Words that Give Eternal Life

In our Old Testament lesson, we hear Joshua asking his people the most important question ever put to their nation, a question that would determine their destiny. He asked them: “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River [the Egyptian deities] or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

It is not easy to make such choices. When faced with the unknown, it is difficult to just dispose of everything that is familiar, to burn all your bridges, or to put all your eggs in one basket. Yet the people of Israel had to decide then and there whom they would serve. For it is impossible to serve two masters. The Lord, our Maker, will not share His glory with anything He created. Instead, he wishes His glory to be reflected in us, for He created us in His own image. That is why God does not permit us to become slaves to anything. Not to drugs, nor money, nor power, nor work, nor leisure, nor sex, nor friends, not even family. Nothing God has given us for our enjoyment should become our master.

Periodically, we need to ask ourselves the question Joshua put before Israel: “Whom will you serve?” Recently the Pope put a similar question before those who claim to be members of his church over the question of allowing homosexual unions to be called “marriage.” It seems that Roman Catholic politicians are being called on the carpet for endorsing homosexual marriage while claiming to be members in good standing with the church in Rome. The Pope is saying that it is not possible to have it both ways. One must choose one or the other.

How about us? Are we truly serving God, or are our loyalties divided? How do we know? The key for knowing this has to do with our attitude towards God’s word. If we truly believe and live according to His word, then we are serving Him. However, if we are guided by what people around us say and do, or by the attitudes and beliefs of this world, then it is quite possible that we are no longer living our lives for God, but for other gods. Unfortunately, many who claim to be followers of Jesus are deluded about this. They do not use God’s word as their standard, but whatever the “Holy Spirit” inspires or moves them to believe.

The reason this is often the case is that God’s Word is often difficult to accept. It makes some very exclusive claims and requires complete acceptance. In our Gospel lesson we see the reaction Jesus got for His words we heard last week, when He said: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6:53) Many who had followed Jesus up to this point turned away and deserted him. Jesus was asking them the impossible. What Jesus is saying is that He is going to die; that He is going to sacrifice Himself and make His flesh and blood available for consumption. Tell me, who is going to follow such a leader? Would you follow a leader who is going to die?

But this is how Jesus leads us: He leads us by giving up His life for us so that by feeding on Him we have life. Eating and drinking Jesus means that we participate in His death. Those who wish to follow Jesus must also follow Him to the cross and lay down their lives for others to “eat” and “drink.” That is the kind of life Jesus expects from those who would be His disciples. Our lives are to become “living sacrifices” as Paul says in Romans 12:1.

What we have here is called the theology of the cross. This is the theology or the teaching that the way we reach our spiritual goal is through suffering and dying with Christ. This stands in contrast with the popular theology of glory. This is the teaching that has as its starting point the empty cross. Those uncomfortable with the message of the cross instead emphasize personal empowerment and principles for leading a successful life. Churches that teach this kind of spiritual self-empowerment are usually full on Sundays and growing. That’s often because they dish out to the people what their ears are itching to hear. On the other hand, those that teach the hard teachings of the Bible, the message of the cross, find themselves often deserted. For Jesus does not offer a way to be successful in life. What He offers is a way of dying that leads to eternal life.

The Apostle Paul gives a practical example with marriage. Christian marriage is not primarily about fulfilling my needs and desires, but about emptying myself for my spouse. Husbands are to love their wives the way Jesus loved them and gave His life for them. We do that by seeking to fulfill all the needs of our wives to the point of laying down our lives for them. Wives in turn are to entrust themselves completely to their husbands’ loving leadership, both in good times and in bad.

This makes no sense to the worldly-minded. They do not understand how sacrificing something we treasure can bring blessing, or how life can come from death. That is why Jesus says that, “No one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.” Becoming a disciple of Jesus does not happen with a conscious decision after weighing all the pro’s and con’s and then deciding that it is more profitable to believe than not to believe. But true discipleship happens only when God draws us to Himself by opening our eyes to faith. Discipleship has to do with following Jesus even when it may not appear profitable and beneficial to us. It means trusting Him when life does not seem to make sense any more.

So when Jesus spoke of the cross, many deserted Him. When He asked the Twelve whether they were going to throw in the towel with the rest, Peter responded brilliantly: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:69) Here we see God at work in Peter: God drawing Peter and opening his eyes of faith. With God’s intervention Peter could handle the great paradoxes faith presents.

Jesus has the words of life. When Jesus speaks, the sick are cured, the deaf begin to hear, the possessed are freed and the dead are raised. Jesus has the words that give hope and life. That is because He Himself is the Word of Life, that creative, life-generating Word of God by which all things were made. This Word of Life has been preserved for us in the Holy Scriptures. It also comes to us through our ears in the preaching of the Gospel as well as through our mouths in the eating of the blessed Holy Meal. This Sunday we are blessed to receive both: The Word of Life and the Bread of Life.

These two are crucial if we are to survive spiritually. For the life of faith we need to be in regular contact with these words of life, God’s means of grace. They alone can sustain us when life no longer seems to make sense. Let us therefore desire and hunger for those words, gladly receive them and put them into practice. For if all else fails, to whom can we go? Only Jesus has the words of eternal life. These will never fail us. Amen.