“…Many of His disciples drew back and no longer went about with Him.” (John 6:66).
I heard a story the other day about three young martyrs and the story goes like this...
In 1921 in Petrograd, near Finland, the Red Army was moving through the area breaking into Churches and defacing them. During the summer of 1921 three young boys discovered Red Army soldiers breaking into the church in Petrograd, near Finland, and decided to “shield the dear, loving Jesus”. And so, the boys entered the church and spoke to the soldiers trying to reason with them. When the soldiers threatened to shoot the boys, the boys remained firm in their resolve and said that they could not bear to see their “dear Jesus… insulted”. The soldiers reacted immediately, shooting two of the boys instantly. But still the third boy remained, determined to shield Christ in the Eucharist from abuse. He blocked the altar with his body and in response he was brutally beaten. He died soon afterwards, but before he died, he was able to tell the villagers what had happened. You see, before he died, Christ had appeared on the altar steps and blessed the two dead boys. The soldiers saw Him there and believed that the Church was haunted and they fled. The third boy died soon after, radiant, saying “We have shielded Jesus”.
And I have been thinking about that today, because it seems to me that those three boys really understood who it was that they were shielding and who it was who they were protecting – with their lives – in that room…
“When the people saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, ‘Rabbi, when did You come here?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life.’” (John 6:22-29).
And right there – straight after the loaves and fish were multiplied – right there did the crowd follow Christ. Why? For the food. For the free food. They followed Him for the wonders and the marvels and the miracles. They did not understand the signs. They sought to fill their bellies and forgot about their hearts…
And after Christ called them out on this behaviour we are told, “…many of His disciples drew back and no longer went about with Him.” (John 6:66).
For they – like me and unlike those three martyrs in the church in 1921 – were happy to follow Christ when it is easy to follow Christ. When their bellies were full and their hunger was saited. But when Christ was being nailed to the Cross. When Christ was calling them to see with their spiritual and not their physical eyes. Then – then they refused to follow. Then and only then did they turn their backs from Him.
And I have been thinking about that today – because I realise with shame that I am one of those who “…no longer went about with Him.” And it pains me to think that I am only happy when my earthly body is fed and not when my spiritual soul is nourished too. And I think of those martyrs today as I think of how they shielded Christ with their bodies and their lives, and I think of all that I do not do, and I hang my head in shame.
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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