The famous Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky said, “Love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing.” In the Gospel reading this week, Jesus does something harsh and dreadful he watches his own disciples abandon him. What could possibly be loving about that? Well, we notice the context is Jesus’ teaching about eating and drinking his body and blood. His followers hear this and say, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” (John 6:60). We shouldn’t imagine we’d do anything different, because not even the ones who stay, like Peter, seem to understand what Jesus is saying. Then we hear this devastating line, “Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him” (John 6:66). Besides the night of the Last Supper, only now do Jesus’ disciples abandon him. And, painfully, Jesus just lets them go. The best way to make sense out of this is love. Jesus is God’s love in action. He wants to become one with those whom He loves. He wants to love them as His own body. Yes, the oneness manifested in the Eucharist sounds harsh and dreadful because it is rooted in love which is willing to risk abandonment and separation to attain its goal: to be one body with the beloved. It is both terrifying and wonderful that Jesus will risk losing us in order to be one with us. Our response? Lord, we cannot grasp a love so great, but please help us never to abandon it, either. Father John Muir
