To whom can we go? - Sermon on John 6:56-69 - 08.26.2018

Listen to the gospel and the sermon here. 

John 6:56-69

56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.⁵⁷ Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever."⁵⁹ He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.⁶⁰ When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?"⁶¹ But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, "Does this offend you?⁶² Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?⁶³ It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.⁶⁴ But among you there are some who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him.⁶⁵ And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father."⁶⁶ Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him.⁶⁷ So Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?"⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.⁶⁹ We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." 

Today is our fifth and final week with a gospel lesson from the sixth chapter of John.  For more than a month we’ve been reading, hearing, and discussing the 6^thchapter of John.  The entire chapter is dedicated to a discussion about Jesus being the bread of life, a new manna from heaven for all people.  A heavenly bread that offers eternal life to all who eat of it.

In today’s final installment, the sixth chapter of John culminates in a moment of decision for the dedicated crowd that has been following Jesus.  As Jesus wraps up his discourse on heavenly bread, he connects the dots between God providing bread from heaven and him being the bread from heaven. He then goes so far as to teach that eternal life is synonymous with the eating of his flesh and drinking of his blood. 

This whole thing started 60 verses ago as Jesus crossed to the far shore of the sea of Galilee to find a moment of rest.  He climbed the hillside and barely sat down before he saw a great crowd of people following him. Jesus tested Philip.  Philip, how are we going to feed these people?   Recall Philip saying, Jesus even if there were a place to buy enough food, we don’t have the money.  There aren’t enough resources. You’ll remember that Jesus then takes a small amount of food, 5 loves and two fish, from a boy in the crowd.  He lifts it up, blesses it, breaks it, and feeds the crowd. All eat enough that they are fed to satisfaction, and the disciples collect 12 baskets left over.   It was a moment of pure abundance. 

In that moment of feeding on the mountainside, the crowd received not only food to eat, but affirmation of their decision to follow Jesus.  They had let everything behind, family, work, and home to trail Jesus. To see what sign he might offer next. This feeding event served as a catalyst for the crowd.  

So over the last 5 weeks Jesus taught about the bread from heaven and the bread of life.  He’s taught us about the benefits of the bread from heaven, living bread and everlasting life.   He’s named himself as the new manna, the bread from heaven that will feed and give eternal life. 

And in today’s final segment of this entire discourse, this decision making moment, Jesus makes one final connection that some consider to be one step too far.  “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.”  “I am the bread from heaven and those who eat of my flesh and drink of my blood will have eternal life.”   …Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood will have eternal life.

There’s a popular anecdote that circles around with this text.  I don’t know if it’s true, but the story goes that as a pastor was presiding over the Eucharist one Sunday morning, he referenced this passage of scripture.  And once he lifted the bread and the wine and said whoever eats of this flesh and drinks of this blood will have eternal life. And almost immediately a young girl in the front of the church exclaims, eww yuck! 

Flesh and blood…ew! Yuck!  Can’t fault her. When we really think about it her response seems rather appropriate.  I would imagine that within the gathered crowd, at least one person audibly gagged or scoffed at the idea of gnawing on Jesus flesh and blood.

And it’s not just that Jesus’ proclamation sounds distasteful, but the crowds gathered would have easily made the connection to the Old Testament in which such an act was considered cannibalism.  It was unlawful and unclean. And in this culminating moment, when many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?"

Some Left

So it is this moment in the sixth chapter of John, when Jesus proclaims that eternal life comes through the eating and drinking of Jesus’ flesh and blood that some of the disciples say, “nope, I’m out.”  

This teaching is too hard.  It’s too far. It’s too much.  Feeding us on the hillside with such little food is one thing…healing people is one thing…preaching bread from heaven is one thing... but chewing our your flesh for the promise of eternal life is where we should draw the line.  So Jesus, thank you for this adventure, I appreciate the fish and the bread, but we’re going to head back now.

Hard teaching

"This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?"  Jesus offers his whole self, body and blood as nourishment for the journey. Like manna pouring from heaven for the Israelites wandering in the desert, Jesus offers himself as food for the journey.  His own body and blood to sustain and nourish them. I don’t blame them for leaving.  That is a hard teaching to hear. 

Honestly, I find comfort in their honesty and conviction.  These disciples who had dropped everything to follow Jesus were buying in whole-heartedly.  They were growing in faith, listening and learning...seeing and believing...but this moment was too far, the teaching was beyond their comfort or belief.  It complicated their understanding thus far.  So they walked away. 

Who among us, despite our life in faith hasn’t walked away? Or at least been tempted to walk away? Thanks Jesus, it’s been interesting and enlightening, but I’m just not with you anymore?  That teaching is too hard. I can’t accept it.

