WHERE CAN WE GO

August 23, 2015

GRACE, MERCY AND PEACE TO YOU FROM GOD OUR HEAVENLY FATHER AND OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST.  AMEN

Have you ever found yourself wondering where you were and where you were going with your life?  Maybe what you really believed and what you just thought you were supposed to believe? Not knowing which way to turn or if your life was right side up or upside down? Sort of like the cloud I flew into one day while learning to fly. My instructor was with me and as I approached that cloud which was in the middle of my flight plan, I became a bit worried that I should be going into it…I was not instrument rated and actually had never flown in a cloud before. Ken did not say anything about making a course correction and I trusted him, so in we went…AND the world as I knew it changed completely! No longer was there any visual orientation to tell me which way was up and which was down.  It was just all white and quickly became scary. I had no idea how to get out of the cloud, but knew I had better do so soon or would find myself and Ken upside down headed for a tree.  And then…a quiet calm voice from next to me said, “Karen, watch the little plane on the dash board.” What a welcome sound…a directive and when I did look at the little plane it was flying upright and steady with wings level. What a relief! I now had something to hold onto and believe in! A few minutes later that same quiet, calm voice inquired “Why are we in this cloud? Maybe we should go elsewhere?” And like Peter in our gospel, my reply was… where can we go and HOW DO WE GET OUT OF THIS CLOUD?! Fortunately Ken was much wiser than me and gave me directions back into the world of clarity and clear skies. Sometimes my life seems to enter a cloud, and I am pretty sure yours does too, or has in the past. It certainly was so for many of the followers of Jesus in our Gospel this morning. Think about our gospels these past few weeks? They all seem to be similar and even say the same thing, over and over. Bottom line though is Jesus saying HE is the Bread of Life sent from God, his Father and He will give his flesh and blood to all seeking eternal life. Now those are pretty bold statements. Especially considering the circumstances. Jesus was in the middle of a rather heated discussion with a group gathered after the feeding of the 5,000. Remember that event…5,000 plus people without a McDonalds close by, only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish donated by a boy with the foresight to bring his own supper? And then Jesus returned to Capernaum in rather suspicious circumstances and the crowds followed looking for more free food…the bread Jesus gave them the day before. Remember also, Jesus was in his home area where people knew him as a child, knew his dad Joseph and his mother Mary. And there he was declaring “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” This just after he had declared that the true bread of life comes down from heaven! You can imagine the reaction of those gathered! HOW dare he say he is sent from heaven! Only God is in heaven! And now the stage is set…the gauntlet is dropped. Jesus, that upstart from Nazareth, from where nothing good ever came, has declared himself to be the Son of God, sent to provide eternal life for all who eat his body and drink his blood. For those gathered that day in Capernaum, it was not as clear. And, it became even more unclear and bothersome when Jesus referred to his ascending back into heaven, from where he had come. That did it! Some of Jesus’ followers just could not accept it and left. Isn’t it great?! Jesus always went right to the heart of the matter! Here he is…having given this whole detailed description of who he is, where he is from, what he is doing here, and yes, even where he is going…folks walk away shaking their heads thinking maybe “what a kook” and Jesus calmly looks at the core of his followers, the 12, and asks if they would also like to depart? Now these are 12 men, just like us…nothing special about them except they had listened to what Jesus had been saying for a while and liked what they heard. Maybe just like us…we too hear what Jesus has to say and like it, so listen further. Caring about your neighbor, taking care of widows and orphans, maybe healing here and there and even feeding the 5,000…a little hard to believe maybe, but they had been there and seen it with their own eyes. BUT…eating the flesh of Jesus and drinking his blood…that was getting harder. AND then he talked about ascending back to heaven. That is really hard to think about…So why did the 12 stay? They were people just like those who left, working folks, some with families, definitely not Theologians! What was it then? Listen again to Simon Peter’s answer…”Lord, to whom can we go?” A lot like my flying into a cloud…where do I find my bearings? Which way is up? How do I get out of here? What Peter and the other 11 had come to believe was that Jesus, this son of a carpenter, this man from Nazareth…had the answers for which they were searching…Jesus had the “words of eternal life”! It was through their walking with Jesus they had come to know him and believe that he truly was the Holy One of God, the Messiah long awaited.  Did it come as a revelation like a bolt of lightning out of a clear blue sky? An Aha moment? I think not. Faith, belief and yes trust comes, at least generally, not in a flash, but grows over a period of time through experiences. For the disciples that faith grew over time as they lived with Jesus, heard his words, saw his actions and when finally confronted with the option of staying or walking away, they recognized that it was Jesus in whom they had come to believe, to trust as their Lord. What about us? Have we reached the point in our faith journey where we too say with certainty and conviction…Lord, to whom can “I” go? And without hesitation, know it is only through Jesus that we too have the promise of eternal life? Where has God been in your life…in your journey that has brought you to affirm your faith each Sunday with the words of the Apostle’s Creed…I believe in God the Father…I believe in God the Son and I believe in God the Holy Spirit? And then…where is God in your life today? What does it mean to walk with God? To believe that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior? What does it mean to have God in your life? The disciples found out as they continued to follow Jesus throughout his ministry. Their journey took them to Jerusalem, to Gethsemane and on to Calvary. Their faith was tested to the max as they saw Jesus arrested and they experienced fear as they ran away to avoid the same fate. Peter, the Rock, experienced denial when he vehemently said he did not know the accused. They watched in horror from afar as this man they confessed was the Messiah, the Son of God sent to save the world from sin and destruction, hung from a cross…the most degrading form of death known in that day…until he finally announced It Is Finished and died. Yes, the Messiah died! It must have been the ultimate test of their faith! The anguish they must have felt for those 3 days…wanting to believe and yet they saw his body placed in a tomb. Sound familiar in your life? What trials have tested your faith in God? When have you questioned continuing your journey with Christ? Having faith, walking with God does not relieve us from temptations, trials and really hard times in our lives. What it does do is what the disciples discovered on that incredible morning when they discovered that Jesus was not dead…that he was indeed alive! That he had defeated death and sin. That in so doing, they no longer had to fear death…to fear arrest and imprisonment. And we too…no longer have to fear all of the terrible things that can happen to us, even death. And we know we will continue to have trials and problems, just as the disciples did…BUT, we know also that Jesus is with us no matter what and the Holy Spirit lives within us to give us courage and strength to handle any adversity that comes our way. Jesus never gave up on his disciples and God never gives up on us. It is to Him we know we can go no matter what is going on in our lives and it is from him we have his promise of eternal life.And now may the peace that passes all understanding be in our hearts and minds forever.

AMEN