A Home for All God’s Children
John 6:47-69
August 27, 2006
During the second week of June, Toni accompanied a group of 25 youth from her church to New Orleans to work toward restoring some homes that had been destroyed by the hurricane and flood of last year. When she came back, she told me that she had never in her life seen, or even imagined, the devastation that they encountered. The United Methodist Committee on Relief has estimated that there is still more than 50 million cubic feet of debris to be cleaned up.
The clean-up along the entire Gulf Coast has been a study in contrasts. As we all know now, FEMA was incredibly slow to respond, but the American people responded with lightening speed and amazing generosity.
I know of one church in our Conference – there are probably others, but I know of one – which put together a plan to bring former New Orleans’ residents to Indiana. They found housing, job training, social services, medical care, and other support systems. They provided transportation for about 30 folks, and are continuing to help them adapt to a new situation.
As of today, only a fraction of former New Orleans residents have been able to move back and reoccupy their homes. We hear all sorts of stories, but my guess is that no one really knows how many people will be permanently displaced. It is such a tragedy because we all need shelter for the body – a place in which to live.
It’s ironic that misery for some produces opportunity for others. You know that my son Chris works in a Recreational Vehicle plant in Middlebury. FEMA ordered tens of thousands of temporary shelters following the hurricane. The plants in northern Indiana and other places went into overdrive last fall and into the winter. They were working mandatory overtime. The line Chris was working on was producing 23 units a day, six days a week, for a number of months. All of the men and women in those factories brought home huge paychecks. He always said that he felt a little guilty making a really good salary when others had lost everything.
Another innovative method of housing the homeless other than in FEMA trailers are in dome homes. They never really caught on in New Orleans like they have in Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, a fellow named Ted Hayes began looking for a way to house some of the homeless in southern California. His solution was these dome homes. There is now a dome village out in L.A. Each home is made of 21 fiberglass panels and bolted together with Teflon bolts. Two adults can erect each one in about 4 hours. Each home is 20 feet in diameter and contains 314 square feet of living space. Not a comfortable domicile by any means, but for some people, a place to call home. They work in Los Angeles, even though they never caught on in New Orleans.
We all need shelter. In 1943, Abraham Maslow published a book in which he delineated a hierarchy of needs. In other words, there are some things we need which are basic. Other needs are met and fulfilled only when we meet the basic, lower level needs. The most basic needs are biological: air to breathe, food to eat, and water to drink. The next level of needs is those that address security issues. Among those is adequate shelter.
I don’t want to diminish the problem of people displaced by natural disasters or by circumstances that have caused them to be homeless. Putting hurricane victims aside for a minute, homelessness is still a problem. I wanted to try to get a clearer picture of homelessness in America, so I went to the website of the Fort Wayne rescue mission. Did you know that nationwide, 35% of the homeless are families with children; 30% are women; 79 % are under the age of fifty; 30% have jobs; 61% are Caucasian; 17% are African American; and 16% are Hispanic. Many of the homeless are veterans; many struggle with mental illness; many have been victims of job loss as jobs are being outsourced overseas.
When we leave here, we will all go back to homes that are safe, comfortable, and clean. Not everyone can say that and I think that we have to be aware that people right here in our community struggle with adequate housing. That being said, we also have to realize that people need shelter for their souls as well.
At the tip of Maslow’s pyramid of needs is what is called “Self-actualization.” At the top of that is “self-transcendence.” We’re talking about religious needs here. Everyone has them, whether or not they admit it, or recognize it. Everyone needs to be connected to something bigger than themselves. Everyone has to ground his or her soul in something. Everyone’s values, standards of conduct, and meaning in life has a source. For Christians, that source is Christ. For us, Christ is the shelter of our souls.
Toward the end of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus has been facing some opposition because of the life to which he calls those who would be his disciples. The chapter begins with the story of the feeding of the 5,000. The people were so impressed with that feat that they wanted to take him right then and there and make him king. Only by withdrawing to a place apart, could Jesus escape those who sought an earthly king because they didn’t understand the heavenly kingdom that he came to announce.
He sent the twelve on across the lake, and later joined them walking on the water. They were terrified, not knowing that it was he. But he put them at rest and climbed into the boat with them to continue the journey.
Reaching land once again, he found that people had followed him. He knew their hearts, and told them that they were only there for the food. They really had no idea of the power behind the miracle, the power to which the miracle pointed. He told them that he was the Bread of Life. This bread never perishes. “I am the Bread of Life,” he said. “The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever.”
