To Whom Can We Go
Our Gospel for today follows on the heals of our lesson from last Sunday, a Gospel that Dana unpacked so beautifully in her sermon. Jesus had just told his disciples that to have life they must eat his flesh and drink his blood. He told them that he was the real bread to sustain their lives. In our lesson this morning, the disciples respond to this teaching by saying, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it.” This is crazy stuff Jesus; you are asking us to quite literally swallow a mouthful, and we are not to sure about this. To which Jesus responds – if you think this is difficult and offensive to your kosher Jewish appetites, then what if I were to tell you that you will see me go into heaven? What if I were to tell you that you will see me rise from the dead? What if I were to tell you that I am in fact God and because I love you – I must die? If you think the eating part is hard, just wait – you haven’t seen anything yet.
I am reminded of the old story about the very devout young man who decided to join an austere monastery that demanded a strict vow of silence. Every monk was only allowed to speak two words every seven years. After the first seven years, the abbot brought the young man in and ask for his two words. “Cold floors,” he said. The abbot nodded and sent him away. Seven more years passed. The abbot brought him back in and ask for his two words. He cleared his throat and said, “Bad food.” The abbot nodded and sent him away. Seven more years passed. Again the abbot brought him in for his two words. “I quit,” he said. “That’s not surprising,” the abbot responded. “You’ve done nothing but complain since you got here.”
This rookie monk at the monastery had something in common with the followers of Jesus: for both of them this religion business was just too hard.
After Jesus finished speaking, many of those who were following him packed up their bags and left. This was too radical for them, too extreme, it demanded too much of them and they were not ready to commit themselves to this kind of craziness. As Jesus watched them leave, he turned to the twelve who remained and said – “Do you also wish to go away?” Everyone was silent except for Peter. As he did so many times, good old Simon Peter, spoke up at the crucial moment and stated in a very few words the fundamental question that sums up every life of spiritual searching – “Lord, to whom can we go?” You see, Jesus wanted to let the disciples off the hook. He wanted to give them their chance to quit if they wanted to – “Do you wish to go away?” Jesus asked. “Where are we going to go?” Peter responded. Where are we going to go? You get the impression that Peter didn’t like some of the things Jesus was saying any more than the others did, but he realized that like a man dying of thirst in the dessert you don’t walk away from the only source of water, the only thing that can sustain your life, just because it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. “Lord, to whom can we go?” Peter says. “You have the words of eternal life.”
In the Old Testament, Jonah knew this truth as he tried to escape God by boarding that ship. He knew this truth as he was swallowed by the whale and then spit back onto the shores of Nineveh – Where else can we go Lord? You are everywhere and in you there is life. Job knew this truth even as he suffered the worst that hell had to offer. Despite all the advice his friends tried to give him, he never turned away from God, he never gave up his faith because he knew – Where else can we go Lord? This is the great insight of mature faith. This is the great insight of the Prodigal Son as he ate from the slop of the pigs and made his decision to return home – there is nothing better than the love of the Father and the inheritance that awaits us. This is the great insight that every spiritual searcher must come to realize on their own – that after every avenue is pursued, after all the gods (with a small g) are tried, there is in the end only one source of life, one source of love, one God who deserves our allegiance and whose demands deserve our attention.
The history of the world is full of people and events that would try to claim otherwise, people and movements who would like us to believe that there are many other places to go, that there are many other places of fulfillment besides a life with God. But the truth is – none of them are ever able to produce what they promise, and they leave us empty in the end. Historically, Communism and Fascism are two disastrous examples of what can happen when we replace God with an idolatrous devotion to the state. Currently we see this reflected in an unholy attraction to Christian Nationalism and authoritarian power.
“Lord, to whom can we go?” This is the question of our “post-religious” age. This is the question of our age where spirituality is understood as a buffet line with lots of choices. We live in a culture where many people no longer buy into one religious tradition, especially if that tradition is institutionalized. Rather, many people find it easier to take ideas, doctrines, practices, that they like from several different religious traditions and create their own faith. Hence, we have people who – like the ideas of Jesus, pray to God the Father, expect to be reincarnated, work on their karma, and trust in the revelations of their zodiac. In asking the question, “Lord to whom can we go?” they have attempted to create the god who most comfortably meets their needs.
The problem with these do-it-yourself faiths is not in their intention – there is nothing wrong with seeking to better understand the God who created us. The problem with these do-it-yourself religions is that they most often leave out any teachings or ideas that are challenging. They do not usually include the difficult demands of faith. They only include those aspects of faith that feel most comfortable, that fit their current lifestyle. But we are fooling ourselves if we think we are ever going to have a genuine relationship with the living God that does not on some level make us uncomfortable, that does not challenge us, that does not call us to be significantly better people.
After all, when the disciples heard all the things Jesus was saying many of them said – “this teaching is difficult; who can accept it? Many of his followers could not accept the challenges that Jesus set before them. And I can see their point. The Gospels are full of the words of Jesus that go against the grain, that challenge the hearer in dramatic ways. As Mark Twain wrote: “Most people are bothered by those passages in Scriptures which they cannot understand; but as for me, I always notice that the passages in Scripture which trouble me most are those which I do understand.” Jesus expected so much from his followers: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; turn the other cheek; give what you have to the poor; take up your cross and follow me; take, eat, this is my body which is given for you; do not judge; give; forgive; sacrifice . . . The life Jesus offers, of which he claims to be both the Giver and the Gift itself, is as uncompromising as it is abundant.
“Lord, to whom can we go?” This is the question all of us must ask and answer for ourselves. Where are we to place our hopes, where are we to place our dreams, what are we going to cling to with the certainty that it will give the end of our lives purpose and meaning?
At the end of the Book of Joshua, when the Israelites entered the promised land, Joshua gathered together the people of Israel and said to them – “revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness . . . Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve.” “Choose” – said Joshua. Choose the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob or choose something else – but choose. Everyday we have before us the same command. Everyday, we are free to choose whether we believe that the God proclaimed in Jesus Christ deserves our allegiance and our obedience or whether we are going to go and look for God somewhere else. We may not like some of the things this Triune God demands of us, we may feel it is all too difficult to be a follower of Jesus. But sooner or later we have to be honest with our selves and answer the question – Is there really anywhere else to go? Amen.