21st Sunday in Ordinary time 2024

 

A man was praying, and he said, 'Lord, why do you have to make everything so complicated?' Suddenly, he heard a voice from heaven reply, 'If it were easy, you wouldn't need me!'

And isn’t that the truth? Sometimes we wish everything in life and faith were simple. But as we see in today’s readings, not everything is easy to accept or understand. And maybe that’s exactly the point: faith, especially when it's challenging, invites us to rely on God even more.

In today’s readings, we encounter some very challenging words—words that, even 2,000 years after they were written, still cause discomfort. 

St. Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, speaks about subordination, specifically saying, “Wives should be subordinate to their husbands.” 

And then, in the Gospel, many of Jesus’ own disciples, after hearing His teaching, declare, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?”

These two passages highlight a theme we can all relate to—dealing with teachings that challenge us. We live in a world where the notion of equality is rightly championed, where individual rights are protected, and where we recoil at the idea of subordination to anyone. 

So, what do we make of these challenging words in our sacred texts? How do we, as modern Christians, navigate teachings that seem to conflict with our deeply held values?

Let’s begin with St. Paul. When he speaks of wives being subordinate to their husbands, we must take a step back and see this in the larger context of the Christian marriage he describes. 

Paul isn’t promoting dominance or inequality. Rather, he’s calling both husbands and wives to live in mutual love and service, using marriage as a symbol of Christ’s relationship with the Church. 

Paul also instructs husbands to love their wives “as Christ loved the Church”—a love that is self-sacrificial, a love that gives everything, even to the point of death. 

So, this subordination is not about one dominating the other, but about mutual self-giving, where both husband and wife serve each other out of love for Christ. 

It’s about creating a relationship where love mirrors Christ’s love for us—a love that serves, sacrifices, and uplifts.

Yet, even when we understand that, we can still find it hard to accept. And that’s okay. We are not the first to struggle with difficult teachings. 

The Gospel passage from John gives us a powerful example of this. Jesus has just finished telling His followers about the Eucharist, that He is the bread of life and that His followers must eat His flesh and drink His blood to have eternal life. 

For many of them, this teaching was too much. They said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” And many walked away.

It’s the same challenge we face today: how do we remain faithful when the teachings are difficult, uncomfortable, or seemingly out of step with the world? 

Whether it’s the Church’s teachings on marriage, on the sanctity of life, or on the Eucharist itself, we often find ourselves in the same position as those early disciples—wondering, “Can I really accept this?”

We might feel this tension in our own time, especially with the ongoing Synod on Synodality. The Church is engaging in difficult conversations about controversial issues such as the role of women, LGBTQ+ Catholics, and even celibacy for priests​. 

Many of these topics stir deep emotions and raise difficult questions. Some Catholics want change immediately, while others are concerned that any shift would undermine the Church’s identity. 

Yet, through prayer and dialogue, the Church continues to wrestle with these complex matters, seeking to balance faithfulness to Christ’s teaching with an openness to understanding them more deeply. 

This mirrors our Gospel today: difficult teachings, hard to accept, but approached with faith and discernment.

In moments like these, we need to remember Peter’s response when Jesus asked if the Twelve would leave as well. Peter didn’t say, “I understand everything perfectly.” 

He didn’t say, “These teachings make complete sense to me.” 

No. Peter said something far more profound: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” 

Peter recognized that even when teachings are difficult, when they seem beyond understanding, Jesus is the source of truth, life, and salvation. There is nowhere else to go.

So, what does this mean for us? 

First, it means that it’s okay to struggle with certain teachings. Faith doesn’t mean we always understand everything perfectly. 

Sometimes faith is trusting in the wisdom of the Church and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, even when we don’t have all the answers. 

Like Peter, we stay with Christ because we trust that He has the words of eternal life.

Second, it calls us to prayer and discernment. When teachings seem hard, we are invited to reflect deeply, pray, and ask God for understanding. 

Jesus doesn’t expect blind obedience; He calls us to an ongoing relationship with Him, where we can bring our doubts, questions, and struggles.

Finally, it reminds us that Christian life is about transformation. Many teachings of the Church challenge us because they invite us to go beyond our limited human understanding and to enter into the mystery of God’s plan for us. 

They call us to be transformed—to love more deeply, to sacrifice more fully, and to trust more completely.

A priest was giving a children’s sermon and asked, “Why do you think I wear this collar?” One little boy raised his hand and said, “Because it kills fleas and ticks for up to 30 days!”

Just like the little boy who misunderstood the collar, sometimes we misunderstand what the Church teaches. But with time, prayer, and reflection, we come to understand that these teachings are not just rules or burdens—they are life-giving truths that lead us to deeper love and faith in Christ.

As we go forth this week, let’s remember that the hard teachings are not meant to be obstacles but opportunities. They are invitations to grow in our relationship with Christ, to deepen our faith, and to trust in the One who has the words of eternal life. 

May we, like Peter, have the courage to say, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”