3RD WEEK OF EASTER

No one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father. 

How are we supposed to understand Jesus’ words here? Was he telling his disciples that only a select few would be permitted, or “granted,” the opportunity to come to him (John 6:65)?

No, at least not from God’s perspective. Far from being exclusive, Jesus’ invitation goes out to every person. He is telling us that his Father enables everyone to come to him if they choose. That’s because God has always longed to have his children by his side. He has called us to himself throughout history. He makes the first move by offering us grace—a grace that opens the way for us to come to him through Jesus. As the Catechism teaches, God’s “work of grace precedes, prepares, and elicits [our] free response” (2022).

Of course, we want to respond! But sometimes we hesitate because we want to remain in our comfortable way of life and don’t want to change. Other times, we get tripped up by Jesus’ hard teachings, some of which challenge our underlying ideas or opinions. For example, in today’s passage, some disciples couldn’t accept Jesus’ teaching that his flesh was “true food” and that he himself was the bread come down from heaven (John 6:55, 51). Those disciples returned to their former way of life and stopped following Jesus. But that doesn’t have to be your story.

When you don’t understand something that Jesus teaches, you can still trust that the Father is drawing you to himself. He is still sparking the desire in you to love his Son, and he is offering you the grace to embrace Jesus’ words, which are “Spirit and life” (John 6:63). Don’t turn away like the disciples in today’s reading. Keep pressing in, as Peter did, until you can freely say, “Master, to whom shall I go? You have the words of eternal life” (6:68).

“Thank you, Jesus, that the Father has paved the way for me to come to you! Help me to respond to his grace.”

Acts 9:31-42
Psalm 116:12-17
John 6:60-69