To whom can we go?
Commentary
Object:
In this whole chapter of John Jesus has been trying to reveal that he is the source of life, real life, life that lasts forever, for in him God is present. Just as we must consume food or bread to live, so we need to consume him, take him into our hearts and lives if we are to truly live.
Jesus had lots of disciples at this time, not just the twelve. And when many of them heard this kind of talk, they deserted Jesus. Their devotion was a limited one. Their faith in him was shallow. So they left him.
Jesus then turns to the twelve and asks if they are going to leave also. But Peter says, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life."
"To whom can we go?"
Jesus teaches that there is a hunger deep inside all of us for God. It cannot be filled with bread or any material thing -- only with God.
People go to lots of places and try lots of things in order to try to meet this deep need. Surely the resurgence of new age religions is evidence that there is still in modern people this hunger for contact with the Divine -- and there are many religions and pseudo-religions out there which say, "Come to us. You will find what you need here."
"To whom can we go?"
I met a man once who regularly consulted an astrologer about his life, work, and decisions. He actually thought that the movement of the stars and planets, rather than the Creator of them and of him, had more to offer him.
"To whom can we go?"
Today's reading and almost every page of the New Testament gives us the answer to that question. It dares to declare that God is offered in Jesus, his life, his love, his teachings. We find what we most hunger and thirst for -- God -- in him. I do not wish to criticize other religions or to be so narrow-minded as to think there is no truth in them or that I know all the truth. I can say that I have come to Jesus, too, like those first disciples, like millions of others have, and have found God in him, words in him that have given me life, wonderful words of life, life that never ends. For I have tasted of him and find bread for my soul in him.
"To whom will you go?"
1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43
Solomon dedicates the temple. I understand the kind of joy and excitement expressed in this reading. This grand and glorious dream, this vision that David first had but could not do and left to his son, Solomon, had now come true. It began about 960 BC and was complete seven years later. It would be the center of Israel's worship for over three centuries.
Verses 1, 6, 10. Now what's a building dedication service without lots of dignitaries, processions, pomp, and circumstance? That's just what they had. Everybody who was anybody was there. The main event was the bringing of the ark of the covenant, the most sacred of their icons, into the holy of holies in the temple. This represented the very presence of God coming into the temple. It was God's new house and God was moving in. Another very visible demonstration of this was the appearance of a cloud that so filled the temple that the priests could not see to carry out their functions or read from the bulletin!
Recall how clouds often symbolized the presence of the Lord. A cloud was at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting in which Moses entered during the wilderness wanderings. In the New Testament a cloud descends upon Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration and we hear the voice of God. The cloud was a fitting symbol as it was something that was always above, in the heavens. Yet, now, that which was high has come low. The cloud serves to show the immanence of God and yet God's transcendence. God is present but also still above. God is revealed yet also hidden. This theme of God's immanence and transcendence is an important one in this passage. The message is that God does choose to be present but cannot be confined in anyway. The text maintains quite well the tension between God's immanence and transcendence. God's presence can be known now in the temple, but God is not confined there or can be left there. There are, you see, dangers in building God a house -- the danger that the house is thought to contain God or place God in a box, or that somehow since God is there then God really isn't present out there. Much later Jeremiah attacks an attitude of false security that the people had that as long as the temple was standing, then God was with them and pleased with them. Not so, Jeremiah says, and soon after this, Ezekiel sees the presence or cloud of God leave the temple.
Verses 22-30. What's a building dedication without lots of speeches and prayers? So, here we find a portion of Solomon's prayer that day.
In many ways it is a wonderful prayer. It begins with thanksgiving to God and a recognition of God's greatness. Of special emphasis is God's hesed or steadfast/covenant love or loyalty. What's in mind here is the covenant God made with David and how God has kept that covenant. In a way, this is a kind of covenant renewal service as that promise/covenant is remembered and celebrated. The heart of that covenant was God's promise to build David a house, that is, a lineage of kings to rule over the people. But there was a condition that each successor should obey the laws of the Lord (v. 25). This is something that Solomon would have done well to remember each day. He didn't.
Verses 27-30 go back to the immanence and transcendence theme again. Solomon freely admits in this prayer, reminding himself and the people that no house was ever large enough to contain God. Even the heavens were not large enough, so how could any human-made structure ever be? Yet, Solomon prays that God's presence will be made known there. That this will be a place where people can pray, touch God, and be touched by God; that even if they cannot be physically there, they can pray toward it, so in that act they also are turning their lives toward God. He prays that God's name "shall be there" (v. 29), that is, God might choose to be there. The image of a name on a mailbox comes to mind. This is a place where they could count on encountering God, not because God was somehow confined here but because God chose to be here for the people.
Verses 41-43 are really special and wonderful. They speak of the aliens or strangers, those who are not Jews but who will sense in just the sight of that temple the presence and power of God, and so be drawn to God, to prayer, and to fellowship with God. This is an inclusive spirit that all too often was not seen or practiced, especially after the exile. This went right into the time of Jesus as Gentiles were largely hated and shunned. Here, even foreigners are seen as potential members of the covenant, of the people of God. This house of God, in other words, had many doors, many gates open to all who were touched by the constant love of God.
Ephesians 6:10-20
From this passage we might assume that the Ephesians have been coming under attack or persecution. Christians were not exactly welcomed with open arms in every community or by the governing power: Rome. In language that reminds us of war, Paul speaks of their "struggle" or fight or conflict with spiritual and physical authorities and rulers, but especially spiritual forces that would use flesh and blood (like Rome) to fight against them and the church.
We are the soldiers of Christ in a cosmic war against evil. The battles are real. In battle you can get wounded and killed. You had better be prepared -- well equipped -- for the battle.
Maybe this image of armor comes to mind for Paul because he is under house arrest in Rome (maybe) and some say he was even chained to a Roman soldier at one time, perhaps while he was writing these very words. So he finds in the pieces of armor this Roman soldier is wearing inspiration for the kind of spiritual armor God provides them for the battle. He names the various pieces of such armor and then applies them spiritually.
There are several things here that stand out.
First, Paul takes evil seriously. He has seen it and experienced it firsthand. Perhaps he was even in prison as he wrote this. He saw forces opposed to Christ, to God, to God's will for the world. Do we? Is our world any different? Is evil not still alive and well more so than ever today?
Second, we are called to confront evil for it will surely confront us. But we will never defeat it on our own strength (v. 10). Only God can give us the power to meet and defeat it.
Third, God does provide what we need for the victory. God provides the most awesome protection and armor ever made. Note that all these items are mainly for defensive purposes. The only offensive one is the sword that is the word of God. A sword with its short blade resembled a tongue. God's word is what we use to vanquish the enemy.
Fourth, one of the best defenses and offenses against evil is prayer. Prayer prepares us for the battle and empowers and sustains us during it. Prayer is our supply line to our resources, the greatest being God's own presence and power.
John 6:56-69
Verses 56-59. Now Jesus restates what he had been talking about in this whole chapter concerning how he is the true bread from heaven that God provides. What is required if you are to get the nutrients of food is that you eat it. You take it inside yourself. Unless you do that, you eventually die. To receive the life that Jesus gives, abundant and eternal, we also have to eat him and take him into our hearts, souls, and minds. Just as food is broken down by the body and gives us life, so his love, his grace, are consumed by us and breaks down to drive out sin and give us life and wholeness. Ordinary food will not give us life that lasts forever. But this food, this Bread will. This implies, as we have seen, faith that is believing in the Son of God, accepting that his words are true and that in him God's presence and love come into our lives.
