Easter, the weeks following Easter, and culminated in Pentecost and the handing on of Jesus’ mission to His Church.
These words from today’s Gospel teach us that Jesus is true food and true drink that nourishes us so much that those who partake of Him will live forever. The significance of Jesus’ statement is echoed by St. Paul who reminds us that we "participate in the body of Christ," when we break the bread and the cup we drink is "a participation in the blood of Christ."
The joyful season of Easter came to an end last Sunday with the celebration of the Feast of Pentecost and brought us back to the Ordinary Time of the liturgical year of the Church. As I mentioned many times before- there is nothing “ordinary” about this time as this Sunday brings our attention to one of the greatest mysteries of our faith – The Most Holy Trinity.