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

Acting at Once in God's Abundance - Sermon Matthew 25:14-30

Matthew 25:14-30

“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; ¹⁵to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.¹⁶The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. ¹⁷In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. ¹⁸But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. ¹⁹After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ ²¹His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ ²²And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ ²³His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master. Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; ²⁵so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ ²⁶But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? ²⁷Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest.²⁸So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents.²⁹For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. ³⁰As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” 

Today’s text comes as a continuation of apocalyptic, end-times texts in the book of Matthew. These are Jesus’s final moments with the disciples.  His final days and hours before facing Jerusalem, the high priest. Final moments before he is tried, beaten, and crucified.  And in Matthew’s Gospel account, Jesus spends his last few moments with his disciples and the crowds teaching about the end-times.  A day of judgment and reckoning when the Lord returns.  God will return and cast judgement upon all who have been waiting.

So today’s parable, one of a master entrusting his wealth to his three slaves is the 3rd of 4 end-time, judgment texts.  We might recall last week’s parable about 10 bridesmaids.  5 wise and 5 foolish as they wait for the bridegroom to arrive to wedding banquet.   Next week we’ll hear about the separation of sheep and goats.  

But as for today’s difficult text, Jesus continues to speak to his disciples, and this time he addresses how they should carry on in his absence.  More specifically, Jesus is preparing the disciples for his inevitable absence.  And in doing so he is notifying them that they will be entrusted with his ministry.  His work and his deeds.  His healing and teachings.  They will be entrusted with the good news of his resurrection.

The disciples have been instructed by Jesus on multiple occasions that Jesus will soon die and rise.  And the time will come when the disciples must carry on without him.  But despite their hearing, they never fully understand what is about to occur.  They still do not believe that Jesus will leave them in their lifetime.

But we, on this side of the resurrection, of course know it to be true that Jesus will be killed and be raised.  And therefore the disciples, soon to be apostles, will be entrusted with the ministry of Jesus until the Master returns.   So Jesus launches into this 3rd Judgment parable.

I suggested last week that we acknowledge the difficulty of these parables.  And I think it is true again today because elements of these parables run counter to our expectation of Jesus and the Kingdom of God.  So they can be hard to hear, especially since none of us want to find ourselves in the role of the 3rd slave, cast to outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

I think then, it is important to reflect for a moment on the reason these parables have their place in Matthew’s Gospel account.  Matthew is writing to audience some 30 to 40 years after Jesus has been killed and raised.  The early Christian church has had its struggles and particularly within Matthew’s audience is a group of naysayers.   Disbelievers.  Those who are intentionally spreading false truths.   For whatever their reason, they are challenging the early Christians by dismissing their beliefs.   Even more so, these naysayers and their leaders continue to oppress large groups of people.  They continue to act counter to the gospel message, counter to the very work and deed of Jesus Christ.  

So Matthew, with this context and audience in mind, intentionally includes these four harsh parables regarding the end-times and the judgement for those who fail to participate in God’s kingdom through Jesus Christ.   That’s why Matthew continues to write about Jesus shutting the door on the foolish, casting the lazy into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

So, we encounter today’s parable of a Master entrusting his wealth to the three slaves.  All three slaves are given talents according to their abilities.  Talents in this context is a sum of money.  The first two slaves receive 5 and 2 talents respectively.  They go at once to invest their gift and return a 200% profit while the master is away.  The third slave is given 1 talent, which is still a significant amount, but out of fear of losing or misusing the gift he buries it.  Burying one's money, literally making a deposit, was common practice.  And of course upon the master's return, the third slave yields no interest or gain.  He excuses his actions behind his preconception of the Master, and is later tossed to outer darkness….with the weeping and gnashing of teeth. And I suppose it is the fate of the third slave then that can have us on edge.   That implores us to ask the question, what is at stake?

What is at stake in the meantime?  While we wait for Jesus’ return?  Entrusted with God’s grace, law, gospel, truth and light.  Entrusted with God’s promise of grace, forgiveness, mercy, and Love, what is at stake while we wait for the return of the Lord?  

Well certainly for this parable and the audience of Matthew what was at stake was the outer darkness. The weeping the gnashing.  And more importantly, what was at stake was not being invited to enter the joy of the master.  So brothers and sisters, perhaps the question is the same today….is there still something at stake for us today as we wait for the Lord?  If so, what is this parable teaching us?

One of the more popular interpretation of this parable lends itself to a discussion on stewardship. The tendency then is to interpret the masters gift to the slaves as God’s gifts to us.  The Master entrusts the slaves in this case with talents or money.  Whereas God entrusts us with talents, money and otherwise.  We are gifted with abilities and interests, the things we are good at, the things that bring us joy when you use them.  And therefore the message of the parable would be that we are to wisely invest our gifts, use them to their fullest potential, steward them we might say until Christ returns.  To do as the first two slaves, risking our gift, investing fully into the work of the kingdom, growing God’s gift 200%.  After all they were given to us by the Master to use, so why not use them for the glory of God in God’s kingdom.  This often leads to a conversation about money as well, especially being that this is the time of year when pledges are due and the budget is being formed.  

But friends, I don’t want to dwell on money, or stewardship, or the use of God’s gift, because maybe this parable holds a much deeper meaning for us today.  A bit more depth than simply the stewardship of God’s gifts and resources first given to us.

First, we might take notice of the Master’s generosity.  To the three slaves he entrusts, 5, 2 , and 1 talent respectively.  Now a talent in that day was equal to about 20 years worth of wages.  So to the slave who received 5 talents, he received nearly 100 years worth a wages.  And the second slave received about 40 years.  Even the third slave, who received only one talent was entrusted with 20 years worth of basic wages.  The emphasis here is not on wealthy-ness of the Master but rather the Master’s generosity.  Jesus makes no mistake in the amount of money he choses in his parable, because it isn’t about a quantity for Jesus but rather the abundance and generosity.  The slaves were entrusted with more than they ever had and more than they would ever need.  It was more than they could ever, ever steward, so rather than focus on their use of the gift we might be drawn to the abundance of the gift.

