Introduction

This is the sermon I preached at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Beatrice, Neb., on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 22-23, 2009, the weekend of the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost.

Readings

Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18
Psalm 34:15-22 (15)
Ephesians 6:10-20
John 6:56-69

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Prayer

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation[s] of [our] heart[s]
be acceptable to you,
O LORD, [our] rock and [our] redeemer.” Amen. (Psalm 19:14, NRSV)

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Message

For the past month,
we have heard and reflected upon
the conversation between Jesus and the crowds
according to John 6.

This long passage is often called
the Bread of Life Discourse.
And as we have made our journey through it,
we have heard that:
Jesus is the Word enfleshed in our midst;
He touches our lives and calms our fears;
He feeds us with the bread of life
and satisfies our thirst with the cup of salvation;
He blesses us with faith, God’s work in us;
He promises us eternal life in him.

And finally, in today’s Gospel
we hear how,
once we have been fed,
we embark upon a journey of faith
that takes us along a difficult path.

The first obstacle on the path
is a stumbling block and a mystery.
Jesus says,
“The words that I have spoken to you
are spirit and life.
But among you there are some
who do not believe.” (John 6:63b-64a, NRSV)

Jesus doesn’t answer our first and obvious question: Why?
Why do some of us hear and see
what we all share in our encounter of God
and yet do not believe?
What’s the difference between those who believe and those who don’t?
How can it be that Jesus’ words of spirit and life come to us,
wash over us like gentle rains,
and yet some remain dry and untouched by faith?

All John says is that Jesus knows
from the beginning who does not believe.
And what Jesus says is this:
“For this reason I have told you
that no one can come to me
unless it is granted by the Father.” (John 6:65, NRSV)

It sounds unsatisfying and excluding
and harsh and arbitrary,
and not only to us.

It is such a hard saying,
that some among the larger circle of his disciples leave.
They walk away from their Lord.
Then Jesus asks the Twelve,
“‘Do you also wish to go away?’” (John 6:67, NRSV)
And Simon Peter, the rock, answers with the words
we use often in worship
as we prepare to hear the Gospel:
“‘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.’” (John 6:68-69, NRSV)

There aren’t any glib and quick answers
to explain away Jesus’ hard and mysterious saying.
But it does help, I feel,
to remember Jesus’ other saying
about the will of his Father.
We heard him tell the crowd:
“‘This is indeed the will of my Father,
that all who see the Son and believe in him
may have eternal life;
and I will raise them up on the last day.’” (John 6:40, NRSV)

It’s not that “seeing is believing,”
but that believing comes from seeing.
And seeing is really both seeing and hearing the Word.
We have these encounters
through worship,
where we hear the Word in proclamation
and receive it in the Sacraments.

And we also encounter the Word through the service
of God’s followers at work in the world.
Then, we, like anyone who has seen and heard,
come to believe because God works in us,
as Jesus says,
“‘This is the work of God,
that you believe in him whom he has sent.’” (John 6:29, NRSV)

And so, when we wonder about
why some do not yet believe,
why some of our loved ones
have fallen away from the Church
or have never gotten close enough to fall away,
we can remind ourselves
that the Father is tireless and persistent
in his work in our midst.

We can trust his history finds its fulfillment
in saving the world, as Jesus says in John 3,
“‘Indeed, God did not send the Son
into the world to condemn the world,
but in order that the world might be saved through him.’” (John 3:17, NRSV)

But in the meantime,
between now and the end,
we are stuck with this great mystery,
its ambiguities and uncertainties.

Stuck, but also not abandoned.
We do face those times when we are tempted to ask ourselves,
“‘Do [we] also wish to go away?’” (John 6:67, NRSV)
But we don’t face those times and trials alone.
As Jesus tells us,
“‘Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood
abide in me, and I in them….
The one who eats this bread will live forever.’” (John 6:56, 58b, NRSV)
And so we are fed for journey.

And as St. Paul tells us in the reading from Ephesians,
God not only feeds us for the journey,
he also equips us for our service,
giving us armor and clothing:
the belt of truth,
the breastplate of righteousness,
shoes that prepare us to proclaim the Gospel of peace,
the shield of faith for defense,
the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit. (Ephesians 6:14-17, NRSV)

The words paint a picture for us
of preparing for battle,
of strapping on weapons and armor
to defend ourselves against the evil one.

It’s not the kind of image or rhetoric
that is really popular in the Church today.
But listening to it and trying it on
helps us to be reminded
that our calling as Christians,
the journey for which God feeds us,
is a serious and significant one.

As St. Paul tells us,
“…our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh,
but against the rulers, against authorities,
against the cosmic powers of this present darkness,
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12, NRSV)

What shape do these threats take in our lives?
Where do we feel pressures to compromise our faith,
to adjust our morals to the standards of our culture,
to give in to get along?

These are big and tough questions—
big and tough enough that next Sunday’s readings will raise them again.
These questions have no quick and easy answers.
But even so, St. Paul encourages us, saying,
“…be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.
Pray in the Spirit at all times….” (Ephesians 6:10, 18a, NRSV)

We are strengthened by the power that comes to us
in the true bread and the cup of blessing.
And then we, in turn, can come to the Father in prayer,
trusting that the Spirit will guide us
to ask for all that we need in the name of the Son.

This is enough for today
and for tomorrow
and for each day of the week.

And as we face the many challenges to our faith,
as we grapple with the myriad of questions that confound us,
and as we resist the multitude of forces that oppose us,
we can ask of one another
just what St. Paul asked of the Ephesians,
“Pray also for me,
so that when I speak,
a message may be given to me
to make known with boldness
the mystery of the gospel,
for which I am an ambassador in chains.
Pray that I may declare it boldly,
as I must speak.” (Ephesians 6:19-20, NRSV) Amen.