Scripture Readings: Joshua 24:1–2a, 14–18 | Psalm 34:15–22 | Ephesians 6:10–20 | John 6:56–69
“So Jesus asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.’ ” (John 6:67-68). How many of us here today find it easy to make decisions? How many of us don’t? How many of us are struggling to decide how to answer that question? Whether we like it or not, life is full of decisions to make… of moments when we are forced to choose one option or path, and to leave behind all of the others. For some of us, it might be a struggle when it comes to simply ordering food from a menu… or having to choose which route to take through an unfamiliar city. We might find it hard to choose who to vote for in an election… or how best to respond when a conversation suddenly takes an unexpectedly controversial turn… or how to treat our friends, and family members, and neighbours who make choices that we would never even consider. Life is full of choices… decisions we have to make… some small, some much more significant. And our Scripture readings this morning invite us back into some of the most important, and life-shaping choices that we will ever make… decisions that influence every other aspect of our lives. In our first reading today, we heard how Joshua, called the people of Israel together to make a clear decision about their allegiance. After the death of Moses, Joshua had been the leader of God’s covenant people, helping them follow the ways of the LORD, as they finally entered the Promised Land. But now, as Joshua’s own life was drawing to an end, he knew that the people once again needed to reaffirm their commitment to serving the Living God alone. Joshua knew all to well the story of his people: how they kept turning their hearts away from Yahweh, the Living God, who had rescued them from slavery in Egypt, sustained them through the wilderness, and graciously invited them to share in His own blessed life, if they would trust and follow Him. Joshua saw first hand how fickle the people could be: quickly forgetting time and again all of the ways that the LORD had shown them His mercy, generosity, and steadfast love… and how easily they went back to their old sinful ways, serving their own self-centred desires. And so, at the end of his life, Joshua calls Israel to once again make a definitive choice to serve Yahweh alone, and not to go after the other so-called gods, the spiritual powers worshipped by the peoples all around them. “Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14-15). The choice is stark. There is no middle ground here, just two options: to be faithful to the Living God, walking in His ways, or not. And how we respond to this choice shapes all other choices we make in life. It challenges us to re-evaluate all of our priorities. It calls us to reconsider so much of what we might otherwise simply take for granted. If our ultimate allegiance belongs to the Living God, than all of our choices, big and small, need to be made with Him and His ways in mind. It’s an ongoing acknowledgement that our whole lives now belong to Him. And of course, this is a choice we don’t just make once… but over and over again. And not just with our words, but with our whole selves… our hearts, and minds, and actions as well. In Joshua’s last days, the people of Israel said yes to his challenge to serve the Living God alone, but sadly, before too long they would fall back into their old sinful ways. And we too can say all the right things one moment, but still not remain faithful to the LORD in our daily lives. What we need is not simply to make a choice, but to be transformed by a choice. This leads us to our reading from the Gospel of John Chapter 6, and the conclusion of a challenging conversation between Christ Jesus and the crowds that followed Him… a conversation where He claimed to be the Bread from Heaven, the source of God’s blessed life. Jesus knew that many of those who were following Him did so, not because they really believed in Him, but because of the miracles He had done for them, like feeding thousands of hungry people with just a few loaves and fish. Jesus knew that the hearts of these people were still serving their own interest and appetites… and so He pushed them to make a choice: to decide to trust in Him… to place their faith in Him as God’s gift of unending life… to not just be fed miraculous bread, but to give Jesus their full allegiance as God’s Messiah, the Son of Man sent to save them once and for all. But sadly, many in the crowd that day chose to walk away from Jesus instead. They chose to trust in their own understanding, and not to believe in His words. This choice lies before us too: are we simply interested in what Jesus can do for us? In the ways He can satisfy our desires, and help us achieve our goals? Or are we open to what He is offering us? Are we open to having our lives transformed by His invitation into God’s Kingdom? An invitation into a whole new way of life, centered not on ourselves, but on the holy love of God? Jesus offers us Himself as the source of God’s own blessed life, and He invites us to believe in Him… to trust Him, and walk in His ways even when it’s hard. Even when we don’t understand. Even when no one else around us understands. This is the choice that we Christians make every day: to place our trust in Jesus Christ alone. To entrust our lives, and our world into His saving hands, and to follow the way He has shown us. After many of those who had followed Him turned back, our Lord turned to the Twelve Apostles and said to them: “‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘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.” (John 6:67-69). As disciples of Jesus Christ today, we are invited to make Simon Peter’s words our own, and not only that, but to translate those words into action through all of life’s choices. If we also believe and know that Jesus is the Christ, the Holy One of God, who alone has the words of eternal life, then are His words taking root and transforming the many decisions that we make from day to day? Do we consider His Kingdom’s priorities when we are making our plans? Are we open to making changes to our habits and behaviours as we learn more of His holy ways? Are we willing to go against the flow of those all around us when we know our Lord calls us to follow a different road? Will we choose again today to give our full allegiance to our Saviour, or not? At the cross, Jesus chose to suffer and died for you and me… and for everyone. And He calls us now to trust and follow Him… to live His way in the midst of a mixed up and combative world. But instead of simply giving in to the divisive and destructive spirit of the age, He longs for us to have our lives shaped and transformed by His truth, His mercy, His holiness, His compassion, and His self-giving love. And no matter how chaotic and confusing the world around us might get, we can choose to stand firm in our faith, in the Good News that in Jesus, God has chosen us! He chose to give Himself to our world at the cross, laying down His life so that sinners like you and I might believe in Him and share in God’s unending life. I don’t know what sort of choices you may be facing today… or the challenging situations you may be having to navigate. But as you seek a wise way forward, don’t forget where your true allegiance lies. Remember the Good News that God chose to share His unending life with us in Jesus Christ, inviting everyone to trust in Him, and to be transformed in Him. May this beautiful truth help to reshape all of our priorities, and may every choice that we make flow from His life-giving love. Amen.
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Rev. RObRev. Rob serves as the Priest-in-Charge at St. Luke's Gondola Point, and as the School Chaplain at Rothesay Netherwood School Archives
September 2024
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