Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost Year B 2009

12 Pentecost B 09
August 23, 2009

1 Kings 8:1, 6, 10-11, 22-30, 41-43
1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the ancestral houses of the Israelites, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.
6 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim.
22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands to heaven. 23 He said, "O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and steadfast love for your servants who walk before you with all their heart, 24 the covenant that you kept for your servant my father David as you declared to him; you promised with your mouth and have this day fulfilled with your hand. 25 Therefore, O LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant my father David that which you promised him, saying, 'There shall never fail you a successor before me to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your children look to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.' 26 Therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you promised to your servant my father David. 27 "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built! 28 Regard your servant's prayer and his plea, O LORD my God, heeding the cry and the prayer that your servant prays to you today; 29 that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you said, 'My name shall be there,' that you may heed the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. 30 Hear the plea of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place; O hear in heaven your dwelling place; heed and forgive.
41 "Likewise when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a distant land because of your name 42 --for they shall hear of your great name, your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm--when a foreigner comes and prays toward this house, 43 then hear in heaven your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and so that they may know that your name has been invoked on this house that I have built.

Psalm 84
1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! 2 My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. 3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God. 4 Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise. Selah 5 Happy are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. 6 As they go through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength; the God of gods will be seen in Zion. 8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah 9 Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed. 10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than live in the tents of wickedness. 11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the LORD withhold from those who walk uprightly. 12 O LORD of hosts, happy is everyone who trusts in you.

Ephesians 6:10-20
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. 15 As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. 16 With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. 19 Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

John 6:56-69
56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever." 59 He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" 61 But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, "Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But among you there are some who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. 65 And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father." 66 Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. 67 So Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" 68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."

To Whom Can We Go?

To whom can we go?

The question in the first century, 2000 years ago, among Jesus’ disciples, is probably not a very different question than everyone is asking today.

Whom can we trust to distribute the resources that we share? Who owns them? Whom can we trust to resolve disputes between us? Whom can we trust to rule over us justly? Whom can we trust to identify our enemies and keep us from being harmed by them? Whom can we trust to ensure our welfare? Who owns us?

To whom shall we go?

The Jewish people of the day were being taught a different God than they saw in their own scriptures. This was because, just as Saul and David and Solomon and all the kings had before them, their leaders had betrayed God. The high priests and King Herod, along with the Sanhedrin, the circle of the richest people in Israel, were all trying to worship God and Caesar at the same time. This is very much like cheating on one’s spouse. It twists and distorts the whole relationship.

All four gospels tell the story of Jesus, a man of dazzling brilliance and great courage, who developed and executed a masterful plan of resistance, not against the emperor and all his minions, but against the spiritual forces at work behind them. The Spirit of the Lord was upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord. The Spirit led him and the Spirit was his power and the Spirit did not let him down.

Jesus, in most of the gospels, steered well clear of the centers of Roman and Jewish power during most of his ministry. He made sure to wield his life-giving power among the multitudes of the working poor by healing the sick, feeding the hungry and raising the dead. And along with these miracles, Jesus proclaimed a gospel, a good story, good news. As Sig put it a few weeks ago, “God is in charge.” By implication, of course, Jesus was saying, “God is in charge, not the emperor.” He knew the ultimate consequence of making such statements. The spiritual forces of darkness would rush out into the light and crush him. But he, unlike Saul and David and Solomon and Herod and all the kings before him, trusted that God would raise him from the dead. His war was not against the emperor, nor was it against the compromised leaders of Israel. His war was with the darkness that had trapped them. In my view, Jesus was the greatest general in history, the most courageous soldier there ever was. He had the courage to go into battle without a sword or a shield, except for the whole armor of God, the belt of truth, the breastplate of justice, and the shoes of the beautiful feet that bring good news of peace.

The good news of God, the announcement Jesus gave his life to make, was very simple, but very hard to accept: “abundant life for everyone.” Forgiveness for everyone meant the end of violence, including in the name of self-defense. Truth for everyone was that the rich were free to share with the poor and the poor were free to ask. Justice for everyone was abundant life pouring forth from heaven, free for everyone, by the grace of God alone.

The question everyone who heard him had to ask themselves was, “to whom can we go?”

In chapter 19 of John’s gospel, Pilate asks the Jewish people if he should crucify their king. And they answer, “We have no king but the emperor.” The darkness had rushed out into the light, just as Jesus knew it would. His cross was the greatest accusation in history. It revealed sin for what it was and what it is. His cross said, “This is the injustice that hides in the dark.” It hides in my heart and yours. It hides in the hearts of the poor and the rich, the weak and the strong, the religious and the unreligious. It is the betrayal of God, the opposition to the simple and amazing good news of God, “abundant life for everyone.”

The resurrection is the announcement of God that Jesus is in fact the only king we can trust, the only one to whom we can go with absolute faith, the only one who will rule with God’s own justice. His resurrection said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Jesus is Lord. Jesus is the savior of the world. He comes down from heaven not to condemn the world, but to save it.

Life, all life, belongs to God. The world and everything in it belongs to God. And his command is, “abundant life for everyone, right now.” To go to Jesus is to go to the only one who has the power and the wisdom to make that happen. Everyone who does has eternal life, right now, not because of anything within us, but because Christ has eternal life. It is his eternal life we receive, not our own.

It remains very dangerous to stand up and demand abundant life for everyone in the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus asks, “Does this offend you?” Does it offend you that God pours abundance into the world and means for everyone to share it? Does it offend you that he throws a feast for sinners? Does it offend you that he offers the same wage to everyone no matter how hard they work? Does it offend you that he offers this abundant life to atheists, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, gay, lesbian and straight, and to every nation on earth?

Today we still have competing views of God, just as the Jews who listened to Jesus did. Indeed we have competing views of Jesus, and this is perhaps the greatest tragedy.

Yes there is another Jesus we hear being proclaimed, one that teaches that God is angry with the world, so disgusted he plans to destroy it. This Jesus claims God is so bloody-minded and vengeful he can only forgive our miserable sinfulness by requiring his own Son to pay for it with a bloody and horrific death. The Resurrection of this Jesus is rescue from the destruction of the world, and this Jesus invites us all to go with him to heaven and desert the sinking ship. All that is left for us to do is to live our earthly lives by the law of God. If we do, our life in the hell of this world will be comforted with the foretaste of heaven, wealth and privilege and health. If we don’t we will get a foretaste of our eternal torment through poverty and disease and early death. Jesus is furthermore the commander of the engines of war, destroying the evil people who don’t believe in him, as a prelude to the general destruction of the world God so deeply hates.

To whom shall we go? Shall we go to the angry judge and pledge ourselves to the destruction of the world? Or shall we go to the courageous and brilliant prince of peace, the savior of the world? Shall we commit ourselves to systems that deny some for the sake of others, or do we commit ourselves to the strange and wonderful justice of God, abundant life for all?

Shall we go to the God who hates the world, or shall we go to the God who loves it?

To whom shall we go?

We have said that this communion meal is a meal of covenant, and we have compared it to a marriage. We have said, and we say again, that marriage is an exclusive relationship. So is the covenant with God. We can’t marry Jesus and have other lords on the side.

This bread is the bread of abundant life for all, offered to all, rich or poor, worthy and unworthy, sinner or saint. In it God says, “I will.” And when we eat it we say, “We will.”

And this cup, Jesus said, is the new covenant in my blood, offered to all, his eternal life, his eternal word of God’s truth and God’s justice. Jesus offers it, and says, “I will.” We drink it and we say “we will.”

There are not two Gods. There is only one. There are not two Jesuses. There is only one.

To whom shall we go?