Taken aback by his refusal to meet their self-identified needs, the crowd turned ugly. They wanted to know who he thought he was anyway. After all, he was just the kid down the street, the son of Joseph and Mary, the barefoot little boy that ran through the dusty streets of their city. They wanted to know where he got off claiming special purpose and special power from God. Besides, they wanted to know, how could he give his flesh to eat?
Up to this point, the stuff he had been saying had simply been hard to accept. Suddenly with this talk of flesh becoming eternal-life-giving bread, the ability to accept the teaching went all the way to impossible. “This is tough teaching, too tough to swallow.”
It seems to me that there are three options upon coming face to face with Jesus. You can go away. You can betray. You can stay.
Some of his disciples simply couldn’t take it anymore and walked away. We’re not talking about any of the twelve, but those hangers-on who were just curious. They had heard all about this Jesus and wanted to jump on the bandwagon because it sounded exciting. But then when the got on the wagon, they discovered that there was more to it. They weren’t willing to put in the time, or to make the necessary sacrifices, or to give themselves completely to the mission of Jesus. So they just walked away.
Of course, even among the twelve, there was one who would leave when it became really difficult. You remember the night of his arrest, as Peter was identified as one of Jesus’ followers, he denied it, ran and hid.
A few weeks ago I talked about the difference between spirituality and religion. I said that spirituality was easy and religion was hard. Religion is hard because there are all of these requirements for right action and correct belief. The simply curious disciples don’t have the staying power. When the going gets tough, they get going.
Another option that presents itself upon meeting Jesus is to betray. That is the option chosen by Judas. If I could be honest with you for just a moment, I will admit that I have always had trouble with Judas. The greatest villain in history was in fact, absolutely necessary for God’s plan of salvation to be worked out.
There is part of me that wants to feel sorry for Judas. After all, he did have second thoughts and tried to give the ransom money back to the Temple authorities. He was so sorry that shortly after the fact, he committed suicide, preferring death to living with his treachery. So there is part of me that wants to feel sorry for Judas. Yet the fact remains, when crunch time came, he chose the easy way out. At the hour of Christ’s deepest need, Judas chose to turn against him and to betray him.
When you have an encounter with Jesus you can go away, you can betray, or you can decide to stay. After many of the hangers-on left, Jesus gave the twelve their chance. “Do you also want to leave?” he asked. In response, Peter uttered one of the most profound statements in all of Scripture. “Master, to whom would we go?”
Indeed, where else would they go? To whom else would they turn? What other teacher could offer them salvation? Despite their occasional dim-wittedness; despite their lack of understanding; despite their inability to get with the program; despite their humanness, there was something about Jesus that was different. It was that difference that made them realize that in him, they found shelter for their souls.
Have you ever wanted to just go away? Have you ever considered the Christian life just too hard, too demanding, too fraught with danger? Have you ever wanted to just slink back into the shadows and drift from sight? Where will you go? Do you have another savior out there some place waiting in the wings? Do you know some philosophical system that promises you eternity? Do you know some great teacher that the rest of us ought to meet? Where will you go if you leave Jesus? With whom will you cast your allegiance?
It is only Jesus who has the words of eternal life. There is no one else out there who can save you.
A missionary in China was once speaking with some Chinese women about God. She was very animated as she described the wonders of her Lord, about how he was full of mercy and forgiveness for those who came to him. One of the Chinese women tuned to the other and said, “Haven’t I often told you there ought to be a God like that?” Friends, there is a God like that.
I don’t mean to diminish the problem of homelessness in this nation, because it is real, especially in the wake of incredible natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina. The church should be on the front lines in the battle to alleviate homelessness. None of us should be able to sleep peacefully when there are people who have no place to lay their heads.
But even more, we should be concerned about a home for the souls of all God’s children. I hope that we have a burden for those who have found the going too difficult and have decided to go away. I hope we can search them out and lovingly welcome them back into the community of faith, ready to assist them when the going is tough. With gentleness and sensitivity, may we reach out to those who have chosen the easy path of walking away.
For those who have betrayed the Lord by their actions, may they find in us people unwilling to give up, people who know the reality of forgiveness of sins, people who will not rest easy until all have been reconciled to their Lord.
For the rest of us, I hope that we can remember that there really is no place else to go. It is in Jesus where we find a home for our souls. It is in Jesus where we find the words of eternal life.