Verses 60-65. Some of his disciples are at least honest enough to reply, "Jesus, this is really difficult to understand. Who can understand? And who can accept it?" There was a larger circle of followers or disciples around Jesus at this time. But, like many others, they were only looking through physical eyes, literally like Nicodemus who thinks Jesus is talking about a second womb birth. They do not understand that Jesus is speaking spiritually. He is not speaking of bread for the stomach but bread for the soul. He is talking about that which we need more than anything else -- God, fellowship with God, experiencing God's love. All of this and more is being offered in him.
Jesus is the true temple or house of God. We do not need to depend upon some building to give us God's presence. God has come to us in the flesh, as a real human being. Jesus is "God with us." Dwelling in him is like living in God's own house, being constantly in God's own presence. If we want to get close to God, we need to get closer to Jesus. This is at the heart of the Christian faith. This happens through faith, through believing in him, trusting his teachings, seeking to serve him, through worship, study, prayer, Holy Communion, and gathering with fellow Christians for service and fellowship. But at the basic level all of this is a gift. We need in the core of our beings to be in relationship with God. We hunger for this, thirst for it as much as we do for food and water. The good news is that now this hunger and thirst can be met. God has sent down bread and rain from heaven in the Christ. In Jesus God gives us God's own self.
The twelve disciples are beginning to see this. Jesus asks them point blank if they are going to leave also, for others had left after just hearing what it was going to take to follow him. Peter answers for them all (in language that echoes the famous confession at Caesarea Philippi) that there is no one else to whom they can go. There's no bakery that provides the bread that Jesus is talking about. It's only offered in and through him. Maybe they did not fully understand what this meant or how it worked, but give them credit for having at least a mustard seed faith to hang on and stick with Jesus until their knowledge and experienced confirmed their faith.
Applications
Did you notice a thread or theme running through these three passages today? Often, if you read carefully, you will see such a thread in the readings and following them usually ends in some wonderful insights.
The heart of the 1 Kings 8 passage is a prayer. Solomon prays over and over again that this new house he had built would be a place of prayer, a place where people could commune with God or even think or pray toward and it helps them come into a greater sense of God's presence with them wherever they were.
At the heart of worship here in this temple is prayer. This is a place that reminds us of the importance of prayer, of communing with God, not just here, but all times and places. Here is a place made sacred by prayer, here to help us learn how to pray, and to pray for one another.
This is why so many prayers are always a part of the service. I hope you use these, participate in them, and make them your prayers. There are times for silent prayers and praying for others. These are not just "fillers" until we get to the sermon but are a vital part of the whole service and necessary if we are to hear the word of God. Prayer is listening, it is focusing our minds on God. When we do that, we should not be surprised when we find God right there.
So, this is a place of prayer, a school room for learning how to talk to and listen for God so that we are better able to do just that everywhere, anytime (see Ephesians 6:18).
Notice something else here. Solomon begins, not with petitions, not with asking for something from God. He begins with a prayer of thanksgiving for all God has already given -- especially God's steadfast love. No better way to get into the true spirit of prayer than following that example.
Paul gives us further instructions. He tells us to pray for the saints, that is, for one another (Ephesians 6:18b).
He also says to pray for him, that is (v. 19), for leaders in the church. One of the best things you can do for your pastor and other leaders in the church is pray for them.
Think for a moment what we would miss out on if we never communicated in anyway with anyone else? Maybe you have felt like doing just that some time. But think about how empty and lonely our lives would be. How void of blessings that come from talking, sharing, and listening with others.
The same is true with our relationship with God. We miss so much when we do not pray. Best of all, prayer helps us know God's presence is just a prayer away. There is no greater blessing than communing with God. Prayer is God's gift, God's telephone, God's email.
Alternative Application
I know I am showing my age here, but do you remember those TV commercials with the actor Karl Malden holding up an American Express Card and saying, "Don't leave home without it"?
When you go out each day or on a trip, what are the things you make sure you do not leave home without? (let them answer or share your own answers)
It seems to me that Paul is making his own kind of commercial here. He holds up some items and tells us, "Now make sure you don't leave home without these."
Let's look at what he says we should take with us each day as we go out to live and work in the world.