Being baptized, confirmed, or even a regular worship-attendee doesn’t make us immune to the difficult moments in life in which we can’t accept Jesus’ teaching. The deep, vulnerable moments of life that challenge our comfort or conviction. Moments when faith seems distant, arbitrary, or trite.  

When the teaching of Jesus is hard to hear. To know. To believe. I suspect we’ve all been there...ready to walk away...when the teachings of Jesus are hard to believe and we refuse to accept them. 

Jesus teaches eternal life even through death, but when you’re standing bedside by a loved one at or in the waiting room during an emergency.  

God created all things good and for good, right?  Yet we life in fear of that creation... violent hurricanes, like Irma, Katrina, and Lane...wildfires consuming California and forgiving no one in the way, earthquakes, volcanoes and typhoons…

We know good and well that Jesus teaches that we should love god and love our neighbor, but headlines...every single day challenge our faith school shootings, mass tragedies, senseless violence, wandering refugees, desperate immigrants.  

Jesus teaches peace, yet faithful as we may be we have never known a time without war or fighting.  Teenagers today have never lived a day without us being at war. 

Jesus offers healing, but even the strongest in faith shutter at disease, illness, and addiction. 

Jesus teaches of an inclusive kingdom, but our society and culture celebrate exclusivity.  

Faithful as we are, the world thrives on diversity, disparity, inequality, injustice, and oppression. 

Jesus teaches us who we are, but even our very identity in Christ is at risk when overwhelmed with loneliness, exile, bullying, despair, and depression. 

For me, it was 2007.  4 agonizing years of wandering in and out of hospitals, clinics, trials, and treatments, and cancer ended my mother’s life.  Absolutely the most brutal, pain staking moment of my life. And I knew the Jesus taught eternal life.  I knew that Jesus was abiding in my mother.  I knew that God loved me and my mother. I knew, even though I didn’t want to admit, that God didn’t cause my mom’s cancer or even take my mother’s life.  And if I had any reason or motivation to walk away from God during those 4 years, they were affirmed on January 30, 2007. It was a decision moment. Where a vulnerable moment of life directly challenged my conviction of faith.  Death and grief were too heavy for me to keep on following. The teachings were too hard, and I couldn’t accept them. 

In these vulnerable, decisive moments of life, when the teaching of Jesus seems so hard and our faith is challenged...the easy response is to walk away.  Turn around. Thanks, Jesus, for the journey thus far, but I think we’ll bow out now. 

... 

And yet, here I am.  Here each of you are.  Here we are. Again and again.  Choosing to walk on this holy ground, to be in the presence of the Lord.  To hear, pray, sing, confess, eat, and drink. 

To follow, if even hesitantly, to follow Jesus. Listening to the teachings and promises, regardless of how much we may resent them at times.  But why? Why would we keep coming back?

⁶⁷ So Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?"⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.⁶⁹ We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." 

You notice that Peter didn’t answer yes or no.  Peter, without hesitation says, “Lord, where else would we be?  Where else would we go? To whom else would we turn?” 

You. You alone have the words of eternal life.  The world may challenge that at every turn, but you Lord, you are the Holy One of God.  You alone have the words of eternal life. Where else would we go?

Peter isn’t saying that they have no other options.  Well, Jesus, you’re our last and only choice so there’s no reason to leave.  No, Peter confesses that Jesus, despite the hard and challenging teaching, Jesus is the Holy One of God.

And sure being a follower may be characterized by risk.  It means confessing teachings of faith that rub up against a culture and society.  It means pushing back against a world that that is so quick and so ready to render faith in Christ obsolete. .  

Certainly we don’t always understand.  In the synagogue that day, they couldn’t understand Jesus offering himself, body and blood, as nourishment and as promise of everlasting life.  We still don’t fully understand it. 

We may not always understand Jesus’ command to love or show peace.  We may not get turning the other cheek or serving the last, lost, and least. Because sometimes the teaching seems too hard to accept.

Yet here we come again and again, following Jesus, not because we’re out of options, but because deep within, Christ has claimed us, and in Christ we have no need, no desire to walk away. 

We may never fully understand that power of God, but we come again and again, following Jesus as best we can. We listen.  We taste. We see. We tell. In this moment we experience Jesus, through flesh and blood, bread and wine. God only knows exactly what happens in that meal.

But Deep within our core we come with sure and certain hope to experience Christ.  We come again and again.

Because to whom else can we go?

