I. Theme – The Joys and Challenges of Following Jesus
Cerezo Barredo (1999)
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
Old Testament – Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18
Psalm – Psalm 34:15-22
Epistle –Ephesians 6:10-20
Gospel – John 6:56-69
Today’s readings invite us to consider the joys and challenges of following Jesus. In the first reading, Joshua leads the people of Israel in the choice to follow God. In Ephesians, Paul exhorts Christians to protect themselves with the armor of God. Jesus’ words cause many to turn away from him, but the twelve disciples recognize his teaching as the words of eternal life.
God is present in the community of believers, not in the mountains or the valleys or heaven or earth—God is present among us. We trust in God working in us and among us. We know that God is faithful even in times of doubt and trial. And we know that the way of God is the way to God—the way to eternal life is The Way. It is about how we live our lives for Christ and for others, not for our own gain, for when we seek our own gain, we lose. When we seek to save our lives, to find eternal life, we lose it, but when we seek to live for others, we find our own lives. We cannot be focused on our own mortality if we wish to follow Jesus. For the way of Jesus is the way to the cross, to die to live, to put to death the things that tie us to an earthly life—sin—and to live in Christ’s love.
The hard sayings Jesus gave to his disciples are still hard. That our true life depends on spiritual certainties rather than earthly realities requires a tremendous leap of faith. Even if we, like Peter, give Christ our allegiance, wholehearted trust is more difficult to attain. The universe is full of gods to choose from—they range from pseudo-Messiahs to devils. In between are the enticements of hedonistic pleasures and worldly crowns. Like the tribes in Joshua, we can choose from a dazzling array. Can we say, as they did, “As for me and my household, we will serve the lord”?
The mystical union of Christ with his Church is not an evident fact within Christendom. The Body of Christ is rent with divisions like those of an incompatible marriage. We have marred the model marriage of Christ with his Church by not really understanding the hard sayings that he has given us. The marriage covenant with Christ means to forsake all others and have no other gods.
We are drawn to God by love—just as human love draws us toward a particular person and inspires the desire for a permanent commitment. Mutual choice makes a covenant. The earthly things we know point to heavenly realities. A strong marriage is one in which union transcends the separate existence of husband and wife. The desire of each to give all to the other means that both receive from each other.
God has pledged love and blessings to us forever. God has told us this most explicitly through Christ. How poignant is Jesus’ question to his disciples: “Do you also wish to go away?” May we answer him with Peter’s firm conviction: “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.”
II. Summary
Old Testament – Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18
The pass of Shechem (Hebrew, shoulders) is in the northern hill country of Israel, situated between Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim. It became an important cultic center during the period of the tribal confederacy (c. 1200–1000 BCE) before the beginning of the centralization of worship at Jerusalem under the monarchy. Now the generation that has come into the promised land enters into a covenant with the lord similar to that into which their ancestors entered at Sinai (Exodus 24:7-18, 34:27-28).
The ceremony reported here may have been an annual renewal of the covenant. It follows the form of ancient Hittite political treaties (covenants among nations) of that time. Elements of such treaties were: a preamble (24:2a), a summary of historical relationships (24:2-13), the stipulations (24:14, 25), the recording of the treaty in written form (24:26) and the invocation of witnesses (24:22, 27).
This may have been a special renewal. This was gathering the people together before Joshua died, reminding them of what God has done for them and that they have a choice in who they will serve, the God who has been faithful to them, or the traditional gods of their ancestors
The gods of their ancestors were often idols, gods present in works of clay and stone, gods stationary to certain physical landmarks and locations. God of Israel was the God of the people, who was present wherever they were. Remembering God’s faithfulness, the people declare that they choose the Lord their God. However, we know that the faithfulness of the people is a faith continually lacking; they will turn away from the ways of justice and righteousness to the ways of greed and lust in the world—they will forsake God for the gods surrounding them. But when the people are reminded of God’s faithfulness, in that moment they choose the God present among them.
The recitation of God’s act of salvation forms the historical creed of the Israelites (Deuteronomy 6:20-25). It is followed by the presentation of a choice, the response of commitment and the enumeration of requirements. Early monotheism was not a metaphysical denial of the possibility of more than one god—“there is only one God”—but rather a moral decision of commitment to serve one particular god—“there is only one God for us”(Genesis 35:2-4)—in response to God’s prior choice of the people (Exodus 19:3-6).
Psalm – Psalm 34:15-22
Psalm 34:15-22 ends this three-week reading of Psalm 34, reminding the listeners that those who are faithful to God, God will be faithful to them. Even in times of adversity and great difficulty, God will continue to be steadfast.
