Sermon for 11 Pent Yr B, 24/08/2003
Based on Jn 6:56-69
Grace Lutheran Church, Medicine Hat, Alberta
By Pastor Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson
One day a few years ago, I went into the local paint store to get some keys for the church cut. The storekeeper told me the following story. A woman came into the store and asked the storekeeper to cut her a key. After she paid for the new key, the woman went home to try it out. She came back to the store four times without successfully getting a new key to open her door. The fourth time, the storekeeper told her that he was stumped; there was nothing else he could do to make a key fit her door. The woman replied: "O well, the original, master key doesn’t open the door either!"
Life is like that too. If we become disciples of false teachers or masters, we shall end up getting lost and travelling down dangerous, destructive, evil roads. However, if we become disciples of Jesus, our true Master, he shall lead us out of our lostness and down roads of righteousness, goodness and love.
In today’s gospel, we learn of how, after listening to Jesus teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum, many of his disciples found his words difficult to the extent where they could no longer be Jesus’ disciples. Jesus was teaching them about the sacrament of Holy Communion; of eating and drinking his flesh and blood. To many, this was going too far. How could they, being faithful Jews, participate in the most offensive act of cannibalism? Such a teaching went beyond sound reasoning and common understanding. However, Jesus was not teaching or advocating that his disciples practice cannibalism. Rather, he was speaking of living in relationship with him as God’s Holy One who would open the door to the Father. He was their true Master Key; he would be able to open the door and bring them into the Father’s kingdom.
As this gospel story unfolds, the people (who were disciples, we are told) are abandoning Jesus left, right and centre, so he asks the twelve disciples if they too wished to go away from him. Peter, being the spokesperson for the other disciples then responds with this confession, which we sing in our liturgy before the reading of 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."
One wonders, how could Peter and the other eleven (with Judas being the exception) remain with Jesus and make this confession, while, on the other hand many others, who were also his disciples, abandoned him? Well, apart from the deep mysteries of God’s predestination--which we will not get into here--the main reason seems to be that the ones who left placed their own understanding; their own knowing; over and above faith; of being able and willing to trust in Jesus even if they did not completely understand his teachings.
Men (and women) have come to God, not as chemists to bread curious to analyze it; they have come as hungry (women and) men, needing to eat if they would live. And they have found life glorified by faith in him.
A jury of philosophers might analyze the wood-work and the metals of an organ, and guess from form and material what it is, but we still should need for our assurance a musician. When (s)he sweeps the keys in harmony we know that it is an organ. So when the philosophers have debated the pros and cons of argument concerning faith, Jesus plays the Gospel. His life is the Christian affirmations done into character. And multitudes of folk, living out the implications of the faith, have found the likeness of the Master growing in them. Weighty confirmation of the Gospel’s truth arrives when its meaning is translated into life; the world will not soon reject the New Testament in this edition—bound in a (hu)man. 1
So it was with Peter and his companions; so it is with us too; that faith and believing take precedent over and prior to knowledge and understanding. We do not know and understand in order to have faith and believe. Rather, it is the other way round, we have faith and believe in order to know and understand. This is born out in the words of Peter’s confession as well, when he says: “We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” Belief comes first, then the knowing. This truth is born out further as we read the whole story of Christ and his disciples in the gospels. Overall, we notice that it is not until AFTER Christ’s resurrection that the disciples really knew and understood what Jesus was talking about before he died and predicted his Passion and resurrection. So it is with us too, we believe and have faith in Jesus long before we completely know and understand him. In fact, our knowledge and understanding of him is always growing and maturing as we take practical steps of faith in our daily living.
Another reality and truth to which Peter’s confession points us is THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMITMENT TO CHRIST. Here we have people giving up their commitment to Jesus. In this context, when the going gets tough, it is Peter and his companions who stay put and remain committed to Jesus.
During the 1950’s the senior art class of Strathcona High School in Edmonton, Alberta painted a mural on one of the cafeteria walls. Toward the end of the 1970’s, it was decided a more modern mural could be put on that wall. So, the wall was prepared. The students formulated a design and some of the seniors drew it on the wall. Other students began to paint the designs on the wall. Each of a number of students were designated an area to be responsible for.
The mural got partially painted. But some of the painters never picked up the brush. After looking at the half finished mural for a while, it was decided a plain painted wall would look better than a half finished mural. The paint roller covered the wall making it the same as all the others.
So it is with us too. We, by following Jesus and being committed to him like Peter and his companions, are able to make our life count. A committed life can transform the ordinary into the extraordinary by investing time, talents, gifts and resources to work for the good of one and all. Had those Strathcona art students all been committed to finishing the wall mural, they would have left a beautiful legacy for their school for many years to come. When we are committed to Jesus, we can leave a beautiful legacy of faith, hope and love for others that have the potential of lasting not only a lifetime, but into all eternity. Peter’s confession then reminds us all that by being committed to Christ our lives can make a tremendous difference in the church and in the world.
One of the central features of the language of confession is that IT IS THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE. Most of us who have “fallen in love” with someone often say things like: “(S)he is the ONLY one for me;” or “(S)he is the BEST man/woman in the whole wide world.” For us, the love relationship that we are involved in is so intense that there is no room for any other person to meet our needs or share our life with than that particular person whom we love.
So it was with Peter and his companions, when he made his confession to Christ. Notice the words he employs to communicate this exclusive loyalty and love towards Jesus: “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.” The question here might be translated something like this: “Jesus, you alone are the only one for us; there is no one in the whole wide world like you; you are the best; you are the greatest; you are NUMBER ONE!” Then Peter adds: “You have THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE.” In other words, Jesus in his person now IS THE WORD BECOME FLESH, LIVING AND DWELLING AMONG US. His flesh-present word along with the words that he spoke GIVE LIFE. How is this so? Well, quite simply because of the content in his word: his Incarnate word-become-flesh and his spoken word both are LIFE-GIVING BECAUSE THEY ARE FULL TO OVERFLOWING WITH PROMISES. Promises like: “your sins are forgiven, I am with you always till the end of time, I love you, you are a precious member of my family, you are created in the very image of God, in me you are given everything you need to live an abundant life, I accept you unconditionally, I love you so much that I have suffered and died for you, I am the Holy One of God who through my resurrection have defeated the powers of sin, death, and evil, and can save you and offer you eternal life.”
Peter and his companions trusted and later came to know that such words of Jesus were full-to-overflowing with promises that no other human being could live up to or match or improve upon. That is why they could go to no one else but Jesus. So it is with us too. Yes, at times we face many tests and hardships in life. Yes, at times we pray and pray; yet it seems to no avail and we feel that God doesn’t answer us. Yes, at times we are sorely tempted to turn away from Jesus and go looking for “greener pastures.” However, our God does not reject us or punish us for all of this. Instead, God hears us through Jesus and he invites us back from our wonder-lust, back to him. So we too, like the twelve, are invited to stay with him; he will give us all and so much more that we need to live a life of abundance, since there is no one else who can ever take his place. Amen.
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1 Cited from: Harry Emerson Fosdick, The Meaning of Faith (New York: International Committee of YMCAs, 1917 & Association Press, 1945), pp. 124-26.
