Drawn to Jesus by the Father!

Saturday, May 10, 2025

Acts 9:31-42; Jn 6:60-69

Today’s Gospel highlights Jesus losing disciples on account of his claims as the bread of life. 

Three types of reaction we find: 

Murmur: Some of his disciples murmur about Jesus’ eucharistic discourse. Unfortunately, what Jesus intends as the source of unification becomes the source of division. Hence, they find Jesus’ claims very hard to accept. 

Desertion: The next group of Jesus’ disciples decides to leave him and embrace a former way of life and no longer walk with him. Those who leave Jesus deny any effort at understanding his claims. Their rejection of Jesus and return to their former life are symbolic. 

Betrayal: Though many of Jesus’ disciples struggled to understand his claims, at least one of them lost hope in him and dared to betray Jesus. Though chosen by Jesus, Judas behaves ‘not so chosen’ and shows that Jesus’ trust has been misplaced. 

However, Peter’s confession demonstrates that Jesus’ disciples have begun to perceive him as the Messiah. They begin to see that the ‘bread of life’ has the ‘words of life.’ In their discernment and understanding, they act as people ‘born of the Spirit’ with the capacity to accept the truth of Jesus’ words. 

Let us pray that we may be drawn to Jesus in faith by the Father!

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar