First Reading: Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18
1Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. 2aAnd Joshua said to all the people, 14“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. 15Now 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.”
16Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; 17for 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; 18and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”
Psalm: Psalm 34:15-22
The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous. (Ps. 34:15)
15The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and God’s ears are open to their cry.
16The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to erase the remembrance of them from the earth.
17The righteous cry, and the Lord hears them and delivers them from all their troubles.
18The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those whose spirits are crushed.
19Many are the troubles of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them from every one.
20God will keep safe all their bones; not one of them shall be broken.
21Evil will bring death to the wicked and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
22 O Lord, you redeem the life of your servants,and those who put their trust in you will not be punished.
Second Reading: Ephesians 6:10-20
10Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. 15As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. 16With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. 19Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.
Gospel: John 6:56-69
[Jesus said,] 56“Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” 59He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
60When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” 61But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? 62Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. 65And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.”
66Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. 67So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” 68Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
Children’s Sermon: Let me open today by sharing one of my favorite poems.
“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Let us pray. Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, my rock and my redeemer.
SERMON
The Old Testament reading tells of the children of Israel facing two paths diverging and Joshua challenging them which one, which god will they choose. The Gospel reading tells of the disciples facing two paths diverging for them as Jesus talks about being the bread of life and eating his flesh and drinking his blood. Jesus asks them if they too want to take the other path. Peter responds,
“ Lord, to whom can we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
69We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
We sing these words in our liturgy during Lent. “Lord, to whom can we go?” During this Pentecost we have traveled with the disciples and Jesus back and forth across the sea of Galilee. We heard about Jesus feeding the 5,000 with bread, similar to God sending manna to the Israelites in the wilderness when they grumbled to Moses. Last week we listened as Jesus continued and called himself the bread of life, the living bread of life, and whoever eats his flesh and drinks his blood will live forever. Jesus claims he is the bread of life that gives his flesh and blood for the whole world. That was a mouthful and many walked away. Today, Jesus challenges the disciples if they too want to walk away when it gets hard and we don’t understand.
This month we follow this theme of “manna in the wilderness” and Jesus as the bread of life. Jesus tries to explain what he is saying to the followers who grumble at the analogy. Perhaps to make this real, let us pause and remember a time we grumbled this week. Was it over having to wait for someone texting at the traffic signal? Was it the price of gasoline that seems to jump up and down? Was it because a beloved forgot to remember us? Yup, we are not that different from the Israelites in the wilderness or the Jews traipsing around after Jesus. It is so easy to become discouraged and to grumble.
Are there alternatives? “Lord, to whom can we go?
In our first reading Joshua is getting ready to retire. He is 110 years old. He stood at the side of Moses and was taught. He was there on Mt. Sinai at the giving of the Ten Commandments. He took over after Moses and led the people across the Jordan into the adventure of the Promised Land. He fought the battle of Jericho. A lot happened in his lifetime! The whole journey was lived not as a happy-ever-after story but as a struggle with the tendency to grumble and the temptation to idolatry. Entering the Promised Land was a battle.
If we were to draw a timeline of the major social events in many of our lifetimes, we might see a similar picture. Most of us were born after the traumas of World War II but remember words like “Korean War,” “Vietnam War,” and “Desert Storm.” We grieve at the news reports today about Ukraine and the Middle East. I remember life before Netflix, before streaming, before credit cards AND when phone numbers started with letters – no area codes. We have lived through the invention of microwaves, hybrid cars, and airplane travel is a common blessing and affordable to most. Yes, we have seen a lot and in all truth, grumbled a lot as we have learned to master all the change. I suspect more than once we have wondered where God is in all this and more than once cried over the events in our lives.
Joshua stands in-front of his people and challenges them,
“14“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. 15Now 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.”
Jesus turns to his disciples today as they struggle to understand what he is talking about and he asks them, “Do you also wish to go away?” He is challenging them and us about whether we want to serve other gods. The gods of health, wealth, and prosperity are always calling to us. I listen to the news and I hear that little voice on my shoulder whispering, “Where is God in all this?” and hear the voice of temptation, “Don’t you also wish to go away?”