Lord, you and you alone have the words of eternal life.  Amen

© Pastor Daniel Locke, preached Aug. 26, 2018 @ St. Mark's Lutheran JAX, FL

Come Away and Rest! - Sermon on Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 - 07.22.2018

Listen to the gospel reading and sermon here.

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

30 The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. ³¹ He said to them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. ³² And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. ³³ Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. ³⁴ As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

⁵³ When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. ⁵⁴ When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, ⁵⁵ and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶ And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

I suspect most everyone here knows by now that Sarah is pregnant.  We are expecting our first child any day now. In fact, Sarah are you here?  Ok, good, just making sure I’m not missing it!

If you didn’t know, Sarah is 39 weeks pregnant this week and we are so ready to meet baby Locke!

Ever since we announced our pregnancy, we have truly been blessed by this community.  Your love and support is incredible and we are truly grateful. Now of course, this being my first child, I am always open and receptive to everyone’s advice, and you have willingly offered it.  You’ve offered your experience and advice with everything from preferred diapers and books, to schools and childcare.

And of all the advice we’ve gotten, I think the most consistent and most beneficial piece of advice is to sleep while we can.  In fact, many of you have encouraged us to get extra sleep now, to take our rest as we can before the baby comes. What’s that all about?   There seems to be a consensus that a newborn will somehow compromise our rest? As though we are about to busier than ever. More depended upon than ever.   It’s as if all of you who are parents or teachers, aunts or uncles...it’s almost as though you know that my life is going to change.

It got me thinking this week, how often do we encourage one another to rest?  Out of genuine, mutual care for one another, how often do we encourage rest? Or better yet, how receptive are we to the invitation to rest?

I think more often than not our gut reaction is to be defensive.  When someone advises us to rest or take a break we perceive it as an insult, even if it’s doctor’s orders.  The implication is that we look tired, with deep heavy eyes. We feel convicted or accused because the presumption is that we can’t take care of ourselves.  Or we feel called out because we can’t be trusted to maintain good boundaries. Even when rest is prescribed in the best interest of our health we’re offended because how dare the doctor presume to know what’s best for me.

And to be clear, I don’t think any of us are opposed to resting.  Who doesn’t like a good night’s sleep, or a lazy day nap on the couch?  I think we love to rest. But our society and culture pressures us us to believe that rest equals weakness.  That somehow to take a respite or power nap, to care for ourselves is to ignore work that could be done.

Somewhere the script was flipped and rather that work being a burden to our self-care, we’ve allowed self-care to be a burden to work.  Our society is go. Go. go. And more often than not, the one who works over-time and risks their health to get a job done is rewarded. What’s the phrase...no rest for the weary?

Well, friends, as you have graciously encouraged me over the last few weeks, I want you to hear the same good news today:  Take a break. Rest. Relax. Refuel. Find your deserted place and rest awhile. But, you don’t have to take my word for it.

In today’s text the disciples return from their two by two journey.  We have no knowledge of where they’ve been, what they’ve done, or what they’ve seen or experienced.  As they return to Jesus, Mark tells us that they gathered around Jesus shared All that they had done and taught. I can only imagine the stories they shared.  Stories about families in hard times. Stories of being rejected, ignored, or dismissed. Stories of unexpected heeling. Stories of heartbreak or hope. Stories where the Spirit intercede and grace prevailed.  

And in all of these stories and experiences, I imagine the disciples to be weary.  Physically, mentally, spiritually. Tired from their mission. Exhausted, in the best way, from their two by two Ministry.  The text even tells us they worked so hard that they had no leisure even to eat.

So Jesus not only offers, but instructs the disciples to rest.  He says, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest awhile.”  Rest. Renew. Refuel. Recharge. You have worked hard. Mission and ministry is tiring.  Good and faithful servant, take rest. You deserve rest.

In seminary, every Lutheran candidate is required to complete a unit of CPE.  That’s clinical pastoral education. 400 hours of working in a hospital, hospice, or nursing facility as a chaplain.  

300 hours are spent on the floor, knocking on doors, and responding to calls.  The other 100 hours are spend in a class setting, evaluating your visits, learning about yourself, and most of all learning about yourself during visits.  But one big responsibility is being on-call.

I did my CPE chaplaincy at level one trauma hospital that had nearly 1000 beds, and it was my turn for on-call.  My first overnight, by myself. So as 5:00 O’clock hits and all the other chaplains hand-offer their call sheets and pagers, I was left by myself with a stack of visit requests, 4 pagers, and two on-call phones.  

So I went to work.  Visit after visit. Saw patients, and responded to emergencies.  I say with families as they waited. And others as they grieved.