This psalm of thanksgiving has a strong didactic element similar to the wisdom teachings. It is an acrostic, each verse beginning with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The psalmist first gives thanks for deliverance, then testifies to God’s goodness, calling upon the other worshipers to share the fruits of his experience. Finally, the psalmist elaborates upon the meaning of “the fear of the lord” and its consequences.
Epistle – Ephesians 6:10-20
Suddenly, after the quiet consideration of domestic matters (5:21–6:9), today’s reading sounds a call to battle. Christians are to “be strong,” not from their own resources but by the strength of the lord that fills them from baptism.
Struggle is a part of life and is crucial to faith development. Oftentimes with reference to the resurrection, the image of the butterfly struggling to escape the chrysalis is used. Yet perhaps the development of faith is precisely that: a constant working and struggling which consistently manifests itself in something of beauty and delicacy.
Ephesians 6:10-20 concludes the series from Ephesians with the familiar passage of the Armor of God. Christians are to put on “the whole armor of God” (v. 11) in order to battle the spiritual forces of evil. These are active both in the world and in the supernatural realm, although in Christ’s victory the decisive battle is already won (1:20-22; Colossians 2:15). Paul had a strong sense of the world as being under the domination of evil powers. The struggle of Christian freedom is to overcome this evil domination and live under the domination or rule of God.
The description of the “whole armor” (vv. 13-17) for Christians to use is drawn from the image of the armor worn by God (Isaiah 59:17) and by the messianic king (Isaiah 11:5). The list here also reflects the equipment of Roman soldiers. The breastplate protected the vital areas of heart and lungs. The half-shoes of the Roman soldier gave a solid stance for combat. The long shield, covered with several layers of leather and soaked in water, was an effective aid even against incendiary darts. The helmet protected the head, and a decorated one denoted victory.
The armor of God is metaphorical, for the way of God does not encounter evil through violence but overcomes evil with faithfulness. In the church tradition this has been called spiritual warfare, but it is clear that this metaphor does not prepare us for battle, but rather prepares us to be faithful, to be bold, confident in Christ, and to be prepared.
It has often been noted that the only “offense weapon” in this list of armor is the Sword of the Spirit, the word of God. As we know, the Scriptures, the Word in the New Testament days was still the Hebrew Scriptures, our Old Testament as we know it. It is the story of history and tradition and faithfulness and wisdom of God. But it is not to be used as a weapon, but rather to guide us, to divide truth from falsehood, to trust God and reject the world. We stand in the shoes of the gospel of peace, and so we walk in the ways of peace, not war. Scripture is to be used to help discern truth through experience, not to harm or destroy.
Gospel – John 6:56-69
John 6:56-69 finishes the overlapping series in John’s Gospel on the bread of life.
Today’s gospel reading describes the reaction of the large group of disciples following Jesus, and especially of the twelve disciples, to Jesus’ words. The question is: To which words in particular are they responding? Overall, the passage returns to the terms of 6:35-50 (Jesus as the word/bread of revelation) rather than continuing the specifically eucharistic theme of 6:51-59.
The particular claim that the disciples call a “hard saying” (that is, offensive or difficult, but not in itself obscure) may be the assertion that Jesus is the bread “come down from heaven” (6:38, 51) to which the Jews have already objected (6:41). This would balance the statement about “ascending where he was before” (3:13). The “flesh (which) is of no avail” is not the eucharistic flesh of Jesus as in 6:51-59, but the flesh (3:6) as the natural principle of frailty which cannot give eternal life. And again, as in 6:35-50, the issue is believing in Jesus, not specifically eating his flesh.
The disciples know Jesus is the way of life, but they don’t know what to do with it or how to help others understand. Jesus’ way of life is not about earthly success or securing a place in a heavenly kingdom, but rather giving up all personal glory for the glory of God, for the way of Christ, to love one another and lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Many of Jesus’ disciples turned away, and we know that others, even though they remained with Jesus, still did not accept this teaching. They wanted earthly fame, an earthly king and rewards. They wanted seats at the right and left hand of Jesus in the heavenly kingdom. They did not understand that to follow Jesus, one gives up these things, these rewards, and becomes last of all, servant of all, losing themselves in Christ and Christ’s way of life that leads to eternal life.
III. Articles for this week in WorkingPreacher:
Old Testament – Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18
Psalm – Psalm 34:15-22
Epistle – Ephesians 6:10-20
Gospel – John 6:56-69