The readings are (to read them, go HERE):
1 Kings 8:1, 6, 10-11, 22-30, 41-43
Psalm 84
Ephesians 6:10-20
John 6:56-69
One of the difficult things about growing up is learning to make choices. In our confirmation class, I have been saying that confirmation is a choice — choosing to follow Christ. Life presents us with all sorts of choices, large and small, from what to eat for breakfast in the morning, and what we will wear that day, to what job we might have, whether we will get married and whom we will marry, and where we will live.
Some choices are easy. Some are of little consequence. If we decide to go for a good long walk, does it really matter on most days, in the grand scheme of things, whether we decide to walk on Knockfierna or through Curraghchase or in the Ballyhoura?
But many decisions we face have great consequences. Some of the most momentous decisions don’t seem to be decisions at all. They seem almost to be made for us, as though we could do nothing else, for they lead to the greatest life. And some decisions we may not even think about, but they are highly significant choices, such as how we will live, who we will listen to, how we will spend our time, and how we will treat other people.
In the Gospel reading we have just heard, the people who followed Jesus had to make a choice. We usually talk about Jesus having twelve disciples, people who followed him. The most well-known are Peter, the brothers John and James, maybe Peter’s brother Andrew, and Judas, who betrayed Jesus. But it seems that Jesus had many more disciples than just twelve: people who followed him and listened to his teachings, and whom Jesus sent out to do his work: to heal people and to tell them about the kingdom of God.
But sometimes those who followed Jesus had a hard time accepting what he taught. Such is the case in today’s Gospel lesson. Jesus has been teaching that he is the bread of life, the bread that came down from heaven, the bread that gives life to the world, the bread — and the drink — that satisfies our hunger and our thirst forever. We have been hearing this teaching for five weeks now in the church, as we make our way through the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel, because it is a teaching that is central to the Christian faith: that Jesus is the bread of life. This Gospel teaching becomes reality in our Eucharist, as we receive Christ’s presence in the bread and wine of Communion.
But it was a very hard teaching for those who heard him (and not so easy for many who hear it today). Our Gospel lesson says that when many of his disciples heard this, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” And they left him, walked away.
And here’s the part about choices: After many walked away, Jesus turns to the Twelve, who are the closest ones to Jesus, the inner circle. And Jesus asks them if they also wish to leave. And Peter answers, “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.”
It sounds to me as if Peter wants to go. But he cannot. Because he knows that even though the teaching is hard to comprehend, and even though following Jesus means Peter’s whole life will change, the alternative of not following Jesus is even worse. For if Jesus has the words of eternal life, if he is indeed the Holy One of God, how could one not follow him? To turn aside and go elsewhere would mean death: death of the soul.
Some of the most momentous decisions we make in life are like this. We might know that the path they lead to will be difficult in some way, but there seems to be no other choice because it is the path of greatest life. This almost always seems to be the case when we make a choice that involves taking vows, making promises. For whenever we make promises, we are committing ourselves to a particular path, to a way of life. We are choosing one thing over something else. Such is the case with marriage. It is also the case with being ordained.
And it is also the case with following the Christian path — a path that starts at baptism and is renewed at confirmation. This path means making the choice to follow Jesus, to commit yourself to him, and to renounce or lay aside everything that gets in the way. It means putting our faith into practice in how we live, in how we treat others, and in the additional choices we make as we go through life. And that is hard. No wonder some of the people following Jesus said, “This teaching is difficult. Who can accept it?”
The difficulty of such a life is described in the reading from Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians that we heard, but he also describes the gifts that help us to live our faith. He is saying that the most difficult [things] we will face in this life are of a spiritual nature — choices, temptations, inclinations, powers, that would pull us away from living the life that Christ offers us as we follow him.
And so, Paul describes how to protect ourselves. What he describes is both the way of life to which we commit ourselves and also the protection that we have through the gift of the Holy Spirit. He uses the image of armour: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Holy Spirit. It has been called the armour of God: for all of these give us God’s protection as we go about the difficult choices and situations that we encounter in this life.
Basically, Paul is telling us how to get dressed. Getting dressed is something we do in the morning as we are getting ready to go off to work or school or wherever it is that the Lord calls us to be on that day. We are to approach the tasks of our life in truth — not deluding ourselves or others, but being truthful. We are to act rightly. Walk in the ways of peace. Approach everything from the standpoint of faith in Christ. Know always that Christ offers you salvation: spiritual health and wholeness and peace in God, no matter what you encounter. Be led by the Word of God. And pray at all times, in all things.
It’s the clothing of one who follows Christ. So what we learn from Ephesians is that when we go off to do Christ’s work — which means every moment of our lives — we put on the clothing of God. And because it might be hard work, spiritually, we put on the whole armour of God, because it helps us know what to do and it acts as protection. We put it on and then go do whatever the Lord calls us to do.
Who we are shows most in all those little decisions that don’t even seem like decisions, but are highly significant, such as how we will live, who we will listen to, how we will spend our time, and how we will treat other people. Putting on the armour of God helps us to make these choices in a way that is in keeping with the way Christ showed us. We go out to face whatever it is that will happen that day, clothed with Christ, as our protection and as our Way of life.
— Rev. Canon Liz Beasley