The author Nikos Kazantzakis, in his memoir Report to Greco, shares a story: As a young man, he spent a summer in a monastery during which he had a series of conversations with an old monk. One day he asked the old monk, “Do you still wrestle with the devil, Father Makarios?” The old monk replied, “Not any longer, my child. I have grown old now, and he has grown old with me. He doesn’t have the strength ... I wrestle with God.”
There is a lot in that statement: “I wrestle with God.” We all at times have wrestled with God.
We shouldn’t feel too badly about that. When we look at the Scripture, we see many people who took on God or at least argued with God: Abraham, Moses, the apostles — and even Jesus. Abraham argues with God and initially talks him out of destroying Sodom. Moses at first resists God’s call, protesting that his brother is better suited for the job; the apostles excuse themselves for a long time before finally putting their lives on the line; and Jesus gives himself over in the Garden of Gethsemane only after begging his Father for a reprieve. Abraham Joshua Herschel, a great Jewish philosopher and theologian said that starting with Abraham, many great figures of faith are not in the habit of easily saying “Thy will be done!” But often, for a while at least counter God’s invitation with “Thy will be CHANGED!”
Jesus in the Gospel today asked a tough question of the disciples. After he described himself as the Bread of Life, many said: “This saying is hard, who can accept it?” Says John the Evangelist: “Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock you?” John also says later that as a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. “Do you also want to leave?” Jesus asked. Peter answers “To whom shall we go?”
We can think about hope — the promises of God and God’s power. It can give us in our confusion about what is happening, a reminder that we can live in hope. As a writer has said: “Underneath and beneath us and our universe is a well that nothing exhausts.” Someone has said that our hope should not be grounded on what we see on the world news each night, because that news constantly changes and can be so negative on any given night that it gives us little basis for hope. It is Jesus who continues. Jesus who lives. Jesus who reigns. Jesus who conquers. Even in the midst of the humanity and sinfulness even in the Church.
God is a generous God, who has created and is still creating billions upon billions of universes. And, as Jesus has revealed to us, God is equally unimaginable in patience and mercy. There is never an end to our number of chances. There is no limit to God’s patience. There is nothing that can ever exhaust the divine well. It is never too late. We can always say to the Lord. “To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
God bless! Have a wonderful week!
Fr. George Smith, C.S.B., who serves as a professor of Religious Studies at St. John Fisher University and who has been assisting us with weekend Masses for the last two years, has informed us that due to staff changes in the chaplaincy department at the University, he will be assuming responsibility for all the liturgies at the campus and will no longer be available to help us on the weekends. He was a wonderful presence to our community and shared many wonderful Gospel insights in his homilies. I am sure you share with me the thought that he will be greatly missed.