Bible Text: Joshua 24:14-18 and John 6: 60-69 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes
Joseph Priestley was a chemist, political theorist and inventor in the mid-18th century. Like many modern people of faith and science today, he felt that his science was integral to his theology. As an interesting side note, he is the one who invented Soda water. Priestley also had close friends in high places, which came in handy when he had to flee London and find refuge in the United States following the burning of his home and church after he spoke in support of the French Revolution. One of his friends was Benjamin Franklin. On Sept. 19th, 1772 Benjamin Franklin responded to a letter from Joseph. While we do not have the preceding letter, it is clear from Franklin’s response that Priestley was asking him about a difficult decision. Franklin’s response did not include his thoughts on what exactly Priestley should do but it did give him some advice on how to make such a decision. Franklin wrote,
“When these difficult Cases occur, they are difficult chiefly because while we have them under Consideration all the Reasons pro and con are not present to the Mind at the same time… To get over this, my Way is, to divide half a Sheet of Paper by a Line into two Columns, writing over the one Pro, and over the other Con. Then during three or four Days Consideration I put down under the different Heads short Hints of the different Motives that at different Times occur to me for or against the Measure. When I have thus got them all together in one View, I endeavour to estimate their respective Weights;”
Thus Franklin is credited with being the first to suggest writing a pros and cons list when faced with a difficult decision. When I struggle to make a decision, which by the way is not all that often, I tend to be very decisive, but when I struggle usually it happens when there is more of a grey area rather than clear pros and cons. Or sometimes the right answer seems very clear despite the fact that I may want to do the opposite. Clarity of choice and making the right decision are on top of mind for the Israelites and disciples this morning but sometimes a good old fashioned pros and cons list is in order.
At the beginning of chapter 24 Joshua gathers the elders, heads, judges and officers of Israel so that they may present themselves to God. This sets the stage to remind these important leaders of God’s interventions throughout their history. Joshua starts by naming all the pros. While it is not part of our assigned lectionary reading, it is good to remind ourselves of what God has done for the people thus far. God took Abram out of the land where he served other gods and led him to the land of Canaan. Abram becomes Abraham and it is his grandson Jacob that takes the people to Egypt to escape the famine. Then there is Moses who brings the people out of slavery in Egypt back to the land where Abraham had settled. But the story doesn’t end there because the people, under Joshua’s leadership, have had to fight a few battles, many of which where they were outnumbered. And now they stand in the city called Shechem, where Abraham had placed the very first altar to God, and they are being asked to renew this relationship – make a covenant with God. But this covenant is unique because it appears that God, through Joshua, gives them a choice.
The choices are , serve this one God, Adonai (meaning Lord in Hebrew) who has done all these things for you OR serve the gods of their ancestors pre-Abraham OR serve the gods of the Amorites where they are about to live. Notice how they are given three choices, they can choose their pre-history, their present or an unknown future. The confidence in their response makes it seem like there is no question. They will serve the God who has been with them on this long, tedious and sometimes dangerous journey. Remember these people who stand before Joshua are not the ones who experienced slavery in Egypt; that generation has died. But they have witnessed God’s protection in many other miraculous forms.
One thing of note is the use of the term “to serve”. The people use it in their response “We will serve the Lord, for he is our God.” In Hebrew the verb is ‘abad and it is used six times in three verses in the Hebrew version of this passage. ‘abad means “to serve” but also “to work” and “to worship” and even “to be a slave”. This may not rub us the right way but as theologian Anathea Portier-Young puts it, “[The Israelites] can and will give their whole selves to one kind of relationship only. Worship of false gods is slavery to human artifice and self-interest. Joshua calls Israel out of bondage into the freedom of life in covenant with God.” We may not have former gods of our ancestors to worry about- most of our ancestors are the reason why we still come to church- but we certainly have idols that enslave us. There are pros and cons to choosing those idols- as we tend to do in our daily lives. It’s important to mention that after the people state that they choose God, Joshua reminds them that this decision will not always be followed properly and this God will become angry with them time and time again. History will repeat itself. And yet, God continues to respond in grace, through the kings, prophets, apostles and most importantly through Christ. Our choice to follow God may not be as easy as it sounds, but I often wonder how hard it must be for God to consistently choose us.
We have to remember that while Jesus’ words “I am the bread of life” are very familiar, perhaps even comforting, to us, it would have been a completely bizarre thing to hear when Jesus first said it. This is also one of Jesus’ longest discourses in the Gospel of John. It has taken us three weeks to get through it! Perhaps you remember that the crowd was initially very excited to hear Jesus compare himself to Moses- this is someone they can get behind and understand! But thirty verses later even Jesus’ own disciples declare that his teachings are too hard. So Jesus gives them a choice. “If this offends you, you might be better off following someone else, because things are about the get a whole lot more complicated and confusing and difficult”. Jesus tells them that the only way to make heads or tails of all this confusion is to choose to rely on God- but that is a tough choice. Abiding in Jesus is difficult. Notice that when Jesus compares himself to Moses the people are enthusiastic but when they learn that Jesus is not offering an easy way out they lose interest. Discipleship does not mean sitting in a comfortable pew!
We are surrounded by tough choices, and in many ways I think it becomes increasingly tough in a post-Christendom world. We can choose to bow down to the lesser gods of money, greed, hatred, intolerance, selfishness, comfort, routine- and in many ways I know I do, sometimes intentionally and sometimes unintentionally. But thankfully God does not close the doors to mercy with that choice. We are then offered a deep relationship; do we follow the road to discipleship and take our time learning from and forming and reforming our understanding of Jesus, or do we walk away? Things can get hard- we’re already faced with changes whether we like it or not- so the decision is: what are we going to do about it? I’m not going to write a pros and cons list because we all know what the right answer is, but ask yourself: do I really choose discipleship? Do I really abide with Jesus and stick with him even though his teachings are difficult? Do I trust God even though changes make me uncomfortable? Roman Catholic theologian Adele Stiles Resmer points out, “It’s a radical posture that Jesus takes, giving himself for others, many of whom will turn away from him before he is finished speaking. Yet this is the heart of who we have been told Jesus is over the last several weeks: one who gives himself as food and drink for all who are hungry and thirsty… How do we respond to an invitation to follow such a risky path?” We need to ask ourselves every day: what choices do I have and who do I choose? In all honesty the cons might outweigh the pros on discipleship, but then, who else can offer eternal life? That’s one heavy pro. Amen