(Use the rest of the sermon to explain and apply the various pieces of armor or items Paul says we should not leave home without.)
Jesus had lots of disciples at this time, not just the twelve. And when many of them heard this kind of talk, they deserted Jesus. Their devotion was a limited one. Their faith in him was shallow. So they left him.
Jesus then turns to the twelve and asks if they are going to leave also. But Peter says, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life."
"To whom can we go?"
Jesus teaches that there is a hunger deep inside all of us for God. It cannot be filled with bread or any material thing -- only with God.
People go to lots of places and try lots of things in order to try to meet this deep need. Surely the resurgence of new age religions is evidence that there is still in modern people this hunger for contact with the Divine -- and there are many religions and pseudo-religions out there which say, "Come to us. You will find what you need here."
"To whom can we go?"
I met a man once who regularly consulted an astrologer about his life, work, and decisions. He actually thought that the movement of the stars and planets, rather than the Creator of them and of him, had more to offer him.
"To whom can we go?"
Today's reading and almost every page of the New Testament gives us the answer to that question. It dares to declare that God is offered in Jesus, his life, his love, his teachings. We find what we most hunger and thirst for -- God -- in him. I do not wish to criticize other religions or to be so narrow-minded as to think there is no truth in them or that I know all the truth. I can say that I have come to Jesus, too, like those first disciples, like millions of others have, and have found God in him, words in him that have given me life, wonderful words of life, life that never ends. For I have tasted of him and find bread for my soul in him.
"To whom will you go?"
1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43
Solomon dedicates the temple. I understand the kind of joy and excitement expressed in this reading. This grand and glorious dream, this vision that David first had but could not do and left to his son, Solomon, had now come true. It began about 960 BC and was complete seven years later. It would be the center of Israel's worship for over three centuries.
Verses 1, 6, 10. Now what's a building dedication service without lots of dignitaries, processions, pomp, and circumstance? That's just what they had. Everybody who was anybody was there. The main event was the bringing of the ark of the covenant, the most sacred of their icons, into the holy of holies in the temple. This represented the very presence of God coming into the temple. It was God's new house and God was moving in. Another very visible demonstration of this was the appearance of a cloud that so filled the temple that the priests could not see to carry out their functions or read from the bulletin!
Recall how clouds often symbolized the presence of the Lord. A cloud was at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting in which Moses entered during the wilderness wanderings. In the New Testament a cloud descends upon Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration and we hear the voice of God. The cloud was a fitting symbol as it was something that was always above, in the heavens. Yet, now, that which was high has come low. The cloud serves to show the immanence of God and yet God's transcendence. God is present but also still above. God is revealed yet also hidden. This theme of God's immanence and transcendence is an important one in this passage. The message is that God does choose to be present but cannot be confined in anyway. The text maintains quite well the tension between God's immanence and transcendence. God's presence can be known now in the temple, but God is not confined there or can be left there. There are, you see, dangers in building God a house -- the danger that the house is thought to contain God or place God in a box, or that somehow since God is there then God really isn't present out there. Much later Jeremiah attacks an attitude of false security that the people had that as long as the temple was standing, then God was with them and pleased with them. Not so, Jeremiah says, and soon after this, Ezekiel sees the presence or cloud of God leave the temple.
Verses 22-30. What's a building dedication without lots of speeches and prayers? So, here we find a portion of Solomon's prayer that day.
In many ways it is a wonderful prayer. It begins with thanksgiving to God and a recognition of God's greatness. Of special emphasis is God's hesed or steadfast/covenant love or loyalty. What's in mind here is the covenant God made with David and how God has kept that covenant. In a way, this is a kind of covenant renewal service as that promise/covenant is remembered and celebrated. The heart of that covenant was God's promise to build David a house, that is, a lineage of kings to rule over the people. But there was a condition that each successor should obey the laws of the Lord (v. 25). This is something that Solomon would have done well to remember each day. He didn't.
