By Father Paul Nord, O.S.B.
Sunday Scripture
First Reading: Joshua 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b; Response: Psalm 34:2-3, 16-21; Second Reading: Ephesians 5:21-32; Gospel: John 6:60-69
The book of Joshua follows Deuteronomy — which ends with the death of Moses. Deuteronomy 34 recounts that Moses died on Mount Nebo — just east of the Jordan River —outside the land which God had promised the Israelites. God did not permit Moses to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. Thus that task fell to Joshua. As Moses’ assistant, Joshua succeeds Moses as leader of the Israelites.
Therefore the book of Joshua begins with the Israelites crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land. The land was already occupied. Thus the Israelites needed to militarily conquer any land on which they wished to settle. This they did, while calling upon the LORD God’s assistance (Joshua 6–12). After this, they divided the conquered land between the 12 tribes of Israel (Joshua 13–22).
Today’s reading comes from the book of Joshua’s last chapter (Joshua 24). Many years have passed. Joshua, prophet and leader, is old and close to death. Thus “Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem.” Joshua gathered them so that the Israelites could renew their commitment to live according to the law of the LORD God, which had been given to them at Mount Sinai through Moses.
Joshua presents the people with a stark choice — either stay faithful to the LORD [Yhwh] — or instead serve “the gods of the Amorites.” The Amorites partially inhabited the land into which the Israelites had newly arrived. Joshua calls upon the Israelites to resist adopting the Amorites’ gods — always a temptation for newcomers. Joshua leads the Israelites by example: “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
The Israelites fulfill Joshua’s hopes when they recommit to serving the LORD God. They recall the LORD’s rescue of their people from slavery in Egypt. This “Exodus” event is cited repeatedly in the Old Testament as reason for the Israelites to stay faithful to the LORD God. Further, the Israelites recall that the LORD “protected us along our entire journey.” They had journeyed through the wilderness for 40 years before they arrived in the Promised Land. So the Israelites conclude, “We also will serve the LORD [Yhwh], for he is our God.”
The next reading, from the letter to the Ephesians, illustrates how our faith in Christ should transform our human relationships. The opening line is: “Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.” This mutual subordination might seem to be in tension with the following line: “So wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.”
But the original (Greek) wording shows that Paul’s main emphasis is that all of us should be subordinate to Christ Jesus because “the church is subordinate to Christ.” Our subordination to Christ is our proper response to Christ’s love for us — expressed especially in his crucifixion. Here husbands are commanded to “love your wives” as Christ loves us: “the church.” But, of course, Christ gives this command to all Christians: “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34). Christ’s love is expressed in his willingness to suffer and die for us. Today’s passage from Ephesians particularly challenges husbands to love their wives in the way that Christ loves. But imitating Christ’s love is the obligation of every Christian. We must even love our enemies and strangers.
So what is Paul’s purpose for comparing the relationship between husbands and wives to the relationship between Christ and the Church? Note Paul’s repeated use of the words “body” and “flesh.” First: Christ is “the savior of the body” (v. 23). That is, by Christ’s Incarnation and Resurrection, he has redeemed and sanctified the human body. This new reality transforms the marital bodily union of husband and wife when both are baptized in Christ.
Paul quotes Genesis 2:24: “The two shall become one flesh” (v. 31). This emphasizes the bodily union between husband and wife. For the man, his wife is “his own flesh” (v. 29). In Christ, this marital bodily union is sanctified and made “a great mystery.” The Genesis quote immediately follows Paul’s reminder that “we are members of his (Christ’s) body” (v. 30).
By his Incarnation and Resurrection, Christ has established with Christian believers a bodily union — nourished by the Eucharist. The bodily union of husband and wife has been profoundly sanctified by this union of Christ and the Church — his body. Thus marital love is “a great mystery.”
Today’s Gospel (John 6) shows Jesus’ disciples reacting to his emphatic teaching of 6:53: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” The disciples murmur, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” But Jesus further challenges their faith by foretelling his resurrection: “What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?”
Jesus then contrasts “the spirit” which “gives life” versus “the flesh” which does not give life. Recall that Jesus fed a large crowd in 6:1-15 with his multiplication of the loaves and the fish. Later in 6:26-27, Jesus challenges the crowd because this miraculous sign has not led them to recognize Jesus as sent by God. Jesus momentarily solved their earthly hunger, but their focus remains on this hunger.
Jesus warns them: “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” (6:27). Food that perishes belongs to the flesh. Instead, Jesus offers them “bread from heaven” — his own flesh and blood. But they must believe that Jesus comes from heaven — sent by God. They must recognize that God’s Spirit is acting in a new way through Jesus. He has told them this truth. So Jesus says: “The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.” Many cannot accept this “word” of Jesus, so they leave him. But the Twelve remain faithful. Peter says: “We have come to believe ... that you are the Holy One of God.”