21ST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Year B

Readings:
Joshua 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b
Psalm 34:2-3, 16-21
Ephesians 4:32 - 5:1-2, 21-32
John 6:53, 60-69

The Theme of the Readings: The Choice to Serve or to Walk Away
The readings for this Sunday conclude a four-week reflection on the miracle feeding of the Eucharist. In the First Reading, Joshua's challenge to the children of Israel and the announcement of his decision prefigures the Twelve Apostles' decision in the Gospel reading. When the Israelites completed the first phase of the conquest of the Promised Land, Joshua allotted territory to the new generation of the twelve tribes, the holy warrior descendants of the Exodus generation. God's servant, Joshua, had completed his mission in the allotment of the land. He called the tribes together for a National Assembly at Shechem in central Canaan. He challenged the children of Israel to renew their commitment to the covenant oath of obedience they swore to Yahweh at Mt. Sinai (Ex 24:3, 8). Joshua called upon them to continue to live as holy people in obedience to all God's commands and prohibitions to reap God's covenant blessings in the Promised Land. His challenge was to either renew their oath to the covenant or relinquish God's protection and serve the false gods of the Canaanites and other Gentile peoples of the region. In making the challenge, Joshua answered for himself and his family, saying, "As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord!" (Josh 24:15). It is a decision every family still makes.

In the Responsorial Psalm, we repeat the response from Psalm 34:9, "Taste and see the goodness of the Lord," that we have been singing since the 19th Sunday. The psalmist has experienced the power of the Lord in his own life amid times of distress and bears witness to the Lord's faithfulness, deliverance, and protection. Our response invites the liturgical assembly to "taste" (meaning to experience) God's goodness for themselves by appealing to His mercy and taking refuge in Him through the blessings He gives us by receiving Christ in the sacred communion meal of the Eucharist.

In the Second Reading, St. Paul encourages the Ephesian Christians to become imitators of Christ by demonstrating love to others in the same way Christ loves them. He uses marital love as a metaphor for Jesus's love for His Church. Paul urges Christians to demonstrate a solid and unselfish mutual love, especially in their marital relationship. Comparing the marriage of a woman and a man to Christ and the Church, Paul made these concepts complement and illuminate each other. As the Head of the Body of Christ, He loves the Church like a man loves his wife, and He takes the Church as His Bride in the Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist.

Today's Gospel reading concludes a four-week Sunday meditation on the Eucharist from Jesus's Bread of Life Discourse in the 6th chapter of St. John's Gospel (18th to 21st Sundays). At the end of His discourse, Jesus challenged the Twelve Apostles to make a choice. He asked them if they would choose to believe and accept the New Covenant and the promise of eternal life that He offers in His flesh and blood or if they would walk away and return to their former lives before He called them to discipleship.

The Gospel Reading reminds us that we declare our commitment to the New Covenant in Christ Jesus through the Sacraments He gave us, especially the Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist. As St. Paul wrote in the Second Reading, Jesus gave us the Sacrament of Baptism so we might be sanctified/made holy by Christ the Bridegroom through a spiritual rebirth by water and the Holy Spirit as cherished members of the Bride of Christ, the Church. And, through the Eucharist, we continually renew our covenant commitment as He nourishes us with His own Body and Blood on our journey through earthly life to the Promised Land of Heaven. Therefore, every generation must take up the same challenge Jesus made to His disciples. In the Mass, you declare your faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior as you go to the altar to renew your covenant commitment by receiving Christ in the Eucharist. Make the same commitment as Joshua by announcing, "I will serve the Lord." Have the courage of St. Peter by declaring, "We have come to believe that You are the Holy One of God!" And have faith like the psalmist who called us to "Taste and see the goodness of the Lord" because He "redeems the lives of His loyal servants!" (Ps 34:9, 23).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
(Agape Bible Study)
(Psalms for the Liturgical Year (livingwithchrist.ca))

00:00 – Intro
00:17 – Collect
00:51 – First Reading
02:04 – Responsorial Psalm
05:11 – Second Reading
07:30 – Gospel Reading
08:57 – Recommended Videos