"Sticking with Jesus"    San Williams, UPC

John 6:60, 66-69

This summer we’ve been training our compass on Jesus in order to get a better read on just what following Jesus means in our context.  At the very least, we’ve seen how being a disciple of Jesus is not easy. G.K. Chesterton once quipped:  “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting.  It has been found difficult and not tried.”    According to our reading this morning, the majority of those who first heard Jesus found his message difficult and decided not to follow him any longer. “This teaching is difficult,” they said.  “Who can accept it?”

Tony Compolo has a new book out, called Red Letter Christians.  His title refers to that edition of the Bible that prints the words of Jesus in red letters.  In the book’s preface, Christian writer Jim Wallis observes that “Red letter Christians are those who dare to take Jesus seriously; those who believe that if He said it, He meant it; and if He meant it, then we must live it.”  Taking Jesus seriously, Compolo’s book suggests, means actually putting into practice what those red letters tell us to do: Love your enemies, forgive those who sin against you, do good to those who persecute you, do not judge…  No wonder that disciples of every age find ourselves saying,  “This teaching is difficult.  Who can actually live by it?”

Granted, it’s easy enough to be a Christian if doing so just means saying the right words, repeating the right doctrines.  If being a Christian simply means stating a belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior so that we can go to heaven, then there’s no great challenge to the Christian life.  But Jesus asks more of his followers.  In the verses just prior to the ones we read this morning, Jesus speaks of himself as the true Bread of Heaven that has come into the world, one who gives himself for the life of the world.  Jesus declares that “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me and I in them.”  Typical of John’s Gospel, there are layers of meaning in these metaphors, but in essence they tell us that following Jesus isn’t some abstract intellectual belief.  Rather it involves taking the life of Jesus into our lives and doing our best to act more like him. 

A friend once told me that Christians who come to church and receive nothing more than a set of doctrines to consume are like diners who come to a restaurant and eat the menu.  I’ve heard observers of church life say that people today, especially young people, are not primarily asking if something is true. They want to know if it’s real.  In other words, they are not as interested in hearing what we believe as they are in seeing how we live.  Following Jesus means becoming Christ-like, and there's nothing easy about that!

It’s not surprising, then, that in every age many people cannot accept the life and teaching of Jesus. What about us?   “Do you also wish to go away?” Jesus asks.  This is a poignant question, isn’t it?   As usual, Peter was quick to respond.  He says, “Lord, to whom can we go?”  That’s a good question.  If we decide-- as people have from the beginning-- that the teachings of Jesus are too difficult, or incredible, or challenging, then where else might we go? The truth is that in our postmodern, pluralistic world, there are more options than ever before.  “Spirituality today,” writes the sociologist Robert Wuthnow, “has become a vastly complex quest in which each person seeks [transcendence] in his or her own way.”  Peter’s question, “Where can we go?” has multiple answers for us today. 

For starters we can simply slip into nominal Christianity.  That is, we can become followers of Jesus in name only.  Actually, this has been an option ever since the Emperor Constantine declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.  When this happened, everyone became a Christian, at least in name.  Today, many Christians, while not explicitly rejecting the teachings of Jesus, simply decline to take them seriously.  Where can we go?  Well, we can go the route of nominal Christianity. 

Or we can go a step further, and choose to be secular.  Surveys have shown that increasing numbers of people identify themselves as “none of the above” when it comes to listing a religious preference.  Religion, many moderns have concluded, is too divisive, too controversial.    My own family runs the spectrum when it comes to religious perspectives.  Every year at my family reunion, I hold my breath hoping that the subject of religion doesn’t come up.  And when religion is brought into public debate--whether over abortion, sexuality, or textbooks in public schools-- it often tends to harden perspectives, fuel controversy and ignite culture wars.  It’s regrettable, but understandable, that many moderns have opted out of the entire drama. The pull of secularism is strong in our day, and increasing numbers of Americans are choosing that option.

Still others have moved away from explicitly following Jesus in order to embrace a more universal spirituality, one that emphasizes common values such as tolerance, respect for diversity, and understanding.  Given the great need for different religions to co-exist, it’s understandable that many people would want to seek out common ground.  As you know, our congregation has been open to learning from other faith traditions and has taken various initiatives in interfaith dialogue, including the dialogue sermon I had last fall last fall with a Sufi Muslim.  But does respect for other faith traditions require that we move away from the person of Jesus?  In their quest to be tolerant, many liberal-minded Christians move away from an  focus on Jesus, and toward a more non-specific spirituality that isn’t offensive to anyone. So when Peter asks, “Lord, where can we go?”  we can think of numerous options.

But listen again to Peter. He speaks for all those who decide to stick with Jesus when he says, “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.”  Peter has come to know and believe Jesus because the words of Jesus are illustrated by the life of Jesus.  Jesus has not just preached the love of God for all the world; he has lived out that love by welcoming the outcast, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, forgiving his enemies. 

Kusuke Koyama is a Japanese Christian convert who has been involved in inter-religious dialogue both in this country and in Asia.  Koyama said, “If you ask me why I am a Christian, it is because I am so strongly attracted to this understanding of Jesus as the Holy One of God, who empties himself of all superiority and power over others, and goes to be a servant to others.”    Koyama became a follower of Jesus because Jesus opens us both to God’s love and to our neighbor’s needs. 

 Most of you won’t recognize the name Sydney Carter, but many of you know his popular hymn from the 1960’s, “Lord of the Dance.”  Well, this week Judy showed me one of his new hymns, called “I come like a beggar.”  Here’s the chorus: 

            I come like a beggar

            With a gift in my hand.

            I come like a beggar

            With a gift in my hand.

            By the hungry I will feed you.

            By the poor I make you rich,

            By the broken I will mend you,

            Tell me,

            Which one is which?

 Jesus makes his appeal not as a superior, but as a beggar with a gift in his hand.  And what he gives us is the life that God means for us to live.

Well, no one said that following Jesus would be easy.  Truth is, most people will turn away for one reason or another. And in all honesty we’re all tempted at times to take another path.  Yet where will we go?  Jesus has the words of eternal life, words of hope, words that--if put into action-- make for peace.  That’s why I’ve decided to stick with Jesus. How about you?