Old Testament: Jeremiah 23:9-15
Psalm 107:33-43, 108:1-6 (7-13) * 33
Epistle: Romans 9:1-18
Gospel: John 6:60-71
Wow the readings for today are so powerful and so hard to wrap my mind around. So, I will concentrate on a short passage form the gospel. “Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Will you also go away?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.’” (John 6:67-69 RSV)
Simon Peter was a true believer! Not like the others who would go away and later return after Jesus was crucified, finally convinced to believe. And not like Judas who would pretend to believe and then betray Jesus. Peter cannot quit Jesus! Jesus is not easy to live with. He does things and says things that blow Peter’s mind. But there is nowhere else he wants to be, no one else that says the things that satisfy Peter’s deepest needs. He has seen Jesus’s character. Jesus talks the talk, then walks the walk. Jesus is the “Holy One of God.” He is the “Sinless One” “to whom shall we go?”
This is what I want for the family of St. Andrew’s: to love Jesus the way that Simon Peter does. And to be this best definition of a Christian: “someone who cannot quit.” You have found too much, you have learned too much of life. You have been ministered to and fed and strengthened by the Lord Jesus. You know the comfort of his presence. You can never give him up.
Let us contemplate to which group we belong. Does your heart say to him, “Lord, to whom can I go? I don’t always understand, I can’t always figure you out, I don’t always like what you do, but Lord, to whom can I go?” That is the heart that he is looking for. If you have to say, “I belong to the first group who wants to go away. I’m afraid,” there is still hope. You can ask Jesus to teach you and open your eyes and lead you on. You can start right now to obey what he tells you to do.
Theresa Hester
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