This is hard teaching; who could accept that?

 Many Christian groups still talk like the way scribes, Pharisees and teachers responded to Jesus’ “hard teaching” 2000 years ago.

SHEENA GEORGE

   When our parish priest mentioned about the “hard teaching” by Jesus (John 6:47-69) in his homily during the Tuesday morning mass, I couldn’t stop thinking about my Protestant brothers and sisters.

 The first announcement of the Eucharist divided the disciples, just as the announcement of the Passion scandalized them. Many of his disciples heard him say these things, and commented, “This is hard teaching indeed; who could accept that?” Some of them left Jesus.

 This happens even now. There is so much rancour and malevolence from certain groups towards Catholic church when it comes to this “hard teaching”.

  Jesus did not dissuade them from leaving Him. Why did some of them leave Jesus?

  “I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” Jesus said these words in a synagogue in Capernaum.

 People who revolted against Jesus included scribes, Pharisees and teachers. Many disciples also left Him. They couldn’t make out the meaning of His words. They plotted to kill Him subsequently.

 Jesus then asked the disciples: "Will you also go away?" the Lord's question echoes through the ages, as a loving invitation to discover that to receive in faith the gift of his Eucharist is to receive the Lord himself. Here human perceptive and intelligence works over faith in His words.

  Please remember that the 12 disciples of Jesus were mostly illiterate fishermen. They never studied law or religious books. They were poorest of the poor.

  The Words of Jesus have resonated through centuries. Different Christian groups interpret Jesus’ teaching in different ways, mostly to suit their requirements. I don’t want to enter into a war of words with my Protestant brothers and sisters. But my humble submission is that many groups still talk like the way scribes, Pharisees and teachers responded to Jesus’ “hard teaching” 2000 years ago. My intention is not to be self-righteous or cast a stone at somebody.

  Jesus responds to the people by confronting them with the implications of their reaction, and then he presses the 12 disciples for their response. He certainly does not change his message or try to make it more "user-friendly." There’s no doubt that in Jesus' statements and in Peter's confession we learn more about Jesus and what it takes to truly be his disciple.

  Peter responded in the right way. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” The others had been offended by Jesus' words, but the 12 disciples accept Jesus' words. They recognized that Jesus was speaking from God. “We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

  What were His words?  Jesus said to them, “Unless you do eat the body of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you are not really living at all. The man who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up when the last day comes. For my body is real food and my blood is real drink. The man who eats my body and drinks my blood shares my life and I share his.” 

  Scribes, Pharisees and teachers were agitated by His words. No wonder, there’re reportedly around 41,000 Christian denominations outside Catholic Church, many of which cannot be verified to be significant.

  Jesus Christ's name must create communion and unity, not division, among people. He came to create communion among us, not to divide us, Pope Francis said.