John 6:56-69
Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18
Ephesians
6:10-20
There
once was a people who worshipped many gods.
They worshiped the god of the weather, and the god of the polite
conversation, the god of the doormat, the god of that’s always how we’ve done
it. They worshiped the god of coffee,
the god of their favorite pew, the god of their cute little church
building. Sometimes they bowed down
before the god of fear. That god made
them give respect to money. That god
caused them to blame themselves and each other every time a member or pastor
went away. That god made them think of
the worst possible scenario. That god
took all their energy.
But
one day a little child came in and asked for a drink of water. The next day a teenager skateboarded outside
their door. A woman asked if she could
walk her dog on their grounds. The next
day, someone came in hungry, someone came in who was living with his family of
5 in their car in the 95 degree heat, a family came in with a child and no roof
to protect his holy little head. The
next day, someone came in who’s family member was taken away by the
government. The next day was Sunday and
they read the scriptures they had always read.
But somehow they heard differently than they had in a while. They began to remember who they were. They realized that little child was Jesus at
their door, and so was the skateboarder, the dog-walker, the hungry person, the
whole houseless family, the immigrant.
All of these were Jesus, at their door, crying out for relationship, for
justice, for love.
They
began to remember that they were once thirsty, that they needed a safe place to
hang out with friends after school, that they needed a place to spend time in
nature with animals, that they were once hungry, that they once didn’t know
where they would sleep and put their little children to bed on the seat of a
car. They remembered they had once fled
persecution in another country. They
remembered how God led them out of slavery, and protected them, and provided
for them, parted the sea for them, and led them through the wilderness to build
trust and relationship between them.
The
people remembered the God of freedom and they started to act out of love and
generosity. They gave out water at their
church and at community events. They had
conversations with the teenagers. They
blessed the animals and the people that came to them. They fed the hungry day after day. They provided safety for a car camper here
and there. They educated themselves and
marched for the cause of the immigrant in their midst. They built relationships in their
community. They became what they were,
the body of Christ, united with all God’s people. They stood strong, though small, through many
storms and struggles. The were leaving
their old Egypt slavery behind, their old gods, and embarking on a journey of
learning who they really were and who God is.
Sometimes those old gods
appeared and pulled at them. They felt
that nagging fear. They felt that call
to go back into their shells. They
worried about their aging building. The
sometimes did what was easier, instead of doing what was right. The complained now and then. But they put one foot in front of the other
and not only did they remember, but God remembered them. God forgave them their shortcomings, and
trained them, prepared them, loved them, challenged them.
God gave them gifts. God gave them gifts of truth-telling, of open
hearts, of compassion. God gave them
practical gifts of leadership, of storytelling, of persuasion. God gave them gifts of passion for
justice. God constantly gave them food
and drink of his own body and blood. God
gave them protection of armor, of shields, of breastplates, of belts, of
helmets, and of shoes. All this
protection was to make them ready to proclaim the Gospel of peace, even while
flaming arrows were attacking them.
This good news of peace,
was not the kind of peace one makes bowing to the powers that be, the
oppressors, the abusers. But instead it
was the good news of peace for those who knew no peace, who were harassed, spit
upon, looked down on, blamed, shackled.
This was not the peace of a doormat who crumbled before the whims of the
strong and greedy. This was peacemaking
for the sake of the small ones. This was
peaceful resistance. Of all the gifts
that God gave them, God did not give the gift of a sword, but something much
more powerful, that of new life, so that swords were meaningless against the
people. This abundant life could not be
destroyed.
God gave them the gift of
God’s own self, God’s son among them.
God humbled himself to walk this earth like any of us, and show us how
close God is. This was offensive to
many, that God invites the people to eat his flesh and blood, to give up power,
to give up control, to be in unity with others who are different. Because they were so offended, the people
arrested him, beat him, humiliated him, murdered him. God gave everything God had, God’s power,
life, example, dignity, even God’s only son, absolutely everything. Finally, God gave them eternal life, abundant
life, the invitation to die to the old ways, the old gods, the old fears, and
walk in newness of life.
So the people took these
gifts and they stood. They stood against
the forces that defy God. They stood
against hate, greed, violence, discrimination, and fear. They withstood. They joined with others in raising their
voices on behalf of those no one ever listened to. They stood with refugees in courtrooms. They stood with prisoners denied any
dignity. They stood with children as
their advocates. They stood together
despite differences of opinions. They
were there for each other. They stood
firm. They didn’t give up. They weren’t swayed by evil arguments or by
fear. The stood firm in what was
right. They stood, on their feet,
planted, watchful, rooted, alive.
They saw some who were
not so rooted wander away. And they knew
they had a choice to follow suit. But in
another way, this was a false choice, because of who they were, because of who
God is. They said, “Lord, to whom shall
we go? Where else would we be that is
true and hopeful?” So they stayed. And God stayed with them. And though they experienced the mystery of the
Gospel, they couldn’t explain it. They
could only live it and invite others to join them in living it in the body of
Christ, in community, with the Divine, alive.
The people braced
themselves to lose everything. They
expected to be resisted until they fell.
They resigned themselves to death.
And still they stood for what is right.
They stood for the vision of the Kingdom. They stood by God who had stood by them. And instead of death, they found themselves
very much alive. They found they were not
limping around, but they were vital.
They knew their neighbors and had built relationships. They had partnered with churches and
organizations that had energy to give.
They could be real with each other and say what God had put on their
minds to say. They found themselves being
transformed. And they found their world
was being transformed. People saw their
example and no longer thought all churches are the same, in it for the false
gods. People saw each other as people. People who had been pushed around found their
own voices. The body of Christ
grew. God’s vision began to be
lived. There was no perfection. There were still troubles to be worked out
and more work to do, however the people became the body of Christ that God made
them to be, not just the church, but the neighbors, the needy, the partners,
all standing together, equipped, real, powerful, abundant, living, vital.
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