Though many people followed Jesus,
as he moved closer to the end of his time on earth his teachings became more intense
and harder for people to accept.
The people who followed him
into the wilderness in chapter 15
know that there is something unusual about him, but they opt
to believe that he is just a normal human being.
This will become clear later.
For example when he heals the sick
and then feeds them in the wilderness
they want to proclaim him as their earthly King,
but he disappears
for he does not yet want
to confront the political and religious powers.
The disciples leave by boat to cross the lake
and the people walk around the shore
to get to where they are going,
they are aware that Jesus
was not with the disciples in the boat.
When they do find Jesus on the other side
they ask him not “How did you get here”
but instead “When did you arrive?”
which implies no understanding
that he is more than human.
Jesus doesn’t answer their question.
Instead he tells them that they are looking for him
not because of the signs he performed, demonstrating God’s life-giving power,
but because they got free food
that they didn’t have to work for.
Sure these people worked hard
to provide daily bread for themselves.
However, finding a miraculous source of food
that doesn’t require hard work is certainly amazing and they don’t want to turn loose
of the opportunity that presents:
Give us more of the same!
Jesus, though,
wants to redirect their attention to God.
He reminds them that the manna
that the Children of Israel
received in the wilderness
came not from the human Moses
but from the Divine God.
He reminds them that the manna spoiled quickly. So will this physical food that I have given to you. Instead you should desire something more lasting. Seek the Bread of Life,
food that will endure into the eternal life,
food that nourishes your spirit.
The people then ask him a question
that modern people like you and I often ask:
What must we do to do the work of God?
In other words, how can I make sure
by what I do that I will
inherit eternal life?
Jesus tells them that it isn’t about works,
It’s about belief. They need to believe
In the One that God has sent.
In other words, believe in Jesus!
You and I can be pretty stubborn
when we want to be, especially when it concerns our relationship with God.
How often have you pleaded with God
to show you a sign that what you want to do
is the right thing to do?
We’ve all done it.
Those following Jesus were no different
and they ask him to show them a sign
to prove that he is from God.
That in itself is pretty amazing,
given the fact that they have recently witnessed Jesus heal the sick and feed thousands of people
in the wilderness
but those miracles weren’t good enough for them. They want even more sensational miracles,
not to prove who Jesus is,
but because, they, like us enjoyed fireworks
and awe-inspiring acrobatic performances
for the sheer entertainment
that such things provide.
They are really saying: Entertain us, Jesus!
We want a supernatural performance!
Make sure it involves a miracle or two
and please don’t forget the snacks!
They demand more manna telling Jesus
that Moses gave the people bread from heaven.
They haven’t gotten the message yet,
so Jesus reminds them that it wasn’t Moses
who gave their ancestors bread in the wilderness,
but it was God.
He keeps trying to direct their attention
to the divine, but like you and me,
they insist on sticking to the concrete things of life.
He tells them that the Bread of Life from Heaven
will give them eternal life.
They ask for the bread to be given to them,
showing again that they are totally missing
what he is trying to tell them.
Jesus explains his relationship with God:
“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
Their reaction is basically to ask,
“Who does this guy think that he is?
We know his father and mother.
We know where he comes from.
He isn’t anything special.
And since they know his family
they can’t believe he actually came from heaven.
Let me ask you a question this morning:
Who do you know that could be God in disguise?
Several movies and TV shows over the years
have cast normal human beings
in the role of God. I
t’s always interesting
to see who they give the role to:
an eight year old girl,
a 90 year old man with a cigar.
Let me ask you another question,
Who do you know that you believe
couldn’t possibly ever represent God?
Who would you have trouble accepting
if he or she was God in human form?
A Transperson? A gay guy? A lesbian?
A straight person? A child? A physically challenged person? Who would you reject? Who would you accept?
Jesus explains that he is the Bread of Life from God and that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood in order to have eternal life with God.
You have to understand that ancient people
often talked this way, especially politicians,
by saying such things as
‘eat my flesh and drink my blood’
meaning to agree with me
and join me in my effort.
However, what Jesus says is an affront to those
who eat Kosher food.
You don’t mix bread and blood.
This was extremely offensive talk.
Centuries of eucharistic theology
give us a way to understand these words,
but at the time they were more than puzzling -- they probably were downright offensive.
Rightly reading the mood,
Jesus says, "Does this offend you?"
The idea of eating human flesh
or drinking human blood
still offends us today.