Verses 27-30 go back to the immanence and transcendence theme again. Solomon freely admits in this prayer, reminding himself and the people that no house was ever large enough to contain God. Even the heavens were not large enough, so how could any human-made structure ever be? Yet, Solomon prays that God's presence will be made known there. That this will be a place where people can pray, touch God, and be touched by God; that even if they cannot be physically there, they can pray toward it, so in that act they also are turning their lives toward God. He prays that God's name "shall be there" (v. 29), that is, God might choose to be there. The image of a name on a mailbox comes to mind. This is a place where they could count on encountering God, not because God was somehow confined here but because God chose to be here for the people.
Verses 41-43 are really special and wonderful. They speak of the aliens or strangers, those who are not Jews but who will sense in just the sight of that temple the presence and power of God, and so be drawn to God, to prayer, and to fellowship with God. This is an inclusive spirit that all too often was not seen or practiced, especially after the exile. This went right into the time of Jesus as Gentiles were largely hated and shunned. Here, even foreigners are seen as potential members of the covenant, of the people of God. This house of God, in other words, had many doors, many gates open to all who were touched by the constant love of God.
Ephesians 6:10-20
From this passage we might assume that the Ephesians have been coming under attack or persecution. Christians were not exactly welcomed with open arms in every community or by the governing power: Rome. In language that reminds us of war, Paul speaks of their "struggle" or fight or conflict with spiritual and physical authorities and rulers, but especially spiritual forces that would use flesh and blood (like Rome) to fight against them and the church.
We are the soldiers of Christ in a cosmic war against evil. The battles are real. In battle you can get wounded and killed. You had better be prepared -- well equipped -- for the battle.
Maybe this image of armor comes to mind for Paul because he is under house arrest in Rome (maybe) and some say he was even chained to a Roman soldier at one time, perhaps while he was writing these very words. So he finds in the pieces of armor this Roman soldier is wearing inspiration for the kind of spiritual armor God provides them for the battle. He names the various pieces of such armor and then applies them spiritually.
There are several things here that stand out.
First, Paul takes evil seriously. He has seen it and experienced it firsthand. Perhaps he was even in prison as he wrote this. He saw forces opposed to Christ, to God, to God's will for the world. Do we? Is our world any different? Is evil not still alive and well more so than ever today?
Second, we are called to confront evil for it will surely confront us. But we will never defeat it on our own strength (v. 10). Only God can give us the power to meet and defeat it.
Third, God does provide what we need for the victory. God provides the most awesome protection and armor ever made. Note that all these items are mainly for defensive purposes. The only offensive one is the sword that is the word of God. A sword with its short blade resembled a tongue. God's word is what we use to vanquish the enemy.
Fourth, one of the best defenses and offenses against evil is prayer. Prayer prepares us for the battle and empowers and sustains us during it. Prayer is our supply line to our resources, the greatest being God's own presence and power.
John 6:56-69
Verses 56-59. Now Jesus restates what he had been talking about in this whole chapter concerning how he is the true bread from heaven that God provides. What is required if you are to get the nutrients of food is that you eat it. You take it inside yourself. Unless you do that, you eventually die. To receive the life that Jesus gives, abundant and eternal, we also have to eat him and take him into our hearts, souls, and minds. Just as food is broken down by the body and gives us life, so his love, his grace, are consumed by us and breaks down to drive out sin and give us life and wholeness. Ordinary food will not give us life that lasts forever. But this food, this Bread will. This implies, as we have seen, faith that is believing in the Son of God, accepting that his words are true and that in him God's presence and love come into our lives.
Verses 60-65. Some of his disciples are at least honest enough to reply, "Jesus, this is really difficult to understand. Who can understand? And who can accept it?" There was a larger circle of followers or disciples around Jesus at this time. But, like many others, they were only looking through physical eyes, literally like Nicodemus who thinks Jesus is talking about a second womb birth. They do not understand that Jesus is speaking spiritually. He is not speaking of bread for the stomach but bread for the soul. He is talking about that which we need more than anything else -- God, fellowship with God, experiencing God's love. All of this and more is being offered in him.
