Sermon at The Church of the Holy Apostles, New York City,
August 27, 2006, The Twelfth Sunday of Pentecost: Year B
The Reverend Andrew G. Kadel
Joshua 24: 1 - 2a, 14 - 25
Psalm 16
Ephesians 5: 21 - 33
John 6: 60 - 69
 

     “Many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him”

     There are lots of explanations of why these disciples left Jesus.  A traditional interpretation understands Jesus reference to the Bread of Life as being the presence of Christ in the Eucharist and interprets that these disciples couldn’t accept that doctrine.  Some modern commentators pick up on the discussion earlier in this discourse of the manna in the wilderness and also on rabbinical interpretations of Manna in the Wilderness as the Word of God, and interpret this as a controversy over whether Jesus is claiming to be the fulfillment of scripture or the Messiah.   There are others, like the interpretation that these disciples were thinking that Jesus was talking about literally eating his body, while he was symbolically speaking of the word or wisdom of God.

     Not that all those things aren’t somewhere in the text, but they don’t give a satisfactory rational explanation of what happens in this story.

     So what I focus on is the controversy.  This is, after all, is a very real story.  These people are disciples, followers of Jesus, and they are offended and they leave.  But why they leave does not really seem to be about some sort of principle or doctrine, it’s only very secondarily about anything that Jesus said.   They were offended by Jesus.   Taking offense is not necessarily a rational thing—all manner of fears, hurts, uncertainties focus in anger on something that is not directly related to any of them.  This crowd of disciples took offense and left Jesus.  I’m going to suggest that perhaps the discomfort or pain of staying with him was too great.

     These people had just heard Jesus say “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me, I will never drive away…”  Anyone who comes to me, I will never drive away…that doesn’t seem at all uncomfortable except for this, this is a teaching and policy in which Jesus implicates his disciples and in it Jesus is challenging all manner of boundaries of his time and place—Samaritans, gentiles, even women, he would never drive away.  Staying with Jesus would indeed put these crowds of disciples at odds with their families, the authorities, cultural norms.  And this wasn’t just about one issue; this was the essential Jesus.  Jesus was the truth but to continue to acknowledge that would be too painful.

     Over the centuries Christians parted company with their Jewish brothers and sisters and then, from one another for a list of reasons too long to enumerate—but essentially each parting was the same—it was too painful to stay together.  These historical conflicts may appear to be different from the story in John about Jesus and the disciples who deserted him.  Yet how similar all sides of all disputes become, fearing to face that truth that might hold us together, or to experience the pain of realizing that the ugliness of our opponent is just like our own.

     The Episcopal Church has been going through some pain in the past few years.  People and groups of various descriptions have departed or threatened departure.  Various quarters of the Anglican Communion have set conditions on the Episcopal Church’s participation that amount to a threat to eject it from the Communion.  And our own General Convention, in an effort to address these issues passed a resolution that, in effect, made it impossible for a gay person to become a bishop.  Many have felt that this disenfranchised gay members of our Church.  I know at least one dedicated Episcopalian who has talked of leaving the Episcopal Church as a result.  It is painful to stay together, and attempts to appease the angry and fearful only increase the pain.  And it is also clear that some of that anger and fear is an irrational manifestation of anger, injury and hurt experienced in two or more centuries of colonialism, economic exploitation, slavery, and paternalism.   This is not something that can be fixed quickly, but can we face it?

     Today’s Gospel comes from a speech that follows shortly after the feeding of the Five Thousand in John’s Gospel.   So at the beginning of the discourse, Jesus is at the peak of popularity; at the end of the discourse Jesus is alone with the Twelve, all the other disciples are gone.  It’s as desolate and discouraging a situation as the Church is ever likely to face.

     “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.’”  As painful as it was, for Peter there was only one choice left.  The way of life was with the Word of God, the Bread of Heaven, the one who will not drive anyone away, but include all of God’s children.  The faith that Peter witnessed to, is not one of comfort, or prosperity.  It is not of big numbers always growing, or of everyone being happy.  We share in the Living Bread and have confidence, that no matter how difficult times may get or how many conflicts we may have, we are one in the generosity of God.

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