Peter

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Peter

Witness   Believer

Words   Spirit   Life

To Whom Shall We Go

Serve

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scriptures:   Joshua 24: 18

Joshua said, "We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God."

John 6:66 to 69

After Jesus spoke, many of the disciples left Jesus and returned home. Jesus then asked the Twelve, "Will you also leave Me?"

Simon Peter answered Him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."

Reflection

In our reading from The Gospel of John, Peter is put in a difficult situation. Most of the followers of Jesus have left Him and returned home. After Jesus had fed five thousand men with just five barley loaves and two fish, many of His followers wanted to make Him a king.

Then Jesus told them that He would give them something much greater than the bread and the fish. He would give them His own body and blood. He wanted to feed them and nourish them always. The food He would give them would lead them to eternal life.

Many of the disciples could not accept this teaching. They left Jesus. 

Jesus was wondering if the Twelve whom He had chosen would also abandon Him. In some ways this must have been the low point of His ministry. He was trying to give Himself to His followers in a special way and He was utterly rejected.

Peter responded with an act of faith. He had been a witness to all that Jesus had said and done. He had seen the miracles of Jesus up close. He had witnessed His compassion and kindness to those in need. He had heard Jesus explain the Hebrew Scriptures so lucidly. He had listened to the teachings of Jesus about the Kingdom of God. 

All of those experiences had made Peter a believer. The words of Jesus had touched him. He felt the power of the Holy Spirit through Jesus.

Peter knew that there was no one else he had ever encountered or heard about who was like Jesus. All of the teachers that Peter had met in his life could not compare in the knowledge and authority that had come forth from Jesus. There was no one else that Peter wanted to follow.

Peter made the decision to serve the Lord just as Joshua had done many years before. He recognized how special Jesus was.

We are faced with that same question that Peter answered. 

Will we leave Jesus?

Whom will we serve?

1. Why do you think so many of the followers of Jesus left Him after He spoke about giving them His Body and Blood?

2. How do you think Jesus felt after so many followers left Him?

3. Why does Peter say that he will follow Jesus?

4. Will you follow Jesus as Peter did?

5. What do you feel as you meditate on Kathy's photo?

(Scripture adaptation, reflection, and questions by John J. McNamara)