Many Are Called

August 22, 2021 Gospel (John 6: 60-69)

I have a dear friend named Jack who is a retired East Meadow High School District teacher.  The last few years of his tenure, Jack requested to work with inmates at the Nassau County Correction Center teaching a GED program. After the head count each weekday morning, , Jack welcomed a group of young inmates into his classroom for instruction.  Before the inmates arrived, Jack would go to his dry-eraser board and in bold letters wrote the word “choices” across the top.  Jack was and remains an amazing teacher and man of the Gospel.

With every lesson he incorporated “choices” into his lesson plan.  It was obvious that these young men had made poor choices that led to their incarceration. This motley crew of prisoners who appeared more like children than hardened criminals would take their seats and await Jack’s lesson.  In retrospect, the embarrassing truth is that I too could have ended up in their predicaments. Everyone hears two voices whispering to them, before deciding which to follow. Unfortunately, wrong choices (and voices) can easily become a pattern.

Each day we awake, all wrestle with those two voices.   The animators of cartoons such as Tom & Jerry were brilliant in bringing this struggle to light by having an angel pop up on Tom’s shoulder and an angel on the other, warning Tom that his intentions to get rid of Jerry were dangerous.  Do you recall what happened?  It never fared well for Tom.

In this week’s Gospel, we see Jesus knowing who would choose to remain loyal to Him and who would not, including the one who would betray Him.  The message that jumps out to me is that many are still being called and teacher Jack’s message resonates a basic truth to this day.  Free will is a gift that can lead us to either the angelic voice or to that of the master-deceiver.

You see, Jack was simply acting out as God wanted him to do, in one of the most unlikely environments.  Jack was evangelizing in his role as a schoolteacher, reminding these little ones that God never dictates, but invites us to consider alternative choices and invitations.  Jack in his approach, tried to teach his students that God does not to seek to punish them as our system does, but that God desires to  help them to understand that reconciliation is possible with better choices.

In the distance and on my journey, I see another fork in the road.  I will encounter another choice and pray that it will be the correct one.   I leave you with this reflection and my friend Jack’s story. Take a moment to reflect and listen to Jesus asking, “Do you too want to go away” I pray we all can respond to Jesus’ by saying “Never, Lord.”

The Pilgrim (praying for you)