Before I knew it, it was morning, and as the other chaplains arrived they commented how tired I looked.  The room got quite as I gave my report.

Everyone seemed shocked and my supervisor stopped me and said, “how late were you up?”  

Well I was on-call all night...so I was awake all night. There were lots of request visits and emergencies and families...”  

She stopped me and said, “Wait. So you didn’t sleep or nap at all?”   

I was appalled, “How could I, I said, when there was so much to do!?”   

She smiled...and then she taught me a lesson.

“Daniel, there will always be families in need. Always be emergencies. Always be visits to make.  There will always be a need for a chaplain. There will always be stories to share. There will always be ministry to be done.  But you simply cannot care for others, if you do not care for yourself. It is ok to rest and sleep.” It is ok to rest.

We don’t often think about the ministry of resting.  God’s mission to sleep. Have you ever thought that perhaps God may be calling you to sleep.  To rest. To relax. Refuel. Recharge?

I think it’s certainly within reason for us to discern that at times God is stirring within us a holy slumber.  Even God, on the 7th day, God finished the work and rested. On the seventh day God rested from the all the work that God had done.  So God blessed the 7th day, hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work done in creation.

Mark’s gospel story is a very fast-paced account of Jesus’ life and ministry.  Even from the beginning Mark wastes no time with lineage, birth announcements, or even a birth.  

Mark begins by saying “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ,” and from then on it’s a non-stop race.  John announces Jesus and Jesus jumps right into ministry. And with a quick recap we might notice that almost every story of Jesus in Mark’s gospel begins with a quick transition… “And then he...”  “Immediately…” “On that day..” “When he crossed…” Even today’s text says, “When the crossed…” Jesus is always on the move. And Mark writes with urgency in the stories of Jesus.

So when Mark takes the time to intentionally tell us about Jesus recognizing the disciples’ weariness, and inviting them to come away to a deserted place to rest awhile..I think we should listen.  I think Mark is lifting up a valuable, essential piece to ministry - self care. Rest. refueling and recharging. Jesus encourages the disciples to take a break. Cool their jets. Take time for themselves to rest.

What’s important to discover here is not necessarily that Jesus empowers them to take a nap, but he says “come away to a deserted place by yourselves to rest for a while.”  A deserted place. A place that’s set apart...apart from crowds, work, and business. Apart from streets and buildings. It’s almost of middle of nowhere. Because in the deserted place there is no distraction.  There is no wifi, netflix, Facebook, or email.

Come away to a deserted place, and if you need a nap, then nap.  But in the deserted place you are free from distraction, freed from the stress of life, free the pressure of society and culture to be “on” all the time.  You are free to rest in the comfort and care of the shepherd. Free to refuel the mind, the body, and the Spirit. To reflect, pray, confess. To feed on the word and rest in the one whom created you,

It’s always easier to look on from the outside isn’t it?  Easier to be the one encouraging and advocating for rest than it is to confront your own exhaustion and name your own need for spiritual, mental or physical respite and renewal.  And the hardest part about naming your need for rest...is claiming it and not feeling guilty.

The call to discipleship is tiresome.  It’s a non-stop journey because you’re not called to work as a disciple, but rather to be a disciple.  And rather that take a break and rest from being a disciple...I think resting is in the nature of the disciple.  It’s in the nature of the one who created us and a necessary discipline in the life of the apostles.

Volunteering for family promise, VBS, back to school Sunday, UCOM, LSS, office volunteer, fellowship meal, or Saturday morning men in mission...it’s hard work.  Serving on a committee, council or team...it’s hard work. Living out your vocation as a teacher, doctor, engineer, musician, waiter, security, parent, grandparent, garbage collector, or student...it’s hard work.   

Now you might be thinking...well wait a minute...Jesus invited the disciples away to rest but as soon as they did the crowds swarmed in and overwhelmed them with a hunger for Jesus.  Well...you’re right. Jesus encourages a well-deserved rest not only for work well-done, but because there is more work to be done. It’s almost as though Jesus knows there will be more work ahead of them.  Crowds who hunger for healing. Crowds who hunger for justice. Crowds who hunger for the word of hope, grace, peace, and love.

It’s as though Jesus knows they are about to be busier than ever before.  More depended upon than ever. It’s as if Jesus knows that their lives are going to change.  It’s true. Because in the ministry of the gospel, there will always be work to be done

But the good news friends, is that Jesus first teaches them to rest.  And if you never hear it, hear it today: Well done, good and faithful servant, now come away to a deserted place and find rest. Because spiritual care is an important part of being a discipleship. Never feel guilty.

Amen.