In St. John’s Gospel Jesus is portrayed as being in complete control, aware of how the plan of God was going to unfold. Hence, when people decide to stop following Jesus after his “Bread of Life” discourse it was no surprise. Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe. All of which makes the question of Jesus to his disciples particularly poignant. Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” He might have been the Son of God with divine knowledge but he was a human being who felt deeply experiences of loss and rejection. We can join our prayer with that of Jesus when our best efforts at family or community unity don’t have the desired effect.
