PROPER 16, YEAR B

Sunday 25 August 2024

Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, Warwick, R. I.

 

Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18

John 6:56-69

 

Today’s readings highlight the importance of telling the story of what God has done in our life together—and then responding appropriately!

 

The episode in today’s Old Testament reading takes place near the end of the life of Joshua. Having led the Children of Israel across the River Jordan to take possession of the Promised Land, Joshua summons all Israel to Shechem—a town in the north of Israel which functioned in the early days as the central gathering place of the Twelve Tribes.

 

Here, Joshua challenges the people to put away the gods that their ancestors served in Mesopotamia and Egypt, to serve only the Lord. The people respond by reciting the great deeds that God has done for them: “It is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed…”

 

Some Old Testament scholars have speculated that what’s being described here is a periodically repeated liturgical ceremony renewing God’s Covenant with the people on Mount Sinai. And the key point is that the best means of recalling people to faithfulness is to tell the story, over and over, of the great deeds that God has done for them. In a similar way, the Church’s first task is again and again to proclaim the good news of what God has done for us in Christ.

 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus proclaims the good news of what God is doing in and through him. During the month of August, the Gospel readings have been taken from the sixth chapter of Saint John, where Jesus announces that he is the true bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died, for those who eat his flesh and drink his blood will live forever.

 

The inconvenient reality, however, is that those who hear the good news are free to respond (or not) as they will. Joshua is clearly aware of this problem as he addresses the Tribes of Israel. While he passionately exhorts them to serve the Lord, he also respects their freedom not to do so. There’s nothing authoritarian in his speech: no commands, no bullying, no threats. Instead of “You’d better serve the Lord or else,” he says simply: “Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve … but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

 

Similarly, in today’s Gospel, when many of the disciples fall away in disgust at his words about eating his flesh and drinking his blood, Jesus also respects their freedom. He simply asks the Twelve: “Do you also wish to go away?” No commands, no threats, nothing coercive or authoritarian: just a gentle challenge to make the choice.

 

Both Joshua and Jesus know how difficult it may be to respond affirmatively to what they’re asking. Joshua understands the powerful appeal of the ancestral gods and goddesses. He won’t be at all surprised if the people backslide and forsake the one true God—especially now that they’re living alongside peoples who still worship those same old pagan deities. The subsequent history recounted in the Old Testament proves Joshua right. Again and again, large segments of the people fall away, with only a faithful remnant keeping the Covenant and continuing in the service of Israel’s God, right down to the present day.

 

Again, Jesus is unsurprised when large numbers of disciples draw back and fall away, murmuring amongst themselves: “This is a hard saying; Who can listen to it?” Knowing what’s in their hearts, he simply remarks: “It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail … This is why I told you that no-one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

 

Both these scriptural episodes are particularly instructive for us, in a time and place where so many people seem to be turning their backs on the Church and its faith and worship. This trend may sadden us, but it shouldn’t surprise us. It’s nothing that we haven’t dealt with before at multiple times in Church history. The good news, now as then, is that we’re here—a faithful remnant choosing to follow the Lord even when it means swimming against the cultural tide.

 

So, we stand today with those who answered Joshua, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods … Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.” We likewise stand with Peter, who answers the Lord’s question by saying: “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.”

 

Commenting on this passage sometime in the early fifth century, Saint Cyril of Alexandria wrote: “It is not the number of worshipers but those who excel in the right faith, though they are few, that are precious in the sight of God.” In other words, Jesus is content to continue working with only twelve disciples after the multitudes fall away because he knows that these twelve (minus Judas) are the ones who have the potential ultimately to be sent out to bear witness to his resurrection to the ends of the earth.

 

A few years ago, Pope Benedict XVI offered some thought-provoking reflections on the Church’s decline in Western Europe and North America. A smaller and leaner Church, he said, is not necessarily a weaker Church. As it loses social privilege and cultural approval, it must simplify its life and concentrate on what’s truly important. Those who persevere in attending worship and participating in the Church’s life will be those with the strongest faith, or at least the deepest knowledge of their need for God. The Church’s losses in the quantity of numbers may be outweighed by gains in the quality of discipleship as it responds to God’s call to engage in mission to a broken and hurting world.

 

In this time of parish transition, it pays to reflect on the challenges posed by both Joshua and Jesus in today’s readings: “Choose this day whom you will serve,” and “Do you also wish to go away?” By God’s grace, in the power of the Holy Spirit, we’re able to respond, along with the tribes of Israel, “We also will serve the Lord, for he is our God,” and again with Peter, “We have come to believe and know that [Jesus is] the Holy One of God.”