1 Kings 8:[1, 6, 10-11], 22-30, 41-43 Psalm 84 Ephesians 6:10-20 John 6:56-69

Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 

The image of an Afghani mother surrounded by a threatening mob lifting her tiny infant, likely a female infant, over a wall and into the arms of an unknown and heavily armored US soldier is a powerful image.  So desperate for her child’s safety that she could not provide, this mother entrusted her child to a stranger in whom she had faith would provide safety and preserve life – a life that otherwise would be cut short or subjugated to horrible atrocities.  

This soldier was not Jesus Christ, and I do not mean to appear to advocate any political agenda concerning our military presence around the world, but I do emphasize this image as it relates to our comprehension of Jesus’ abiding presence and our faith in that abiding presence.  Like this child, our destination in life is uncertain; our only certainty is that Jesus is present; Jesus is present in this soldier, known only to this mother as a member of the US military – a trusted advocate in whom Jesus Chris abides. 

 Jesus said, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.” Again this week, we hear this strange message of Jesus’ words from John’s Gospel.

Jesus is teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.  Remnants of this synagogue remain.  Unlike many sites so significant to our Christian heritage, no great basilicas have been built over the site of the synagogue in Capernaum to obscure its ancient footprint.  One actually can walk upon the same stones that Jesus walked and sit where Jesus sat. Sitting quietly and reflecting on lessons such as these we have read this morning leaves no doubt of Jesus’ abiding presence.  Truly, one can hear his voice and feel his footsteps approaching.

Jesus emphasizes time and again that his Body is the bread that came down from heaven.  This is not the bread of purely earthly sustenance, which God’s people ate as they followed Moses in the wilderness; these ancestors, in fact, went on to die an earthly death as we all do.  This bread, which Jesus, here with them in the synagogue in Capernaum declares himself to be, is the bread of ever-living life; this bread is Jesus’ flesh and Jesus’ blood.  Outrageously, Jesus says, those who eat this flesh and drink this blood will abide in him, and he will abide in them.

The Jews are strictly forbidden from consuming meat that contains blood.  These earliest followers of Jesus, who were Jews, are confounded by this message.  Jesus willingly expresses his realization that many will turn away from him because they cannot accept this outlandish proclamation.  

Christians and Jews have been debating and disputing just how it is that Jesus makes God accessible to us for over 2,000 years.  For the earliest Israelites, God dwelt in the Ark of the Covenant that they had constructed and carried throughout their trek in the Wilderness.  As we read in our Old Testament lesson from 1 Kings, now, centuries later, with the great Temple of Solomon in place in Jerusalem, they could install the Ark of the Covenant in its inner sanctuary.  God would dwell here in this inner sanctuary – somehow God would dwell here in this earthly place in our very earthly understanding.

As Christians, we believe that God came to earth in the human flesh and blood of Jesus Christ.  Simply put, we define this coming to earth in human form as the Incarnation – the Word made flesh.  Jesus clarified this indwelling of God in the Incarnation.   With the Incarnation, God assures us of his indwelling in all creation, not merely an earthly sanctuary.  

Weekly we affirm our belief that Jesus Christ the Son was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.  In this way, we cannot dispute our belief that Jesus Christ is fully human, and at the same time fully divine.  The human Jesus opens for us on earth the divine indwelling of God.  The humanity of this Body and Blood that brings us life cannot be separated from its divinity.  We cannot separate the human Jesus from the divine Jesus.

Through the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ, God abides in us and we in God.  We cannot separate the spiritual Jesus who abides in us from the human Jesus who abides through us.  Understanding just how we eat the flesh and drink the blood eludes us; but we get the abiding – We are called to abide in Christ and to be the disclosure of Christ abiding in us.

Those in Jesus audience who could not accept this mission turned away.  This discourse between Jesus and the remaining followers represents the first mention of the Twelve who would become Jesus’ faithful followers – believing that Jesus’ words are the words of eternal life.  As stated by Simon Peter, “We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”  

Too often we fail to acknowledge God’s ever-abiding presence in the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, the smallest act of caring, or a major act of heroism, many of which are occurring in Afghanistan as we rest here is safety and peace.  Whether subtle or stunning, these actions have the potential to turn a life around.  Much like the Ark of the Covenant for the Israelites, these are tangible, visible means through which God through Jesus Christ abides in those around us, those who come to our aid when we need it the most, those through whom we hear the voice of Jesus Christ and feel his footsteps approaching, those assuring us of his presence.  

We cannot separate the heavenly Jesus who abides in us from the human Jesus who abides through us.  Jesus abiding in us and abiding through us is our whole armor of God.  We don’t know our destination in this life, but we trust that we are safely armored in the abiding presence of Jesus Christ.  We hear his voice; we feel the presence of his footsteps – approaching, guiding, standing firm beside us, abiding in us.