John 6:60-69
Love
that Crazy Guy
"I
Love Jesus." This was one of the
thousands of t-shirts printed and worn at the ELCA Youth Gathering this
summer. I liked the design, and the affirmation,
of the persons wearing it.
I thought
about those shirts, as I read the Gospel Lesson for today. And I wonder whether, at this point in the
gospel story, the first twelve disciples would have worn a t-shirt boldly
proclaiming, “I love Jesus”!
You just
heard these verses. You can (and should)
look at them again. The text tells us that
upon hearing what Jesus had to say, the disciples begin to complain and slowly
to fall away. Finally, Jesus looks at
the twelve and asks them, "Do you also wish to go away?"
"I
Love Jesus." Some may wear these
words, emblazoned across their chest. But the disciples understood that loving Jesus
was no easy matter. Many of them turned
back and no longer went about with him.
I
do love Jesus. But I need to be honest
with you. So let me admit there are
times when I would really like to find someone else whom I could place at the
center of my world.
One
of my “go to books” is Harvey Cox’s Many Mansions. The book is an encouragement for dialogue between
Christians and individuals of other faith traditions. The final chapter was given over to a
discussion of Jesus, the historical Jesus, not the one that we have tamed and
made acceptable. The chapter in this
book does a beautiful job describing how unpredictable and unreliable the
historical Jesus really was. No one
could predict where he would go or what he would say next. It was this loaded cannon, mounted on
ball-bearings that scared the be-gee-bees out of everyone and lead to their
calling for his death.
"This
teaching is difficult; who can accept
it?"
The
reference being made in this passage is to Jesus' words about himself as the
bread of life. We discussed this last
week. It was the appointed text. Jesus has just told the disciples that he is
the bread of life, the bread that has come down from heaven. Thus the reference in our passage as to what
would happen were they to see the Son of Man ascend to where he was
before. This whole chapter in John's
gospel began with Jesus' feeding of the 5,000, a meal which began with five
barley loaves and two fish. Having
witnessed this sign, the people chase Jesus, but he unsure whether they
recognize who and what he is or if they are simply seeking more bread for their
stomachs.
Finally,
Jesus lays it out for them. "I
am the living bread that came down from heaven,” he says. "Whoever eats of this bread will live
forever; and the bread that I will give
for the life of the world is my flesh."
This
teaching is difficult, who can accept it?
I can't believe Jesus is so dull as to not see the unacceptably of his
position. He has two things working against
him at once. First, there is this matter
of eating this flesh. The actual Greek
word would be better translated as "chew" or "gnaw." There is a mutilation involved here and Jesus
is in the middle of it. Forget all the
cute pictures of Jesus cuddling the little children on his lap or gently
holding a lamb in his arms. This is a
terrible thing. It is not a pretty
picture.
Second,
is the disappointment factor. In the
face of hostility; in the encounter with un-repentant forces; Jesus will not
fight. "The bread THAT I WILL
GIVE ... is my flesh." he says.
Sure, it is our ideals and beliefs which we defend to the death. And we honor those who do it with all of the
strength and courage they can muster. Jesus, on the other hand, simply folds his
cards. He yields his life - so that we
might have this bread.
"This
teaching is difficult; who can accept
it?" and they begin to turn
back and no longer go about with him.
Jesus
does about the only thing you can do is such a situation. He sits back and takes stock. His eye catches the twelve and he asks them, "Do
you also wish to go away?"
"Here's your chance," he says.
"If you want to go, go."
I
was nineteen years old when I made a pact with God that I would go to
seminary. It was at a crisis point in my
life, at a time when I was naive enough to believe that I could bargain with
God. At first I was comforted and
somewhat relieved by the virtue of my little deal with the Almighty. But as the crisis point passed and my naiveté
began to wane, I started keeping one eye open for an escape that would allow me
to get out of the bargain. One was not
immediately found, so my studies and work remained on a trajectory that pointed
toward seminary and ordained ministry.
It is true, that after a while you grow accustomed to your trajectory
and stop asking why it ever got started.
That's
where I was when an escape route fell into my lap. It came as I was ending my year as national
staff with Lutheran Student Movement. It
took the form of a job offer, to do campus ministry as a lay person and work
part-time as the handy-man for a church camp.
Be
careful here, not to misunderstand. The
issue is not whether we serve God best through ordained ministry or ministry
through daily life. At issue, was the
opportunity set before ME to make a break for it. To get out while I could.
"Do
you ... wish to go away?" Jesus
asks his disciples. They think about
it. They wonder what it would be
like. But in the end, they stay. Simon Peter answers Jesus, "Lord, to
whom can we go? You have the words of
eternal life."
I
sometimes think I should have made a break for it, while I had the chance. I think how different my life would be now,
if I had gone. (I failed to mention earlier
that the job was on the coast of southern California; that the camp overlooked
cliffs leading down to the Pacific Ocean.)
But no, I wouldn't change a thing.
I would do nothing to upset the delicate balance which holds in complete
check all the forces that could so easily overpower me. There is no way that I would ever change the
center around which my beautiful universe spins.
Sometimes
I may think I want to upset, or change, or turn back - but in the end I realize
there is no one else to whom I can go.
This Christ, embodied in Jesus of Nazareth, speaks a word which I
believe and know to be the words of eternal life.
As
crazy as it may be, as unsettling as it may become, there is nowhere else.
"Do
you also wish to go away?"
Jesus asks all of his disciples. "Lord,
to whom can we go?" is our response.
"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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