Texts taken from the “On Your Word” Missal July-August 2021

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
1st week of the psalter

FIRST READING

From the Book of Joshua (Jos 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b)
In those days, Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel at Shechem and summoned the elders of Israel, the heads, judges, and scribes, and they presented themselves before God. Joshua said to all the people: “If it seems wrong in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose today whom you will serve: whether the gods your fathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” The people answered: “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods! For it was the Lord, our God, who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery; he performed those great signs before our eyes and guarded us along the entire journey we made and among all the peoples through whom we passed. Therefore we too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.” The word of God.

Commentary on the First Reading

The assembly at Shechem has great religious importance: it is the moment when the Lord, who revealed himself at Sinai, is recognized as God by all the tribes that accept his law; it is the moment when Israel grows as the people of God. It is striking to think that all the Israelite tribes accepted the covenant established by God for his people. Is it still this way today, or have we forgotten the new covenant that God established for our salvation by sending his Son to the cross? In the Old Testament, God freed his people from a condition of slavery. Through the sacrifice of Christ, we have been freed and saved from the slavery of sin. We recognize God as our Savior by continuing to build upon this gift of salvation. Grand gestures are not necessary; we can do this in the small things of everyday life, in the support we give and receive, in knowing how to listen or give a smile, in saying “thank you” for our family, our friends, our work, nature, creation, and life.

SECOND READING

From the Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians (Eph 5:21-32)
Brothers and sisters, be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ: wives should be subordinate to their husbands, as to the Lord; for the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the Church, he himself the savior of the body. As the Church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the Church and handed himself over for her, to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, and to present to himself the Church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and immaculate. So husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the Church, because we are members of his body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church! The word of God.

Commentary on the Second Reading

The Pauline passage contains a series of moral exhortations for married couples. In particular: “Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.” We should pause over this phrase to understand it correctly. “One another” describes the kind of relationship in which neither person seeks to impose themselves on the other, but rather each submits to the other. This is the attitude of a welcoming and humble relationship; it expresses a willingness to be available to the other. It is exactly the opposite of an overbearing attitude, belonging to someone who wants to crush others. To submit, on the other hand, means to uphold and support, but this works only when the relationship is reciprocal, in a circle where I think of you and you think of me. By contemplating Christ and the Church, united to each other, we can understand what the relationship between husband and wife should be. Christ, who gives himself for humanity, is the model of conjugal love. In the same way, the Church, like a bride in love with her bridegroom, is subordinate to him. Christ’s union with the Church represents the love between God and humanity, to the point of making them one flesh.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John (Jn 6:60-69)
At that time, many of Jesus’ disciples, after hearing this, said: “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” Jesus, knowing within himself that his disciples were murmuring about this, said to them: “Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before? It is the Spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. And he said: “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.” As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve: “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him: “Master, 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.” The word of the Lord.

Commentary on the Gospel of the Day

To understand this passage, we need to take a small step back: Jesus is speaking in the synagogue and compares himself to the bread that came down from heaven, bread that must be eaten in order to have eternal life. The Jews do not accept this language. Can someone who speaks this way be a king? Jesus sees those who do not believe in him walking away, but he does not compromise: this is the truth. He is consistent with himself. He turns to the disciples and asks: “Do you also want to leave?” This is the temptation Christians face when they must proclaim a truth that seems scandalous: in order to achieve results, they sometimes make acceptance easier by softening his Word. But in doing so, they risk changing the meaning and authority of Jesus’ words. This is not the path to follow; truth asserts itself. Even if they are few, there will always be people who believe. There were few who remained with Jesus then as well, a small remnant. And yet God worked wonders through them. In the style of Jesus, let us proclaim the Word with gentleness, but also with courage, determination, and utmost frankness.