In the yellow examination of conscience for Confession (on the wall over there), one of the questions asks, ‘Did I refuse to believe any official teachings of the Church?’ A common and good question to ask is: Why is this a sin, the refusal to believe? As Catholics, do we have to believe all the official teachings of the Church, such as her teachings on pornography, in vitro fertilization, only men being priests?
Here’s the proposal we’re going to make today: Believing in the teachings of the Church is connected to our relationship with Jesus. We don’t believe because we just have to; we believe because we love Jesus.
In the Gospel, it’s very interesting that, when Jesus makes the claim about giving us His Body to eat, the people ask how this is possible, and Jesus doesn’t give an explanation! Let’s look at the text: “‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’ The people then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you’” (Jn 6:51-53). Sometimes Jesus explains hard teachings, as on divorce and remarriage, and on forgiveness, but there are two possible reasons why He doesn’t give an explanation here:
First, the only way to explain how bread becomes Jesus’ Body is with the philosophical categories of substance and accidents, as we’ve discussed before: Substance is what a thing is while its characteristics can change. For example, if I wear a disguise, I’m still Fr. Justin. If I get horribly burnt, I’m still Fr. Justin. If I lose my memory, I’m still Fr. Justin. So, my characteristics can change while my substance stays the same. With the Eucharist, however, Jesus changes the substance of bread without changing its accidents. Having said all that, if Jesus had used these categories, would the people have understood them? Even if they were to understand, there’d be a deeper issue, which is…
Second, do they trust Him? If Jesus is God, should we trust Him? At the beginning of our faith journey with Jesus, we have to figure out if He’s God and worthy of trust. This requires evidence. This is why it’s so important for us to pay attention to how Jesus acts: Does He love like God? Does He teach the truth? Does He love His enemies? Did He ever commit sin? This is something each of us needs to investigate, and then make a free choice to follow Him. We can’t be forced.
However, here’s the thing: Once we look at the evidence, we eventually come to a choice: If Jesus is God, then He’s all good, and we can believe what He says and try to find out later the reason for His teachings; but, if Jesus isn’t God, then it makes sense why we doubt everything He says.
So, when the Jewish people ask the question, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ they’re skipping over the first question of whether Jesus is God. And, when Jesus gives His answer ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you,’ He’s moving the discussion back to the first questions, ‘Do you believe I’m God? ‘Do you trust me?’
Look how many times Jesus focuses on His offer of eternal life: “Whoever eats of this bread will live forever… I will give [it] for the life of the world… Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day… Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in them. Just as… I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me… The one who eats this bread will live forever” (6:51,54,56-58). Five times. Jesus loves everyone and keeps offering us the fullness of life, starting here and lasting forever. So, His teachings aren’t designed to hurt us. Some of them are really hard, because they require that we become more loving, but they’re all focused on giving us life.
Here at St. Anthony’s we try to give reasons for everything (We always explain why God allows suffering, we spent three weeks explaining the Church’s teaching on IVF, we tackled contraception two years ago, etc.), but the reasons come after the most important subject: Jesus loved perfectly; He healed the sick, died to forgive our sins, and rose to give everlasting life. If this isn’t true, then His hard teachings don’t matter. But, if we believe this to be true, we can trust His teachings, and, after that, seek understanding.
As mentioned, we have three spiritual ministries starting in a few weeks:
1) On September 12, 2024 Journey Through Scripture, and this year we’re studying our mother Mary in the Bible and how she relates to us.
2) On September 19, 2024 Alpha, which is the best introduction to Christian faith that there is. It offers evidence for Jesus that touches the mind and heart. Please invite your friends and go with them to it.
3) On October 1, 2024 Faith Studies—this is all about the essential parts of spiritual growth.
The question to consider is: Would any of these help you grow in your relationship with Jesus?
The question we ask before we go to Confession, ‘Did I refuse to believe any official teachings of the Church?’ just follows from deeper, personal questions of the heart: Does Jesus love me perfectly? Do I trust Him? This is the question that He poses to each human heart.