God, Not Culture, Defines True Faith: Reflection for 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time

What a time to be living. Society bombards us with their definition of love, woman, man, and even abortion. God once defined these. Then, our culture dismissed God and played one. They redefined everything God once created. All in the name of pride.

The result has seen men becoming women and competing in sports while women are being cheated by a biological male despite their hard work. Even another example of this is how the media is always pushing a myriad of cards to get their point across even if it means manipulating their viewers. Look at the 2024 presidential race. It’s a woman (assuming they can define one) looking to break the glass ceiling. And someone who has been a victim of so many attacks physically, spiritually, socially, and economically.

This Sunday marks the conclusion of the Bread of Life discourse. In the gospel, the crowd would murmur, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” In a sense, many who have followed Jesus chose to walk away. All who remained with him were his apostles and some disciples. Each of us knows someone who has walked away from the church for petty reasons. The main reason is because they have no faith in Jesus. They are too caught up in the culture that their friends and family forget who Jesus is. They are pursuing endeavors that won’t satisfy their hungry heart.

The Book of Joshua tells us about how this great hero challenged everyone to choose whom they wished to serve. His response, “If it does not, please you to serve the Lord, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your fathers served beyond the river or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now dwelling. As for me and my household, we will

serve the Lord.” Joshua’s faith was unwavering. He never compromised it. He served God until he died.

Psalm 34 tells us, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves,” Jesus never forgets those who abandoned him and all who lost their faith in him. At some point, we may lose our faith. Yet, what will set us apart from the rest is our response to follow Jesus. St. Peter puts it bluntly, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

Put your faith in Jesus. Serve him. Love him. Adore him. Trust in him. That is how we live out our Catholic faith now.