Today's Gospel in Art - Many of the disciples left Jesus

Going to Work, by LS Lowry 1943 © Commissioned by the War Artists Advisory Committee of the UK government

Gospel of 24th April 2021 - John 6:60-69

After hearing his doctrine many of the followers of Jesus said, 'This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?' Jesus was aware that his followers were complaining about it and said, 'Does this upset you? What if you should see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before?

'It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

'But there are some of you who do not believe.' For Jesus knew from the outset those who did not believe, and who it was that would betray him. He went on, 'This is why I told you that no one could come to me unless the Father allows him.' After this, many of his disciples left him and stopped going with him.

Then Jesus said to the Twelve, 'What about you, do you want to go away too?' Simon Peter answered, 'Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.'

Reflection on the Painting

I have always been puzzled by the sentence in our Gospel reading today 'after this, many of his disciples left him'. After Jesus explained to them that He was the bread of life, and as such teaching on the Eucharist, so many people left Him. Why? Maybe they were just confused and preferred to leave, instead of sticking with Jesus and trying to understand what He was saying? Maybe they were just in shock as, if they truly accepted that Jesus was the bread of life, they would be asked to feed on His flesh and blood. Maybe we can understand that some might have felt scandalised? How Jesus' enemies must have loved this moment of so many walking away from Jesus. And yes, so many did walk away, as Jesus even had to ask His own Twelve Apostles if they too wanted to walk away.

So that question is also addressed to us directly: 'What about you, do you want to go away too?' It is a sentence that resonates at times when we see things happen in our Church, especially in light of the scandals of past years, and see people leave our Church. But it is precisely in these moments that Christ is asking us to stick with Him, to walk with Him and His Church. The temptation to flee our Christian duties is at times very real and even attractive. But it is precisely in those moments when we are asked to keep a deep commitment going, that we draw the closest to God.

To still see so many people leaving our Church can be crushing at times. So the reading today is relevant like never before. Our painting, by LS Lowry, conveys this multitude of people leaving. But where are they going, what are they walking towards?

For Jesus, being a disciple is all about staying with him and being committed. It is about discipleship, not just being a follower. William Barclay puts it in an interesting way: 'Once someone was talking to a great scholar about a younger man. He said, "So and so tells me that he was one of your students." The teacher answered devastatingly, "He may have attended my lectures, but he was not one of my students." You see, there is a world of difference between attending lectures and being a student'.

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/785
Christian Art - www.christian.art/index.php