21st Sunday of the Year – Hard Sayings, Tough Decisions

Study:  Recall a time when you were confronted with a tough decision.  Who or what helped you to face your situation?

Pray:  Are you facing a difficult time?  Ask the Lord for wisdom and courage.

Serve:  Is there someone in your life who is struggling with a challenge?  How can you help them?

21st Sunday of the Year Readings

Fr. Andrew’s Homily Podcast

The crowds had listened to Jesus.  They had seen the healings and witnessed the miracle of the fishes and loaves.  They had been nourished body and soul by the Lord’s presence, and after hearing the “Bread of Life” discourse they began to doubt and walk away…

“This saying is hard, who can accept it?”  – John 6:60

There are moments in life when we are called to confront a difficult situation.  We are challenged to understand and carry out a task that may be unpleasant or unwelcome.  We have a choice: we can walk away and  allow events to run on their own, or we can engage the situation knowing that every step will be hard.  What do we do?

Joshua expresses the nature of a tough decision in his words to the Israelites in the first reading:

“If it does not please you to serve the Lord, then decide today whom you will serve.”  – Joshua 24:15

Let’s face it.  There are times in life when we struggle to make and carry out the right choice.  Perhaps we don’t know what to do; perhaps we know but we struggle to do it.  Sometimes it can seem like the weight of the world rests on our shoulders as we muddle through hard sayings and tough decisions.

What are you confronting today?  What challenges are set before you?  May we ask God for two key gifts: Wisdom and Courage.  We ask for wisdom to know what to do, and we pray for courage to carry it out!