Faith? Or religion?

from signoftherose.org

     Our texts this week are all about the rubber meeting the road, practicing what you preach, talking the talk AND walking the walk.  Starting from our first lesson from Deuteronomy 4, where Moses tells us to obey the law, to our lesson from James 1 where the author tells us to be doers of the word, not just hearers, to the gospel from Mark 7 where Jesus gets on the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, the texts are all about being faithful followers of Christ.
     You see, the thing is that the Pharisees from Mark were following Moses' command.  They were remembering the laws that Moses had set down.  They were following them diligently so as to show others their wisdom and discernment.  They were doing what Moses told them to do.  So why did Jesus get upset and call them hypocrites?  I believe it has to do with the last verse from our Deuteronomy reading:

But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life. ~ Deuteronomy 4.9

Instead of watching themselves closely, they were watching others.  Instead of remembering the reason for the laws, they remembered the laws themselves.  And most importantly, I believe that they let slip from their mind what they had seen - the salvation of the people Israel by the merciful hand of God.
     Remember, these Deuteronomy texts were written RIGHT AFTER God had saved the Israelites from Pharaoh in Egypt.  God had sent manna and quail in the desert.  God had provided safety, deliverance, and salvation.  And God had promised to be the God, the saving God, of this people forever.  That is why the people received the laws.  They were the laws that bound them to God and God to them.  It was a covenant, an agreement, that by following the law God would continue to be their God because God wanted to save them.
     Which is why Jesus quoted from the prophet Isaiah when he said:

You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition. ~ Mark 7.8

The law had become the religion.  The law had become the thing for which the people lived.  It was no longer faith.  They didn't live to be in relationship with God, they lived to be bound to a teaching, a way of living, a club where you were either in or out based on your ability to follow the rules.
     For many in the United States, this is the perception of Christianity.  It is a bunch of people who believe certain teachings, who live a certain way, and who live in a club where people are in or out based on their behavior.  Instead of faith it is religion.  Instead of freedom it is bondage.  Instead of life it is death.
     But it doesn't have to be this way.  As Martin Luther said, "Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that [one] could stake [their] life on it a thousand times."  I would much rather stake my life on a God who loves me than on rules which bind me.  I would much rather stake my life on the fact that the creator of the world sent Jesus to save than on the fact that we are supposed to pray and read the Bible every day.  I would much rather stake my life on the life of Jesus than the rules of tradition.
     And in so doing, in living with a faith in Christ, living by the law becomes a joy rather than a burden.  Loving others as Christ loves me becomes a way of life rather than a list of to-dos.  Praying and reading Scripture becomes just another conversation with the savior of the world rather than a drudgery of slogging through meaningless words.
     Therefore, take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget that God loves you and sent Jesus to save you.  Be doers of the word and not merely hearers, for it is what is within a person that shows their true character.
     So what will it be for you?  Faith?  Or religion?

Why do you stay?

       One. Last. Week. Of bread, that is.  It's been a long four weeks, and as one of our young people said on Sunday, "we've already talked about this!" So this Sunday we have yet one last text from John 6.  It is the conclusion to this month-long teaching about Jesus, the bread of life.  We have a bit of overlap from last Sunday, beginning with the last few verses last week: John 6.56-69. 
      In this week's conclusion of our 5-week series, we come to a pinnacle, a contentious climax of this radical teaching to eat Jesus' flesh and drink Jesus' blood.  It is a turning point - literally for some - in Jesus' ministry.  You see, some found Jesus' teaching so difficult, so offensive, so hard to comprehend, that they turned away. 

"Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him."

     Many of us have these turning points in our lives. Something happens in a relationship - words are said, something is forgotten, or feelings are hurt and we come to a turning point.  Stick it out or leave.  This is true for relationships of all kinds - your relationship with your spouse, sister or brother, coworker, favorite grocery store, and church.
     I can't tell you how many stories I have heard of a church offending families.  A pastor said something at a funeral; a member made some comment; a decision was made that they didn't agree with.  It all boiled down to one thing: they were offended.
 
  So they leave.  Like the earliest disciples, they decide they don't need to take the offense and take off.  Many unfortunately don't ever return to church.  But here's the thing I notice in our text.

It wasn't just the ones who left that were offended.  EVERYONE was offended.  Some chose to go and others chose to stay.

What is the difference, then, between those who stayed and those who didn't?  Both were equally offended.  Both found Jesus' teaching equally difficult.  Both probably wanted to leave.  So what is it?  The key is in their response to Jesus asking if they wanted to leave, too:

Lord, to whom can we go?  YOU have the words of eternal life.

I have a feeling these disciples knew the truth of the matter - as hard, as offensive, as radical as his teaching, Jesus really did have the answer.  Who else was there? What else was there?  They had lived long enough to know that everything they had tried hadn't satisfied them.  So, offended or not, they were in it for good. 

Why do you stay?