Many Christians feel that St John’s gospel is difficult because it has more theological discussions than the other three gospels. And St John uses many symbolic languages and abstract ideas. As we read in today’s gospel, the discourse of the Eucharist sounds not so much related to our daily life. For it speaks about life eternal and the resurrection of the last day of the world.
However, when the matter of life and death is at hand, St John’s gospel feels truly real. A person’s eternal destiny depends not on anything in the world but the faith in Christ Jesus. And Jesus reminds us of the critical importance of the Eucharist for eternal life and the resurrection of the body.
The question is simple. Do we faithfully receive Communion? The qualifier ‘faithfully’ does not mean a habit. We cannot make a judgement on how faithfully we have received the Body and Blood of Christ. It is only Christ who can judge us. That is why we cannot be overconfident of the state of our souls. It is why we offer prayers and Masses for the deceased souls. We need to examine ourselves if we worthily receive Christ. In many places in the gospels, Jesus warns us that it is never easy to enter heaven.
I just heard my father had passed away. And I wonder. Where is he now? It seems the last time he received Communion was at the Mass at home when I visited Mom and Dad towards the end of the last year. I do not know. He might have been in the Church recently, but I doubt it because of this pandemic. Did he receive the Lord worthily, then? I cannot answer this question.
But the will of our heavenly Father is clear. Let us listen again to Jesus. “This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.”
I pray that our eternal destiny is our daily concern. I pray that we receive Christ with worthy hearts so that he may receive us in his Father’s house.
