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August 23, 2009

Fickle Follower or Dedicated Disciple

August 23, 2009
Fickle Follower or Dedicated Disciple—Which do we want to be?
John 6:56-69

Allow me to quickly recap the sixth chapter of John—as it ties into what is happening here at the end. Chapter 6 begins with the familiar story of Jesus feeding the multitudes, 5,000 in this account. The five loaves and two fish are multiplied; people are fed, with food left over. Having performed the miracle, Jesus uses it as a teaching moment. Throughout the chapter, Jesus has reiterated a variation of this theme. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever.”

In the sixth chapter of John, we see a snapshot of Jesus’ ministry. To the larger group of curious, needy strangers Jesus is nurturing, generous, and pastoral. To the teachers of the law who oppose Jesus, John calls them “Jews”, Jesus is controversial and unblinking. As the chapter concludes, the focus moves to Jesus’ followers.

Let’s look back into history for a moment. In 560, the Persian King, Darius the Great allowed the Jews to return to their native land and rebuild their temple, their homes, and their lives. The Jews were pretty much left alone. They served as a vassal state to Persia for two hundred years. A vassal state is very much like a sharecropper on someone else’s land. You work the land but you don’t own the land. Taxes, goods, and whatever else the landowner deems appropriate, are paid. It’s not always an oppressive state. But you are never your own boss.

Then in 332 Alexander the Great, conquered the world and the Jews became a vassal state of the Greeks. Like all others in the region, the Jews bitterly resented the Greeks. The Greeks were more foreign than any group they had ever seen. In a state founded on maintaining the purity of the Hebrew religion—a single God that had never been seen—the gods of the Greeks seemed wildly offensive in their partially human form and their number.

In a society rigidly opposed to the exposure of the body, the Greek practice of wrestling in the nude and deliberately dressing lightly and scantily was appalling! The Greeks practice of worshipping the body was incomprehensible to the Jews.

In general, the Greeks left the Jews alone; adopting Persia’s policy. However, 168 BCE, a Seleucid king, tried to impose Greek-oriented culture and customs. The Jews were prohibited from practicing their religion and their Temple was desecrated. In 166 BCE, a priestly Hasmonean family led the Jewish people in a revolt they eventually won. In 164 BCE the Jews entered Jerusalem and purified the Temple, reclaiming it as their sacred place. Hanukkah is the festival that commemorates these events.

In 147, the Seleucids granted Jewish autonomy, which in 127 became full independence. It was a grand time for the Land of Israel. Led by Hasmonean kings, it resembled the time of King Solomon. The kingdom had extensive boundaries and Jewish life flourished. These were the second round of glory days. The people in Jesus day heard the stories of these times from their parents and grandparents.

Then, in 63 BCE, the Romans became the great power in the region. Again things changed for the Jewish people. Rome granted the current Hasmonean king, limited authority, but the Roman presence and domination was evident throughout the area.

They were a vassal state again! The Jews were understandably hostile to the new regime, and the following years witnessed frequent uprising against the Roman Empire. They wanted to restore the glory of the Hasmonean dynasty.

After the last one uprising in 40 BCE, the Land not a vassal state but a province of the Roman Empire. Herod was appointed King of Judea by the Romans. Herod was known for two things. He was a grand builder and he was ruthless. While he wanted the Jewish people to love him, he was of Jewish descent; Herod never won the trust and support of the people. Recall that Jesus was born while Herod was King. Herod died shortly thereafter and Israel came under direct Roman administration. Growing anger increased against the Roman suppression of Jewish life, which again resulted in sporadic violence.

The religious leaders were instructed to keep the peace with Rome so they could practice their religion. Many people felt the religious leaders had shifted from relying on God to dependence on Rome in order to maintain their lavish lifestyle. The people grew tired of the oppression of Rome and the Temple leaders. They dreamt of the way things used to be.

Jesus’ ministry takes place in the middle of this hotbed of dissent and distrust. The religious leaders are on the lookout for any insurrections. The people are looking for someone to overthrow Rome, kick out the religious elite who have sold themselves to Rome, and bring back the glory days of the Hasmonean dynasty.

Enter Jesus. A charismatic leader. It’s a good guess that some of Jesus’ followers were assuming Jesus was going to lead them to overthrow Rome. That’s why they were hanging around. In fact, recall the words of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. “We had hoped that Jesus was the one to set Israel free.” (Luke 24:21)

Think about what has happened thus far from their perspective. Being with Jesus to this point has been an adventure of sorts. It’s been encouraging to follow this Rabbi who has the ability to challenge the religious establishment—who is calling their structures of power into question. Following Jesus, it has been exciting to see the hundreds, thousands flock to him. Jesus has charisma. He has what it takes to lead a movement. As it is with any movement, in the beginning, it is invigorating to be among those who are shaking things up.

