A sermon on John 6:41-51

By Fr. Mike Paraniuk
St. Mary Catholic Church
St. Benignus Catholic Church 
St. Mary Queen of Heaven
and Holy Trinity Catholic Church

My 2014 pilgrimage to Rome where the Pope lives and to Assisi where St. Francis lived had a profound effect on how I live. That visit brought into crystal clarity what God wants me to do. 

Our group of pilgrims went to Assisi to visit the church where St. Francis prayed. Our Franciscan tour guide talked about the paintings on the church walls depicting the life of St. Francis. One picture showed where Francis stood before the bishop and publicly disowned his father's worldly riches so he could live totally for God in poverty. He even gave back all his clothes to his father Bernadone. There is a dramatic scene where the bishop covers Francis with his own robe.

The Franciscan friar remarked, "I know God will never leave me. I pray I never leave Him."  

At that comment, I jokingly pointed my finger at our group and shook it as if I were judging them. 

The friar looked at me intently and said, "Father, you are an instrument of God's love, not judgment. God uses your finger like a hook to draw others into His Mercy." He smiled saying, "I see this in you." He knew me though I never met this friar before. I felt like God was speaking to me.  

Jesus says, "No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him." (John 6:44.) Jesus came to draw everyone into a friendship with God. You are called to help God do this. What must I do to help?

Jesus provides the answer in John 6:45, "They will all be taught by God. Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me." 

Our mission is to help others "hear" and "learn" about God. The most powerful way to do that is by the example of your own life. 

St. Francis said, "Preach the gospel at all times. And if necessary, use words." Example is always more powerful than just using words. If you teach that God is merciful, be merciful. If you teach that God is loving, be loving. If you teach that God is caring, then go and do the same. That's how you "hook" in others, leading them to Jesus. 

Many people have joined our Christian Catholic family because they saw us loving as Jesus commanded us to do. What drew me back to the seminary to finish my studies for priesthood was the example of Fr. Ed Connelly. He touched me with acceptance and "hooked" me back to Jesus. He loved me when others in the church saw me as a failure because I left the seminary. 

This is what I so love about Jesus that draws me to Him. Jesus reached out to touch others that no one else would touch. Here is a list of five groups of people that Jesus touched when no one else would. 

1) Women. He chose the five times divorced woman to spread the Good News. 

2) The Unclean. He touched lepers considered the most untouchable of all humans. 

3) The Poor. He affirmed them as specially loved by God.

4) The Oppressors. He praised a Roman Centurion as having more faith than anyone in Israel, including the Jewish church leaders.

5) Racial Enemies. Jesus praised a mixed-race Samaritan who showed compassion to the robbed man left for dead. (Luke 10:25-37). 

Jesus never considered them as "other." They, too, were children of God. If Jesus were walking the earth today, He would be touching those considered by some as untouchable in our society: the gays, the transgendered, people of color, Asians, Hispanics, immigrants, the mentally disabled, conservatives or progressives or anyone we consider to be "other" and not one of "us."

At the Last Supper, Jesus gave His flesh in the form of bread for the life of the world. "Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you.'" (Matthew 26:27.) Jesus draws everyone to His Father. There is no "other" in the Kingdom of God. He calls you to use the example of your life to hook them in.