Sermon: 4 August 2024 Pentecost 11B
Text: 2 Samuel 11.26-12.13a; Psalm 51.1-12; Ephesians 4.1-16; John 6.24-35
Theme: Grow Up!
Prayer: God of Moses, who rained down bread on Israel’s wandering people: lead us to the food that never leaves us craving, addicted to consuming, but fills our whole humanity with life enough for all; through Jesus Christ, the bread of heaven. Amen..
The readings are jammed pack this morning with enough life and vitality, insights and questions to fund many a sermon and the challenge really is to pick a coherent path through the lot that provides worthwhile feed for our journey. We have David and his encounter with the prophet Nathan in the Samuel reading, with that wonderful line, “You are that man!” We have in the Gospel the aftermath of Jesus feeding the five thousand and it ends with him saying that powerful “I am” statement: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” And we have the wonderful Psalm 51 with the powerful request of the psalmist in verse 10, which truly is ours as well, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” I want us to begin, as I did last week, with the Epistle reading from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians because it’s in this reading that I found for me the key verse upon which I believe unlocks all of the readings for this week.
Near the end of this wonderful section of Paul’s powerful letter to the Ephesians he writes of the need of the Ephesians, and by extension, us, to work towards maturity, using the gifts God has given. He writes that we are not to be children anymore, unsure of who we are and whose we are. And then he writes, and for me this is the key for us today, he writes, chapter 4, verse 15: “we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” Simple enough when read quickly and smoothly, and easy enough to miss or even ignore. But what if I use a free translation and read it like this: “For God’s sake, Christians! Grow up! Learn to live truly in Christ.”
I must admit that it has taken a long time for me to warm to St Paul and his letters. Early in my training I was far more a Gospel man – to reflect upon the life of Jesus as presented in the Gospels was all I needed. I was hung up on Paul’s perceived misogyny and I didn’t necessarily believe his interpretation of the meaning of the death of Jesus. For me it was and has always been more about following our Lord more than simply believing he died for us. This was until in my Graduate studies I had renowned Australian biblical scholar Allan Cadwaller for the study of Romans and Ephesians and Galatians. Alan showed me the beauty and richness of Paul’s thinking. That while Jesus may call us to be child-like to enter the Kingdom of Heaven there is nothing wrong in endeavouring to be as Adult a believer as possible as Paul is urging the Ephesians and us this morning. There is an earnest appeal, even a begging appeal by Paul, for us to, “lead lives worthy of the calling to which we have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” It’s as if he is looking around today at the division and timidity of the present-day church, at its discord and dishonesty, at its lack of faith and its inward-looking hissy fits, and saying to us: come on – get over ourselves and grow up. There is just one Lord, one faith, one baptism. There is just one God and father of us all.
Don’t we get it Christians? Even when the world outside seems crazy and turned upside down, God has given us all that we need – all the gracious gifts and people with them so as to become all that God wants us to be. So come on – let’s grow up! It’s not like any of this is new – we know it deep down – let’s get over ourselves and allow the Spirit of God to grow us into the likeness of Christ.
But before we sign on once more with enthusiasm we have to realise that it is not as easy as just wishing it so because we know are human after all. In our first reading, it would seem to anyone but himself that King David was a man with enough. And yet, King David was not content. He wanted things that were not his to have. He wanted Bathsheba, although she was married to someone else. He wanted the appearance of innocence, although he was guilty.
He wanted the moral righteousness to condemn the evildoer in Nathan’s story but found out he was the man. And I hear in the back of my mind Paul saying, “O come on grow up – you know when enough is enough – you know deep down the truth about simplicity and being generous to others.” But it’s hard because we all allow the world to shape us and we allow our desires for the new and for more and more and more to rule. We allow ourselves to be tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness until we can’t hear God’s call to another way – the way of life in Christ. Down the centuries, many have urged us to this very life. On Wednesday last (31st July, 2024) the church celebrated the feast day of Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, who urged all to remember we are created for one end only; to worship God. He wrote, “To this end we need to make ourselves indifferent to all created things, … thus as far as we are concerned, we should not want health more than illness, wealth more than poverty, fame more than disgrace, a long life more than a short one, and similarly for all the rest, but we should desire and choose only what helps us move towards the end for which we are created.” Knowing the path we need to walk, but realising we are forever falling short we thus with humility open ourselves up to God’s grace.
This is when our prayer becomes exactly that of the psalmist today in psalm 51: – wash me thoroughly from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin. Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me. Do not cast me out from your presence: do not take your holy Spirit from me. Help us to see and know that enough is enough and that in Jesus we have more than enough.
And that brings us to the Gospel and I am thankful to Bishop George Hearn, who had retired to sit in my former parish of Box Hill, and who has gone on to his eternal reward, who put me onto theologian Amy Richter, who writes, “Jesus was not just someone who gave physical bread, although feeding hungry people is one of the commands Jesus gives and one of the things his ministry on earth was about. He wasn’t content to just make sure people had full bellies and their physical needs met; Jesus came to be bread of life –
the source for spiritual contentment as well, the source of joy and contentment in any situation, in plenty and in want, in easy times and in times of struggle and challenge.” She continues with what we know deep down is true – but we just have to be grown up and accept it-
“Don’t be content with physical stuff. Don’t try to find contentment with the things of this world that are here today and gone tomorrow. Seek God’s kingdom. Seek the food that endures for eternal life. Jesus offers himself, and walking with Jesus, feasting with Jesus, eating the bread he gives us, which is himself, we can know contentment wherever we find ourselves.
Even in the midst of a desert. Even when provisions seem scarce or we don’t know exactly where the journey leads, Jesus will be our sustenance and guide if we let him. We can dwell in content. We can know what is enough, who is enough.”
We will be growing up. The Lord be with you.