John 6:56-69
Where
can we go?
“Lord,
to whom can we go? You have the words of
eternal life.”
That
is the verse I would like for you to remember and repeat at least daily in the
week to come. Too often we think
learning our Bibles means biting off large chunks. We learn as much when we take small pieces,
and reflect on what a few well-selected words mean.
Repeat
the verse with me: “Lord, to whom can
we go? You have the words of eternal
life.”
Jesus’
acts of compassion have been uncovered as a foreshadowing of where he intends
to go. Jesus’ confusing words about his
body being the bread he will offer has sent many of his followers scattering. He turns to the twelve and asks them, “Do
you also wish to go away?” And how
do they answer him? “Lord, to whom
can we go? You have the words of eternal
life.”
They
might have gone – had there been anywhere else to go. But while there might have been other places
to go to, none of them would have resulted in the “eternal life” which Jesus
is able to offer.
I
want to retell a story from the summer.
But I want to retell it from a slighting differing angle. It is about the Youth Gathering in
Detroit. Rick and Cindy Sanders, Mary
King, and Christine Hart are my fact-checkers for this retelling.
At the
Youth Gathering, Lutheran Campus Ministry’s area in the interaction center
involved framing the wall sections for four Habitat for Humanity houses. You can probably imagine where the idea for
such a project arose. This was actually
the third youth gathering at which Rick and Cindy and Laura and I were in the
middle of planning such a project.
But
this was the first time we had attempted to frame four
houses. This was the first time we had
tried to work in partnership with Lutheran Disaster Response. This was the first time we had arranged for
twelve campus ministry participants from across the U.S. to come along for the
ride.
It was,
to say the least, a challenge. Particularly
on Saturday night, four hours after everyone else had left the Cobo Center to
enjoy the evening’s programing and we were still loading wall sections onto the
truck. Greg’s Fitbit told him that on
Friday he had walked 10 miles, all within the confines of our two football size
work-space.
And
yet, by the time the van crossed the SC State Line (did I mention that we DROVE
to Detroit in the church van?) By the
time the van crossed the SC State Line, we were heard making plans for a
repeat, in three years, when the youth gathering is held in Houston, TX.
I in no
way want to pretend that our work at the Youth Gathering is of equal importance
to the work carried out by the twelve apostles.
But, it may serve as a comparison.
The path chosen is tough, too tough for any sane person to
continue. But there is an ending too
precious to be missed.
“Lord,
to whom can we go? You have the words of
eternal life.”
Tradition has it that every one of the twelve
apostles suffered. Most were martyred. The itinerant preacher they chose to follow
set a pattern which was played out in their own lives. Not a single one of them ever settled down,
in a comfortable little cottage with a spouse and a few kids. Had they known where all this was leading,
would they have left?
But
then, maybe they did know. At least they
knew what needed to be known. Simon
Peter is the spokesperson for the group.
He certainly seems to know. His
words bear evidence to the reality that while this whole following Jesus thing
is a tough path, it is the only path which is likely to lead to the place one
wants to be. When presented with the
option of leaving, Simon responds, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
Jesus
dies so that this bread might be available to us. Is it any surprise that those who eat of this
bread might be called give over our lives as well?
That
sounds scary, and it is. That sounds ridiculous,
and it might be. But it is when we lose
ourselves to something greater than ourselves that we find ourselves.
Few of
us will be called upon to experience martyrdom.
That might happen, for fellow believers, living in other parts of the
world. The Coptic Christians in Egypt
have been forced to choose between their faith and their lives. Few of us will be called upon to give up our
lives, but we are continually being asked whether we will yield significant
aspects of our lives. Will we give an overnight
to staff Family Promise? Will we be a
chaperone for a youth trip? Could we
share some of our money with the families in Clemson who don’t have groceries?
Jesus’
words, the very words which are the words of eternal life, are words which call
upon us to see our lives as a part of a larger (shall we say “eternal”)
framework.
In her
book, Reclaiming the “L” Word, Kelly Frayer speaks of life in the Church
as an outing at the beach. Some will sit
on the sand and watch the waves. There
is something wonderful about that, very peaceful, enjoyable. Others will wade in the shallows. Here, you get a bit wet. And you are likely to get a bit of sand
sticking to your skin. Some will venture
into the deeper water. Out there you
ride the waves, taste the salt, float on your back and look up at the sun. But out there you also risk shark bites. Only a few will don scuba gear and delve to
the depths, discovering all that the sea has to offer.
You can
decide how deeply you will venture into the Christian life. You are always welcome to come and sit on the
sandy beaches. If that is all that you
are prepared for, enjoy. Return often. But, to experience the fullness of that which
motivated the first followers of Jesus, you will need to get a bit wetter.
The
twelve knew what they were getting into.
They understood what it would mean for their lives. They may have had a slight tone of resignation
in their voices, but they were quick to reply – Lord, to whom can we
go? You have the words of eternal life.
Amen.