Second, we might reflect on the reaction of the first two slaves.  Jesus says that the first two slaves “acted at once.”  Immediately upon receiving their abundance they couldn’t help but spend it. Invest it. Risk it. Trusting fully that not only would the abundance last, but its fruit would produce two fold.

We might recall here Luther’s assertion to sin boldly but believe even more boldly in Christ, and rejoice.  This parable isn’t giving endorsing gambling or high-risk banking investments, nor is it giving permission for frivolous spending and stewardship, rather the parable is lifting up the way of life when entrusted by God with every good gift.  It’s not about careful and meticulous use or misuse of gifts but rather acknowledging that we are given gifts and called in baptism we become people who act immediately.  People of God who CAN NOT help but use our gifts.  So much so that we are no longer conflicted by whether or not to use a gift entrusted by God but rather we embody it and act because that is who we are.  We are God’s and therefore can’t help but always and instinctively be stewards.  It’s our calling.  Our vocation.  To steward boldly the life and promise entrusted to us through baptism, believing even more boldly in Christ, who will return in joy.

Third we might note the motivation of the third slave.  Fear. He understood the master as a harsh, and therefore acted out of fear.  Fear of losing his talent.  Fear of risking all that the master entrusted him.  So he dug a hole, planted his talent, so that upon the Master’s return there would be no risk of loss.  The digging and hiding of the talent echos the popular, “hide it under a bushel, no...I’m goinna let it shine...let it shine let it shine, let it shine.”

Imagine if the disciples, after learning about jesus’ death and resurrection remained locked away in the upper room. If they had closed the door and turned off the lights so that no one knew they were there.  Dug themselves a hole, and hid in fear.  Fear that they might mess up.  Fear that the risk they take would not be worth.  Fear that spreading the gospel message might be in short supply or worse, a fruitless investment.  Fear that sowing seeds, investing their entrusted gift would not return a positive investment for the day the Lord returns.

What’s at stake in this parable perhaps is not necessarily the weeping and gnashing of teeth but rather the missed opportunity to use God’s abundant gift.  What’s at stake is the missed calling or dismissing vocation.  What’s at stake is life motivated by fear rather than abundance and joy.  

Friends, the good news is that Jesus absolutely and unconditionally gifts us with an abundance. Entrusted with an abundance of love, mercy, and forgiveness.  Entrusted an abundance of grace.  And God’s grace in Jesus Christ will be more than we can ever ever steward on our own.  And as it was for the two slaves, the disciples then, and us today, it is our calling to go at once, immediately, washed in our baptism and fed by the body and blood, to embody the abundance to which we have been entrusted.   Taking risks, investing ourselves, our time, and our possessions for the glory of God and the return of the kingdom.  To go boldly, and trust even more boldly the promise that we will be entrusted into the Joy of the king upon his return.

Amen


© Pastor Daniel Locke Nov. 19, 2017 @ St. Mark's JAX 

Where Did Christmas Go? And What Is Epiphany?

Where did Christmas go?  

It seems the older I get and the busier I am, the faster the season of Advent and Christmas slip by.  And despite the secular establishments committing to Christmas decorations, music, and gifts earlier and earlier in the year, the season still manages to come and go before I think I am ready.  The moments with family become more precious as the years go by, and the time spent drinking coffee by a fire or watching Christmas specials on TV while sitting in the light of a beautifully decorated Christmas tree have been taken for granted.

It is even more a shame that on Dec. 26^th the stores will pack up their displays, the radio stations will return to the popular hits, and the secular mood will shift to the next major Holiday—Valentine’s Day.  But this isn’t the case for us as Christians.  

In fact, December 25^th marks the end of the Advent season and the beginning of the Christmas season, and for the following 12 days we celebrate the birth of Christ, the Messiah, Emmanuel—God with us.  But again, the days seem to slip by faster and faster every year.

The liturgical season of Christmas will soon be over, and we will be thrusted into the season of Epiphany, which starts on January 6 (12 days after Christmas).  Epiphany is the short season nestled between Christmas and Lent, and too often it is understood as only that—the season between. 

Epiphany means “to show” or “to make known.” It is a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ (incarnation).  It is marked by the arrival of the Magi, who were Gentiles, coming to worship Jesus.  The birth of God’s son is revealed to the world.  God, in human form, is the light of the world, and the world will never be the same.

Epiphany 2015 - Burning of the Greens - St. Paul's Durham, NC 

On Epiphany, January 6^th, many Christians will celebrate this revelation of Jesus to the world with worship and a burning of the greens.  The burning of the greens is a symbolic service that marks the end of Christmas and the beginning of Jesus’ life and work in the world.  Often, a large fire is built and we burn representative greens.  In the blaze of the fire we are reminded of the light, which has come into the world, the light that no darkness can over come.

Epiphany, Christmas, Advent… it all seems to pass too quickly.  But no matter how fast the seasons change, both liturgically and secularly, there is one constant—God’s presence in the light of Christ.  We should be glad to remember that Epiphany means “to make known,” or “to show,” and that throughout the seasons we remember that God continues to make God’s presence know.  God continues to show God’s people God’s faithfulness and love.

We have five weeks in the Epiphany season this year.  How is God making God’s self known in your life everyday?  How do you see God’s presence among you daily?  How is God’s light shining through your actions, your neighbor’s, or even your enemies?

Originally Written by Daniel Locke for St. Paul's Durham, NC - January 2015 Cross Connections