To Whom Shall We Go?

Scripture

“From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. ‘You do not want to leave too, do you?’ Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.’” (John 6:66-69 NIVUK)  

To Whom Shall We Go?

Some have joined me in my use of Celtic Daily Prayer produced by The Northumbria Community for our times of quiet reflection. Their Morning Prayers include this statement of faith; To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God. It has a lyrical touch that belies its conflicted source.  

Jesus had been teaching that he is the bread of life, given for the life of the world. His audience is grumbling first that he isn’t repeating his miracle of feeding thousands. Then he says that he comes from heaven; “How can he say that, we know his parents?” is their angry retort. When he says “My body is real food and you need to feed on me”, even some of his faithful followers thin their ranks – this is too hard. In the face of the tension and watching their companions walk away, Peter offers that great statement of faith.  

I was thinking how preposterous it is to say we are listening and speaking with Jesus, feeding on Him for our life’s journey, while the world seems to be falling down around us some days. But it was no better when he had these conversations and I keep coming back to him – the Cosmic Eternal Bread.  

Our practices in our various traditions of communion, eucharist perhaps are just a taste of what we are doing on an ongoing basis through every hour and day of life. His life is in us and he doesn’t just feed us in organized settings but in all and every situation we face, if we but hold out our hands. 

A Prayer for Today

O God our Father, we fall silent and remember him who came because words were not enough. Setting our wisdom, our will, our words aside, emptying our hearts, and bringing nothing in our hands, we yearn for the healing, the holding, the accepting, the forgiving which Christ alone can offer …. For Jesus’ sake