13th Sunday
after Pentecost, Yr. B, August 26, 2012
Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18;
Psalm 34:15-22; Ephesians 6:10-20; John 6:56-69
Sermon preached at St.
Stephen’s Episcopal Church
As far as John’s
gospel goes we’re picking up right where we left off last week. Actually we’re picking up reading the
last two verses of what we heard last week. Jesus has just told his followers that they must eat his
body and drink his blood if they are to be true followers of him. He could have made it a lot easier for
them by talking plainly, and not in metaphors. But he doesn’t, and as it says in the message version of
this passage, Jesus sensed that the disciples were having a hard time with
this.
Such a hard time in fact, that many of them decide to leave. So Jesus turned to his trusted inner
circle of apostles, and he asks them, “Do you also want to
leave?”
At the time when
John was writing this gospel the Christ followers were being shut out of the
synagogues. The temple in
Jerusalem had been destroyed a second time after a failed revolt. The unrest was firmly blamed on the
messianic Jews among them. Those
who still followed the teachings of the prophet Jesus. The early Christians were being forced
to choose whether they would remain within Judaism, or whether they would risk
cutting themselves off to continue to follow the Way of Jesus.
Judaism had a tenuous relationship with the Roman leadership, but the
outside of that fold, Christianity was an illegal religion. There were real risks to consider.
Given the
historical context it’s not so unusual that this theme of “choosing who you
will follow” finds its place in John’s gospel. In a real sense, the early Christian church finds itself at
a turning point in their history, just as the Israelites do when Joshua speaks
to them after having finally having taken possession of the promised land. It’s as if both Jesus and Joshua are
saying to their followers, “Okay, here’s the deal. Are you in or out?
It’s time to make a commitment here.”
Joshua reminds the
people how God has freed them from Egyptian oppression, protected them on their
journey through the wilderness and finally given them possession of the land
that had been promised to them. “That’s
the God you have. I have to admit it
wasn’t all candy and roses, but we made it here by the grace of this God. Are you still with that God? Joshua is pretty clear that there are
lots of other gods to choose from.
The Lord of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob isn’t the only business in
town. No more standing with one
leg in one camp and the other in another divine camp. Choose.”
Jesus has fed the
five thousand, walked on water, healed the sick and exorcised many demons. The disciples have followed him all
over Judea. What more do they need
to see? Jesus calls in the
chips. “Make a commitment
fellas. Will you follow me as the
one sent from God, or not?
Do you recognize me as the new temple? Do you accept me as the bread that will feed your souls and
lead you to God? Are you willing
to walk that way with me? No more chasing me around the
countryside and asking for signs.
You’ve seen enough to know.
Choose.”
Christianity is a
religion of choice. We choose
baptism. We choose to be
confirmed. We choose to sponsor
others in following this way. We
have to choose to be Christian. In
reality, I think we often have to make that choice over and over every day,
because it’s all too easy to opt out for a day or week or year. How many of us opted out while we were
in college, only to find ourselves suddenly looking for a church once we had
children, or when were confronted with a real life tragedy, or when we were
woken up to the fact that all the things we’d acquired really weren’t feeding
us spiritually? The choice is
real.
So what is it that
we are actually choosing? What
does it mean to choose to follow Jesus?
I heard on NPR this week that for the first time we’ll have Roman
Catholic candidates for vice-president on the ticket of both political
parties. Paul Ryan and Joe Biden
both self identify as Roman Catholics.
They both claim to be followers of Jesus, and yet they have very
different views on things.
“Both
Biden and Ryan have had their share of quarrels with bishops. Biden personally opposes abortion and
has voted against public funding for the procedure, but supports abortion
rights. As a result, a Delaware bishop in 2006 threw out plans to name a
Catholic school building for the lawmaker and other bishops have called Biden's
— and Obama's — support for legalized abortion immoral.
Ryan
also opposes abortion, but has sparred with bishops over cuts to social
programs in the 2013 House Republican budget plan. The congressman drafted then defended the proposal by citing
Catholic moral theology. The congressman said his budget plan was grounded in
church teaching on helping the poor, which he explained could be accomplished
if Americans "don't make people dependent on government."”[1]
Which
one is following Jesus? What do
you think? Both of them? Neither of them? It’s not as easy as it looks. Those early Christians were often
called the people of the way. They tried to follow the way that Jesus lived.
So maybe it would be helpful for us to go back and look at how Jesus
lived to gain a little insight into what it means to follow him today. So tell me … what did Jesus do and say?
He told his followers to: Love your neighbor. Love yourself. Love your enemy.
He
enjoyed the company of friends.
He
healed people.
He
forgave people.
He
fed people.
He
acted out of compassion.
He
stood up for the accused.
He
engaged outsiders, whether women or Samaritans or lepers.
He
went off by himself to pray.
He died for what he believed.
What have we forgotten?
If Jesus’ life and
teachings are the way we are to follow,
then these things have something to do with the choice we are asked to make. We should do the same. The Christian life is a life lived for
the community, a life that accepts the idea that we are indeed “our brother’s
keeper”. Our lives should reflect
a concern for the good of all; not the good of some, or only of one – even if
that one – happens to be “me”. Our
individual choices matter. What
food we eat and where we buy it matters.
How much we are paid and how much we give away matters. What movies we watch and what TV we
allow our children to consume matters.
How much space we take up for our personal use and where we get the
energy that sustains that lifestyle matters. Our individual daily choices turn into a very large
collective vote when we look at them over time. Following Jesus means that we make choices intentionally
with the way of Jesus in mind
when we make them.
We’re not going to
do everything that Jesus might have done, because we live in a very different
context, but the Spirit of what it means to be a follower is the same. Love recklessly. Feed people. Be a part of healing.
Offer forgiveness. Choose mercy over judgment. Move toward the outsider. Remember to pray.
We have to CHOOSE. We can’t
let life just carry us along.
There are bad choices we can make.
It’s not really “all good”.
And even if I happen to be wrong on that one, Thomas Merton would be
quick to remind us that we are not meant to have EVERY good thing. God gives us enough; we ask only for
our daily bread. That’s a choice
we make every day. And believe me,
that’s a good one.
Amen
[1] Forget the Mormon Moment; It’s about Catholics, by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, NEW YORK August 24, 2012,
04:34 am ET, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=159973692.
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