Like us, they probably missed his real meaning
with their perceived offense
of his breaking dietary laws.
It was too much to take and
many walk away from Jesus.
Left alone with his most intimate disciples
and friends he asks them,
“Do you, too, want to leave me?”
Jesus’ question echoes down the ages,
“What about you, do you, too want to leave me?” Are the teachings of Jesus too tough for us
to understand and follow in our personal lives?
Is it out of the question
for us to become the New Community of God?
Jesus was asking his followers
to make some very foundational changes
in their lives.
They wanted their lives to remain the same,
with just a few miracles included
every now and then to keep things exciting.
They wanted to experience the sensational things God could do for them
without experiencing the sensational changes
God wanted to make inside of them,
in their thinking and in their behaviors.
Basically they were saying,
“Jesus, as long as you make us feel good
and perform more miracles,
hey, we’re there with you.
But when you start meddling in our lives
and asking us to change how we relate to God
and others, that’s just too much to take.”
Where are you with Jesus today?
Are you praying for a miracle
to be worked in your life:
a job, winning the lottery,
physical healing, or something else?
What if God does work the miracle
and proves to your personal satisfaction
that God does care about you…
which is really something
that you don’t have to worry about…
because God has loved you
and cared for you from long before the moment that God created you inside your mother’s womb. If you do get your miracle
will you then try to really follow Christ?
What if Jesus asks you to do something
that is really tough?
Will you hang in there with Jesus
and do what it takes
to become the kind of person
that God wants you to be
or will you bail out on Jesus?
Or what if there is no miracle?
Will you follow God anyway?
Doing what God wants takes guts.
My family used to say,
“When the going gets tough,
the tough get going.”
It takes courage to become the person
or the church God desires us to become
especially in our relationships with others.
We seem to forget that Jesus’ ministry
was based on something
that is really very difficult
for most of us to do
…relationship building.
Jesus wants to connect us with God
and with others.
Most importantly Jesus wanted his followers
to expand their definition
of what community meant
and to include within their New Community
all the different varieties of humanity
that then existed.
Living up to the expectations of God
means that even when the going gets tough
and the rest of the world
doesn’t understand what we are doing
and chooses to not come along with us
that we have to keep on working
toward achieving Christ’s vision of the future,
of the full inclusion of all humanity.
We need to concentrate on who Jesus Christ is, what Jesus Christ did,
apply the lessons that he taught.
Jesus is our best textbook
for becoming the New Community of God.
When I don’t know what to do as a pastor
I ask myself, “What would Jesus do?”
And I often get a very different answer
than the one I had thought about
before I asked myself that question.
How can I break down the walls
that separate people from each other?
How can I cross the barriers
that society has erected to keep people apart?
How can I, through what I do and say,
build up hope for others,
for myself, for my church?
Emerald City MCC Seattle is on a journey
to tear down walls and build up hope.
We are searching for what we believe
God wants us to become.
Some have decided to abandon the journey
and have left us,
others, however, have renewed themselves
and joined in the effort with us.
God has blessed uswith a vision
of the future of our church that is incredible!
We can become the New Community of God
built upon faith and hope and caring
…a community that Jesus will be proud of
and says represents exactly
what he was talking about.
Yes, it will be tough.
Yes, it will not happen overnight,
but if we keep our eyes on that vision
of the future God has planted within us,
we will get there, together with God.
Stanley Jones tells of a missionary
who got lost in an African jungle,
nothing around him but bush
and a few cleared places.
He found a native hut and asked the native
if he could get him out.
The native said he could.
"All right," said the missionary,
"show me the way."
The native said, "Walk,"
so they walked and hacked their way
through unmarked jungle
for more than an hour.
The missionary got worried.
"Are you quite sure this is the way?
Where is the path?"
The native said, "Bwana, in this place
there is no path.
I am the path."
I think that it is here that Peter
has one of his more honest and real moments.
His guard was down
because so many people were leaving Jesus.
They were leaving because, quite frankly,
things were getting a little too tough.
So, Jesus asks the twelve,
are you going to leave me as well?
"Lord, to whom shall we go?" Peter replied,
"You have the words of eternal life.
You are the Holy One of God."
Peter speaks for us all.
Because in this world there is no path.
Peter, you are right.
Jesus is the Path!
What about you, will you desert Christ, too,
now that the going is tough?
Like Peter I pray and hope your answer is:
“Christ, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life. 69
We have come to believe
and to know that you
are the Holy One of God.”
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