In today’s text both the NRSV and NIV, identify the people who have been traveling with Jesus as his disciples. “When many of his disciples heard it, they said…” In the New Jerusalem Bible, the word is follower. I think New Jerusalem Bible translation accurately depicts the gravity of the situation. The stakes are getting higher now and Jesus needs to know who is with him. Chapter seven begins, “Jesus went about in Galilee. He did not wish to go about in Judea because the Jews were looking for an opportunity to kill him.”

This is the one of many turning points in the lives of Jesus’ followers. Among themselves, the followers call Jesus words, difficult. Jesus’ knowing that they don’t mean obscure, calls it what it is. He asks, “Does this offend you? If this does, then your sensibilities will really be outraged when the son of man is crucified on a Roman cross.”

Jesus informs the followers that their agenda for Jesus is not God’s agenda. God’s agenda is much more. Jesus is not another rebel trying to overthrown another oppressive regime. He is much more! Jesus is not another gifted healer. He is much more!

He is more than the human man that he seems to be. He is the savior of the world, meeting individuals one at a time, inviting them into a relationship with him—a relationship that is grounded in the love of God and sustained by the Spirit of God. Jesus is inviting them to a different kind of life—one that is not dependent of the things of this world but dependent on the Spirit of God.

We have a different context than the First century Jews. We don’t live with a foreign government occupying our land and telling us what we can and cannot do. However, we can relate to the preoccupation with a personal agenda for Jesus. Just as the first century Jews wanted a rebel or a healer, we often get caught up in seeking gratification of basic needs from Jesus. “Lord, give me a good job. Lord, give me a parking space. Lord, give me a boyfriend. Lord, heal me of my flu.”

There is nothing wrong with these prayers. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray he included the prayer “Give us this day our daily bread.” But when our focus in on gratification of basic needs, personal agenda, and not God’s, we miss the point of why God sent Jesus.

Continually, throughout his Gospel, John points to the centrality of the incarnation to our Christian faith—The Word became flesh. The Spirit of God became known to us in the body of Jesus Christ. Jesus calls us to recognize in him the God of all creation in the flesh. He invites us to believe it. He invites us to participate. Jesus invites us into a faith that is expressed in body, mind and spirit. A faith that involves us totally, that can’t be confined to some little compartment of our lives. Jesus calls us to life of faith that is challenging, deep, and wide.

As Jesus stood before the 12 apostles, after most everyone had left he said, “Do YOU also wish to go away?” While at first I saw this as a confrontation, it also occurred to me that Jesus might have said it with a bit of sorrow in his voice. “Are you going to desert me too?” Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? YOU have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
And as God in the flesh, representative of the God who has never stopped seeking us out, I image Jesus flashed a big, toothy smile. Peter’s response resonates in my heart.

Many of us are attracted to Jesus’ offer of eternal life, but we are unwilling to pay the price. What’s the price? It is the challenge to integrate Jesus Christ in all aspects of our lives. Too many of us want a faith that is like a beautiful ornament in a glass show case - a treasured possession but only significant when you are looking in the show case.

What we need—what Christ offers us—is a faith that is like yeast. It is a faith that ferments its way through our entire life and transforms it all. Jesus stands before us now. “Do you also wish to go away?” What will be our response? Jesus invites us to be a dedicated disciple, not just in one area of our lives, but to offer ourselves right now—in body, mind and spirit.

Does this mean we always respond fully? Does it mean we are always happy with the places we are asked to go? No. We witness that with the disciples, especially Peter. What it does mean is that we know being a disciple of Jesus is worth the cost. And we are willing to give it our all, our body, mind, and spirit.

One of the first questions I was asked when Mark and I met with the Staff Parish committee was about weekly communion. We have Holy Communion every week Pastor. Is that going to be a problem? I was elated.

One word for Communion is Eucharist which means thanksgiving, an expression of gratitude for the gift received. When we gather at this table every week, we express our humanness, our need and desire for God’s transforming presence in our lives. We express our gratitude for the gift of God in Jesus Christ. This table symbolizes the centrality of the incarnation in our lives as dedicated disciples of Jesus Christ.

In our prayer, we affirm this by saying that we offer ourselves, as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ’s offering for the world. When we come forward to receive the bread and juice, we affirm what we have just said. Yes, I want to be fed with the bread of life. Yes, I want a life centered on God. Yes, by eating the bread and drinking the juice, I want to be like Jesus.

At this table, in this meal, we are filled with the power and spirit of God that we may go into the world, spreading the love and justice that God desires. The love and justice witnessed in the life of Jesus Christ.

Jesus invites us to move from followers with our own agenda to dedicated disciples who will respond to life’s challenges through God’s agenda in a Christ-centered way. It won’t always look like we think it should and when that happens, we’ll know we are on the right path.

Posted by vickie at 10:00 AM