Jesus is the true temple or house of God. We do not need to depend upon some building to give us God's presence. God has come to us in the flesh, as a real human being. Jesus is "God with us." Dwelling in him is like living in God's own house, being constantly in God's own presence. If we want to get close to God, we need to get closer to Jesus. This is at the heart of the Christian faith. This happens through faith, through believing in him, trusting his teachings, seeking to serve him, through worship, study, prayer, Holy Communion, and gathering with fellow Christians for service and fellowship. But at the basic level all of this is a gift. We need in the core of our beings to be in relationship with God. We hunger for this, thirst for it as much as we do for food and water. The good news is that now this hunger and thirst can be met. God has sent down bread and rain from heaven in the Christ. In Jesus God gives us God's own self.
The twelve disciples are beginning to see this. Jesus asks them point blank if they are going to leave also, for others had left after just hearing what it was going to take to follow him. Peter answers for them all (in language that echoes the famous confession at Caesarea Philippi) that there is no one else to whom they can go. There's no bakery that provides the bread that Jesus is talking about. It's only offered in and through him. Maybe they did not fully understand what this meant or how it worked, but give them credit for having at least a mustard seed faith to hang on and stick with Jesus until their knowledge and experienced confirmed their faith.
Applications
Did you notice a thread or theme running through these three passages today? Often, if you read carefully, you will see such a thread in the readings and following them usually ends in some wonderful insights.
The heart of the 1 Kings 8 passage is a prayer. Solomon prays over and over again that this new house he had built would be a place of prayer, a place where people could commune with God or even think or pray toward and it helps them come into a greater sense of God's presence with them wherever they were.
At the heart of worship here in this temple is prayer. This is a place that reminds us of the importance of prayer, of communing with God, not just here, but all times and places. Here is a place made sacred by prayer, here to help us learn how to pray, and to pray for one another.
This is why so many prayers are always a part of the service. I hope you use these, participate in them, and make them your prayers. There are times for silent prayers and praying for others. These are not just "fillers" until we get to the sermon but are a vital part of the whole service and necessary if we are to hear the word of God. Prayer is listening, it is focusing our minds on God. When we do that, we should not be surprised when we find God right there.
So, this is a place of prayer, a school room for learning how to talk to and listen for God so that we are better able to do just that everywhere, anytime (see Ephesians 6:18).
Notice something else here. Solomon begins, not with petitions, not with asking for something from God. He begins with a prayer of thanksgiving for all God has already given -- especially God's steadfast love. No better way to get into the true spirit of prayer than following that example.
Paul gives us further instructions. He tells us to pray for the saints, that is, for one another (Ephesians 6:18b).
He also says to pray for him, that is (v. 19), for leaders in the church. One of the best things you can do for your pastor and other leaders in the church is pray for them.
Think for a moment what we would miss out on if we never communicated in anyway with anyone else? Maybe you have felt like doing just that some time. But think about how empty and lonely our lives would be. How void of blessings that come from talking, sharing, and listening with others.
The same is true with our relationship with God. We miss so much when we do not pray. Best of all, prayer helps us know God's presence is just a prayer away. There is no greater blessing than communing with God. Prayer is God's gift, God's telephone, God's email.
Alternative Application
I know I am showing my age here, but do you remember those TV commercials with the actor Karl Malden holding up an American Express Card and saying, "Don't leave home without it"?
When you go out each day or on a trip, what are the things you make sure you do not leave home without? (let them answer or share your own answers)
It seems to me that Paul is making his own kind of commercial here. He holds up some items and tells us, "Now make sure you don't leave home without these."
Let's look at what he says we should take with us each day as we go out to live and work in the world.
(Use the rest of the sermon to explain and apply the various pieces of armor or items Paul says we should not leave home without.)
