Does God Expect Too Much?

Ephesians 6:10-17; John 6:60

 

        The 6^th chapter of John begins with the miracle of the feeding of 5,000 and then evolves into a lengthy discourse where Jesus describes himself as the Bread of Life.  It is one of the most beautiful passages in the entire Biblical text. It is also quite complex. Near the end of the chapter Jesus challenges his disciples to live in the light of his grace rather than complying with the standards of the world.  In verse 60, one of the disciples has the courage to stand face to face with Jesus and say, “Your way is too difficult.  Who can accept it?”

        Can you imagine having the guts to confront the Son of God by saying, “Sir, you really expect too much of us.  I’m a pretty descent guy and do my best to look after my family, but the bar that you have set is way too high.  You expect me to put nothing before you and your mission.  You expect me to honor you by becoming a cheerful and generous giver.  You want me to volunteer my precious time on behalf of folks I might not even like.  And then you expect me to be less than shy when I talk about my faith?    Isn’t that why we elect elders?  I am not going to stand in the way of those who want to be ‘really religious’,  but for most of us, your expectations are just too hard.”

        Can you imagine what might actually happen if we had the audacity to have that conversation with the Almighty?  I certainly wouldn’t play golf that afternoon because there might be too much electricity in the air.

        The truth is, by any standards, God demands too much.  In the Old Testament the standard set for God’s covenant people was much higher than the benchmark set any other culture.  God presented the 10 Commandments and then said, “If you are going to be my people, this is what I expect.”  If folks past had complied with God’s laws, the Christ event would not have been necessary.  But then we have not done much better. Flawlessness appears to be impossible, even for those who are doing their best. But humanities imperfection hardly limits God’s perfection or God’s expectations.

        The writer of the book of Ephesians makes an extraordinary claim that God’s plan for humanity is to be lived out by God’s new chosen community, the church.  Since we are saved by grace, we are called to live as God’s ambassadors to the world.  Ephesians 4 challenges us to be imitators of Christ. In the fifth chapter, the author sets guidelines to be followed in our pursuit of this daunting task.  He writes, “Be strong in the Lord.  Put on the armor of God that you might stand firm against all evil.”

        The writers of curriculum for children love this text. They suggest the teacher dress up the children to resemble Sir Galahad. But the writer of Ephesians knows the quest of being God’s church is more than child’s play.  He saw it as part of God’s plan to unite all people in Christ.  

        This passage creates a striking visual image.  The Christian resembles a fully armed member of the elite Roman Guard.  The Christian is dressed in armor that offers protection from the arrows that attack our faith.  But before we start singing “Onward Christian Soldiers”, notice the peculiar armor we are given to wear.

        “Fasten the belt of truth around your waist.”     That raises a whole lot of questions.  My truth may be different from your truth. When we dare to bring God’s truth into the equation that opens up a whole new can of worms.  Jesus said, “I am the truth.”  Does that mean that everything we do begins and ends with the word of God?  If it does, then I doubt if any of us are worthy.   See how hard this is becoming?

        “Put on the breastplate of righteousness.”  Righteousness is one of those great theological words used often in the Old Testament.  In the Psalms, God is described as righteous, merciful, slow to anger and steadfast in love.  What does it mean to be “righteous”?  In very simple terms, the one who is righteous is the one who fulfills a covenant.  God is righteous because God faithfully keeps the covenant made with God’s created people.  The saving of the Israelite slaves from Egypt was an act of righteousness.  The resurrection of Jesus, saving us from the perils of sin, was an act of righteousness.  Putting on the breastplate of righteousness literally means that we will be faithful in our covenant with God.  What is that covenant?  We are commanded to faithfully love God and our neighbors.  No exceptions!  I’m not sure I am that righteous.

        “As for shoes, put on whatever will prepare you to proclaim the gospel of peace.”   Be it a war of words or something much worse, most of us enter a conflict with the clear aim of winning.  Compromise is not the goal because it leaves neither side satisfied. We live in a world of winners and a loser.  Often a participant will give in to “keep the peace”.  But how long is that peace kept?  All of us have participated in ill conceived peaceful resolutions which eventually evolve into a resurgence of the original conflict.  Honest and faithful peacemaking is hard work because honest and faithful peacemaking requires us to have a truthful relationship with our adversary, even if we don’t much care for them.   

        “Pick up the shield of faith.”  How difficult can this be?  We all have great faith.  Actually I think it would be easier if we were asked to pick up the sword of faith.  With the sword of faith we could aggressively wade into God’s battle and attack our adversary with more than words.  But a shield is used for defense.  We hold up our faith to protect us from all the arrows hurled our way.  Like those Roman Legions that formed a protective shell from the initial onslaught of their enemy, we wait, and wait until the energy, and perhaps the anger of our foe is extinguished.  And then we rise up, wearing the “helmet of salvation”; we rise up “with the word of God” as our sword; we rise up, not to slay but embrace our adversary with the possibility of an old covenant based on the everlasting love of God.  Without a doubt, God definitely expects too much of us.

        In his book on the Civil Rights Movement, Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch includes a shocking photo of a lunch counter in Jackson, Mississippi.  You may have seen it.  A white man and woman were sitting with an African-American woman.  Their backs are turned to an angry mob gathered behind them.  The waiter has just poured a bottle of ketchup on the man’s head.  One young person is eternally captured by the photo as he joyfully pours a jar of sugar on the head of the Afro-American woman.  All three people sit at the counter with their jaws clenched as if they want to pick up the sword of righteousness and slay every one in the room.  But they sat quietly, receiving every sort of abuse.  

        I have seen that picture many times. But as I looked at it again this week my eyes shifted to the face of one white man sitting in the corner.  He is older than most of the folks at the counter.  He seems to almost be looking away.  His eyes portray a great deal of pain.  I know nothing of this man, except that he had probably wandered into his favorite place to eat lunch and his life was forever disrupted.  He was probably known as one of the good folks in his town. He might have been a faithful member of the First Presbyterian Church in Jackson.  He had probably heard sermons about the breastplate of righteousness and shield of faith.  But he had never given it much thought until that fateful day as he silently watched the ketchup run down the face of that quiet stranger who had ruined his lunch.  Without a finger being lifted, he had the expression on his face of one who had been slain, or at least confused by the love of God.

        I doubt that the three folks who chose that lunch counter on that particular day felt triumphant.  I suspect the white man and woman slipped out of town later that night to move on to the next encounter.  They probably wondered if what they had done was worth the effort. They probably thought God expected too much of them.  If only they could have seen the face at the end of the counter.  If only they could have met the man slain by their act of peaceful resistance.   If only they could have known the Godly seed they had planted.  (stop)

        God does expect a lot of us. But God has also dressed us for the occasion with holy armor.  Wear it proudly.  Wear it always.  Wear it for the cause of peace and righteousness.

                                                To God be the Glory.   Amen.