I pray we join with Peter, whom we know will fail even as we will, and we say, “Lord, to whom shall we go?” Do the gods of this world truly offer more? We don’t really understand the mystery of eating Christ’s flesh and drinking his blood but the promises of the gods of this world are hollow and transitory. Faith chooses the road less traveled by and it has made the difference.
“Lord, to whom can we go?
You have the words of eternal life.”
Joshua offers the people choices. Consider the gods of the people surrounding them. We too could look at the “gods” people worship today. Is wealth a god worth chasing? Perhaps the rich will not mind being taxed more to help the poor and perhaps economic equality will be reached but will will wealth bring eternal happiness and wisdom? I doubt it. Few of us can chase the god of talent in hopes of becoming famous in Hollywood. As far as I can tell our stars age, fame passes, and the critiques are … brutal to the ego. Perhaps we would like to chase the god of health. Well, folks, as far as I can tell, none of us will outrun the biological clock of aging forever. We look around at the gods this world offers, even the gods of other religions, and it is easy to despair at the options. Who has the words of eternal life? Is the grass greener down the other road or is it an illusion?
Joshua challenges the people to remember their history. It is possible to remember all the valleys we have passed through and see the bad. Or it is possible to look and see the hand of the Lord guiding and protecting us along the way. The Psalmist reminds us that “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and God’s ears are open to their cry.”
To whom shall we go today? To the gods of this world or to the God who sees and hears, whose arm is not short and who never slumbers or sleeps? As we look at each path, do not be deceived, there is a difference.
Peter confesses to Jesus, you have the “Words of eternal life.” Our second reading is from Ephesians and clearly acknowledges that we live in a broken world facing challenges that are far beyond us. We do not face enemies of blood and flesh, but we battle against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. The enemy is not our spouse, our neighbor, our parent, our boss, our old car or even the government. We are indeed experiencing reality as it was not meant to be. But that does not mean that another future is not forming. The kingdom of the world will be replaced by the kingdom of heaven one day. We need the words of eternal life to stay focused on the God we follow.
The New Testament reading in Ephesians admonishes us to strap on the belt of truth and use the sword of the Spirit that is the word of God. What are some of those words?
· The Lord is my Shepherd…he walks with me through the valley of the shadow of death
· Nothing can separate us from the love of God, neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation.
· “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” say the Lord God, “who is and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
I do not know what “word of eternal life” has encouraged you. Let’s turn to your neighbor and share a verse that has been helpful to you. Mine is my confirmation verse, Isaiah 41:10, “ So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Please share.
Peter continues with a statement of faith.
“Lord, to whom can we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
69We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
Joshua in the Old Testament, challenged the people to choose which god they would follow. Will it be the gods of Egypt, their past, or the gods of the people surrounding them, their future, or will it be the God who has led them through the wilderness?
In the psalm that we usually read responsively, we join our voices in reading affirming that the choice that we all face as to which god we will follow makes a difference. Our God sees us and hears us because we stand in Christ’s righteousness not our own good deeds. Our God opposes evil and evil will be erased. God will restore justice. Our God not only hears our cries but he acts, perhaps not as we wish but always for our best. His desire is to deliver us. And during those times when we are too broken to pray, when we are overwhelmed with doubts, when we forget who we are, he remembers us and draws near. We will have troubles but God walks through them with us. Death is the end of the wicked but we can look forward to eternal life. We are redeemed. These are eternal words that give us hope and life.
In the New Testament, or second we also read that the road less traveled will involve challenges but God has given us armor to fight those battles.
Today we start with the challenge, we must choose which God we will follow. Jesus says that following means “eating his body and drinking his blood,” a difficult teaching. The early church heard it as putting on the armor of God.
Like the disciples we probably don’t really understand what this eating and drinking of Jesus means. Jesus is God, not us, and so that always puts our faith, not in the driver’s seat but in a position of needing to trust that God will do what is best because he sees the big picture and has our best at heart. God speaks and we trust. Where else can we go? Jesus has the words of eternal life and he is the Holy One of God. He goes with us into this week. He is there in Ukraine, the Middle East, and American elections. He is with people struggling with disease. He is with those in chaos from environmental extremes and he is even with our government. I don’t understand but I do believe.
14“Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness.”
Let the people of God say, Amen!
On the Way to Wonder 