Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18
Psalm 34:15-22
Ephesians 6:10-20
John 6:56-69
Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
grace and peace to you
from the one who acts first and faithfully amen.
Today's readings are full of faithful people
who make the choice to follow God
even in the face of difficult circumstances.
Joshua exhorts the Israelites
to leave behind the false gods of the surrounding peoples
and follow the God of Abraham and Isaac,
the God of Moses
who led them to the promised land that they are about to enter,
and in a rousing display of leadership
exclaims ‘the choice is yours’
“but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
and the people agree
saying “Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”
and it seems like a great thing the people are doing.
Peter and the twelve disciples,
when faced with the decision to continue to follow Jesus
choose to remain
even as many find Jesus’ teaching
about eating his flesh and drinking his blood too difficult,
for as Peter responds when Jesus asks
“Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
Hearing of these faithful people
we may be inspired to make our own decision,
our own proclamation
that we too will follow the Lord,
who has the words of eternal life
and while it is important to proclaim our faith,
if we do so based only on the inspiration and actions,
the sound bites
of the Israelites and Peter,
pride in our own actions,
I suspect that our enthusiasm will quickly wane
because we have focused our attention far too much on the actions of people
rather than the actions of God.
Because God was at work
long before Joshua and the community decided to serve the Lord.
God acted first,
drawing the people into relationship
beginning with Abraham and Sarah,
continuing on with Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.
God initiated the relationship with Moses,
calling out to him
from the bush that was burning
but not consumed by the flames.
God freed the people from slavery in Egypt
and provided for them in the wilderness.
The people are only able to say that they will serve the Lord,
that the Lord is their God
because God is already their God
who has proven faithful and trustworthy
in God’s dealings with them
Similarly, God acted first when it came to Peter and the twelve.
God sent Jesus who called the disciples,
who has taught them and included them in the signs from heaven
and through their relationship with him
Peter and the twelve have come to believe
and know that Jesus is the Holy One of God
It is the established relationship
that allows Peter to choose to follow Jesus
in the face of the difficult teaching
that so offended people,
Jesus saying “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.”
Even if Peter doesn’t quite understand what Jesus is saying
his experience of Jesus
is that he has the words of eternal life
in a way that no one else does
and so Peter will stay because he has come to believe.
Actually, this is precisely what Jesus is teaching,
that it is an intimate relationship with God
that leads to eternal life,
and this relationship,
these relationships
are started by God.
God acts first and faithfully.
This is grace.
This is what God does with us too.
God acts first and faithfully with us,
calling us into relationship
through the relationship God had with our parents and grandparents
or other mentors of faith,
through our relationship with the community
which shares the stories of what God has done
through scripture and their own lives,
through whom God shares the means of grace
the meal at the table
the bath at the font
where God formalizes the relationship with us at our baptisms,
claiming and naming us as beloved children,
gifting us with the Spirit and everlasting life,
calling us to live in community,
to maintain the relationship through the word of God and the Lord’s supper,
through scripture and prayer,
all to help build and maintain the relationship with God,
who calls us to proclaim Christ in word and deed,
to care for others and the world God made
and to work for justice and peace.
And we agree to this,
not because it is easy
or that we fully understand it,
but because we have found the words of eternal life
in our experience and relationship with God,
so where else could we go?
We heard in the gospel how
“many disciples turned back and no longer went about with [Jesus]”
because of his teaching.
It makes sense they would be put off by Jesus
telling them that they must eat him,
but perhaps the intimate relationship
and way of life Jesus was describing
also put them off
as they realized that the way of life Jesus was teaching
ran contrary to their present way of life
and that it would be difficult to live the way of Jesus,
Indeed Jesus’ way of life led him to the cross.
Of course the story didn’t end at the cross
but through the tomb to new life,
eternal life.
Eternal life that Jesus offers us through relationship with him,
And yes we may end up on a cross at some point
We are after all called to proclaim the gospel of peace
in a world that prefers war
But we proclaim the gospel,
live it as best we are able,
because Christ has gone before us,
and Christ is faithfully with us now and forever.
And so we say with Peter,
Lord “You have the words of eternal life,
we have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” Amen
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