Scripture Study for
Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time
Joshua 24:1–2a, 15–17, 18b / Psalm 34:9a / Ephesians 5:21–32 or 5:2a, 25–32 / John 6:60–69
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Understanding the Word
By Dianne Bergant, C.S.A.
In his address to the assembly, Joshua places before them a choice that will shape their own self-identity, and will determine the path that they will travel for the rest of their lives and the lives of their descendants. Whom will they serve? They can continue to serve their ancestral gods; they can opt for the gods of the people in whose land they are now dwelling; or they can worship the Lord. Speaking for his own family, Joshua declares: We will serve the Lord. The rest of the people make the same decision. Their choice of a god is determined by the personal involvement of God in their lives.
The responsibilities of husbands in contrast to a traditional patriarchal marriage are the subject of the Ephesian reading. First, Christ loved the church enough to give his life for it. This is the degree of spousal commitment envisioned for husbands. Following the example of Christ who sacrificed his divine privileges for the sake of the church, husbands are told to sacrifice their patriarchal privileges for the sake of their wives. In Genesis the husband and wife constitute one flesh (2:24). Building on this concept, the author argues that when husbands love their spouses, they are really loving themselves. This transformed understanding of marriage is then used to characterize the mysterious union of Christ and the church.
Jesus’ words or deeds were met with disbelief. He responds to the challenge of these unbelievers with one of his own. If they were troubled by the thought of him descending from heaven, what would they think about him ascending back to where he had originated? Both descending and ascending imply that he is a heavenly being, the very claim that scandalized his hearers in the first place. Jesus continues his defense by setting the notion of flesh against that of spirit. He insists that the flesh (the human way of being in the world) cannot give life. On hearing this, some no longer followed him.