For him or against him...

The readings for the last couple of weeks have challenged us to make some difficult decisions about commitment, and today the readings do exactly the same thing. For the last couple of weeks we have thought about Jesus’ claim to be the Bread of Life or the Living Bread, and today he continues to challenge his listeners as he talks of the bread that came down from heaven (John 6:56-69).  

Once again Jesus is saying that people must make a choice for him or against him, and that choice has to be to fully immerse ourselves in him, recognising that we will get it wrong sometimes...

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (6:10-20), he is urging his listeners to make a choice, just as he had made a choice. The choice there was whether they were willing to stand as soldiers in God’s army in a spiritual war.

In our often rather mixed up world it’s often easier to just sit on the fence, leaving decisions for others and I think on many occasions that is just what the Church has tried to do – it certainly makes life easier, and there are also good reasons why we should try and accommodate as many views and be as welcoming as possible... There is surely a good argument for saying that if society is doing something then we should do the same ?

That is until we read passages like these, where we are clearly shown that we must make a choice. And if we make that choice for Jesus then it will often be an uncomfortable and a difficult choice because that choice will often seem to be in conflict with what society might expect. That is something Jesus faced regularly in his earthly life and it’s something his followers will inevitably face if we are seeking to be like him. 

If we make a choice for Jesus, it won’t be easy, there are no convenient quick words that will make all the problems go away…  Just as Jesus suffered in his Ministry, there will be times that our discipleship will be tough...

Sometimes people ask why Jesus chose to suffer when he could have stopped it, and the answer is that he didn’t choose to suffer at all. He chose to bring love and compassion, he chose to fight for righteousness and justice, and suffering came with those things – he didn’t choose it - but it was a consequence of his love.

As a church seeking to be more like Jesus we are to strive for the things that Jesus did - to work for compassion and justice, to offer forgiveness and try to work for peace and, in all things, to show love...

This was Jesus’ message and as He spells out the cost of commitment. in this morning’s gospel we are told that some people didn’t like the message, and they turned away from him. 

Even today, we will find that many people are very happy with being involved in the social side of church, and very happy with the good work that Churches do, but they are less inclined to commit themselves when things move to a spiritual level... Dependence upon prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit are considered by some to be a little bit strange. Attendance at prayer groups and bible studies are considered by some to be for fanatics !

The Communion service is a perfect example of something which we need to examine spiritually.

One Sunday morning during a service, the minister was saying the familiar words: “This is my body which is broken for you. And this is my blood which is shed for you,” when all of a sudden a little girl sitting in the congregation cried out, “Oh, yuk!” 

If we consider communion in purely human terms it can seem offensive, some in the early church described Christians as cannibals – but what we share in the mystery of the communion is remembering the sacrifice of Jesus and offering ourselves to be immersed in his new life. We seek the spiritual benefits which are beyond our understanding...

And so this morning we are being called to a higher level of service and commitment. We are being called beyond the passive acceptance of the grace and mercy of God into a fuller relationship, and in our gospel this morning it’s clear that this has never been easy - in that reading some people couldn’t understand the teaching of Jesus and walked away and when some of those followers turned away from him, Jesus addressed his closest followers and said, ‘do you also wish to go away ?’ 

And Simon Peter replied, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy one of God.’

And this is the response that Jesus surely hopes to get from us today - where else can we turn but to God...

Despite all of the criticisms of the Church, despite the many attractive alternatives that seem to be offer, the quest for material gain, for status, despite the fact that some people will think our faith is a little bit strange in this modern society, we are still choosing Jesus, because we have recognised what is truly important in this life, and found the gateway to eternal life.

And so we equip ourselves to fight for Jesus, clothed in the garments mentioned by Paul that we heard this morning, the belt of truth around our waist, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes ready to walk anywhere we are led as we proclaim the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, the word of God. And equipped with this armour we stand strong in the protection of God, we stand strong against any opposition, knowing that God has already won the most important victory of all, the victory over death.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, was preaching before the fall of the apartheid regime in South Africa, in St. George’s Cathedral in Cape Town. Inside, the wall of the Cathedral was lined with soldiers carrying guns, waiting for the opportunity to close the service down. The cathedral was filled to capacity with worshippers.

Not deterred at all by the threatening guns, Bishop Tutu spoke of the evils of apartheid. Near the end of his sermon, he pointed a finger at the soldiers and said, “You may be powerful, but you are not God! You have already lost!” Before the soldiers could react, Bishop Tutu, smiling, came out from the pulpit and began to bounce up and down the aisle. As the congregation moved into the aisle, dancing with him, he spoke to the soldiers again, “Since you have already lost, we invite you to join the winning side,” The soldiers melted away. Some broke rank. Some found Jesus that day and danced with incredible joy.

And so we are left with the challenge of commitment, not to a church but to Jesus... sometimes those things can be easily confused and we pledge our allegiance, perhaps sub consciously, to a church but pledging our allegiance to Jesus means there is just one church, not constrained by any building...  

As a church in Wales in recent times we have tried to build on this idea of one church partly through encouraging ministry areas which recognise mutual support and working together rather than the idea of our particular building being our church - it’s not without its problems but it highlights the fact that we are one church...

As Jesus spoke of the cost of commitment, some went away from him, but some, now firmer in their faith, remained strong. And as we continue our Christian journey together sometimes our attitudes and our impressions of the world and our faith will change a bit, but God remains constant in his care and compassion for us and his promises to us to guide us, to strengthen us, to walk with us, to love us...

And so, as we allow him to, God comes closer to us, he no longer seems remote or unreachable, and when we’re asked, ‘Do you also want to leave ?’ we confidently reply, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life?’ AMEN