When I was an undergrad at the University of Illinois in the late 70s I used to spend a fair amount of time on “The Quad”. Most colleges have something similar to the quad. An open space where students congregate, relax, play games like Frisbee and, rarely, study. It was also a place where student groups assembled once per semester to try to attract other students to join their group. Political groups, service groups, athletic clubs, etc. They would all set up tables and displays to attract in potential members.
At the same time these groups met on the Quad, Jed would appear. Jed was an evangelist. He would set himself up on top of a large rock or some type of stand so that he stood above the crowd. He would then let it rip. Fire and Brimstone time. He would recite verses and tell damnation stories from the Bible (he LOVED to retell the prophetic images of Ezekiel). He attracted attention to himself but accomplished little in the way of bringing students in to the Gospel. He was entertaining but there was not much substance. He did not connect in an personal way to the students.
I have a friend that I ride motorcycles with who struggled with addictions for many years. He had gone through various programs with limited success. Until he linked faith with these programs. When he saw God’s hand in his recovery. However, when I spoke with some of our other riding buddies about him, they commented how great a guy he was. They knew he is Christian but what they like is that he “didn’t talk about it”.
These two examples, I think, take the opposite extremes. In Jed’s case, he believed he could impose his faith on others. That he could argue them into believing. Prove that he is right and those who don’t believe in Christ are wrong. I think in most cases this approach pushes people away. But, on the other hand being a friend, without sharing who you are as a believer in Christ, leaves a vacuum in your relationships. One commentator I read called it trying to evangelize through “osmosis”.
In today’s Gospel we see Jesus preaching to His disciples. He has just shared with them the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves. And on top of that, he had walked across the Sea of Galilee where His followers caught up to Him. He realizes what they want is more of that bread that He shared with them out in the field on the other side of the sea. He has told them to seek not the bread of the earth, for they will hunger again. Seek the bread of eternal life and you will never hunger. Of course, He is speaking of His body and His blood as the food that they must feed on to achieve eternity and unity with The Father.
What was the response of many of the disciples? They walked away. They thought this teaching of Jesus’ was too hard. They were with Him when he multiplied the loaves and fishes. When He healed lepers and the lame. They were on the bandwagon when he raised Lazarus from the dead. But this! Eating His flesh and drinking His blood?! Way too much. There is only so much faith to go around. But His 12 closest disciples? They were on board all the way. They didn’t understand it but they had come to love Jesus…as a friend AND as the Son of God.
But they would not have seen Him as the Son of God until they saw Him as a friend. And their faith allowed His Father to open their eyes and their hearts to accept a reality that they could not physically touch. They were offered, and accepted, the gift of the Spirit through the gift of faith. And what about the ones that walked away? Jesus did not yell and scream at them trying to convince them of what he just taught about the bread of eternal life. He did not try to change the narrative of what he was saying. He actually doubled down on the “bread of life discourse”. He did not tell them that it was really a metaphor and did not really mean that they we to actually eat His body and drink His blood.
And what about Tabitha in today’s first reading. She was the girl that Peter raised from the dead in Joppa. We are told that she was occupied with good deeds and almsgiving. We are told of the admiration that the women had for her. Her friends went to Peter to ask him to work a miracle for Tabitha. Even though she had died, they had faith that Peter could raise her. Their love and friendship for Tabitha helped them see what faith in Christ, through Peter, could accomplish.
So can we debate a person to follow Christ? Likely not. Can people imbibe God’s word from you without you sharing it. Likely not. But if we follow the credo of the Cursillo movement…”Make a friend. Be a friend. Bring a friend to Christ”…we can share our love for Christ and at the same time share our love for each other. Kind of goes hand in hand, doesn’t it?
