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No pictured likeness of my Lord
I have;
He carved no record
of His ministry
on wood or stone,
He left no sculptured tomb
nor parchment dim
but trusted for all memory of Him
the heart alone.
Who sees the face but sees in part;
Who reads the spirit which it hides,
sees all,
and needs no more.
Thy life in my life, Lord,
give Thou to me;
and, then, in truth,
I may see forever
my Master's face!
*William Hurd Hillyer. Northumbria Community. Celtic Daily Prayer. January 26 (Aiden Readings).
66Because of what Jesus said, many of his disciples turned their backs on him and stopped following him. 67Jesus then asked his twelve disciples if they were going to leave him. 68Simon Peter answered, "Lord, there is no one else that we can go to! Your words give eternal life. 69We have faith in you, and we are sure that you are God's Holy One."
*John 6.66-69 (CEV)
Many disciples deserted Jesus. They stopped following him. Does that sound surprising: deserted, or stopped follwing him, and Jesus? Do they really belong together, these words? You mean, deserted and Jesus? Yes, deserted Jesus.
Jesus did not live up to their expectations. Who? Not the pagans, not the criminals, not the ones you might think would abandon Him. No, the Gospel says many of his disciples.
The Message reads: "They no longer wanted to be associated with him." We see many who leave their church or faith, turning backs on the "failed relationship." As many from the congregation left Jesus, they thought things like, "Good riddance. I've wasted my time following this fake." They turned their backs and left without any feeling of shame or guilt, no feeling of love or grace. They just walked away.
Now, I must admit, some may have had positive feelings for Jesus. Some may have thought, "You know, this is going to get tough, and I don't want to be part of it. I'll just slip away; after all, I have enough problems as it is."
We see many who leave their church or faith, turning backs on the "failed relationship." Or, a person takes marital vows, and one day he or she just walks away, thinking, "This is not what I signed up for. God understands. After all, I've prayed about this and know I'm doing the right thing."
There are times when leaving commitment to a sacred contract might be right, for surely some churches might not be what a person needs to grow spiritually, or a spouse might be being physically battered, ... But, breaking vows has become commonplace. We just move on with our lives, with no sense of our breaking a sacred contract and little or no attention to the pain it brings to the other party. We seek our little niche of safety and satisfaction, with the debris of hurt strewn behind us for others to deal with. And we even use "God" in our permission of such faithlessness and selfishness.
Sure, we might fathom a human deserting another mere human. But, the disciples of the "Holy One" leaving Him? Well, yes, and this same faithlessness plays out in our relations with God and other persons, even now. And, yes, disciples who commit to love a congregation of the Body of Christ - a part of Jesus - just walk away. Why? The congregation, pastor, staff, or denomination did not meet their expectations - or so they say.
I have had persons leave where I have served, blaming the over-all denomination. My plea has been - mostly to no avail - , "Regardless, this is your church, your brothers and sisters in Christ. Be faithful, at least, to them, even if you disagree with some policies or matters pertaining to the denomination." This is especially important when a person has asked a church to trust them to serve the church, and the people have given that privilege and responsibility. I rejoice when persons, through thick and thin, refuse to desert their brothers and sisters who welcomed them into their church and hearts. You say, "What does this have to do with loyalty to Christ? - Read on.
Peter would entertain no alternative to staying with Christ and the small group of inner disciples. He spoke for the Twelve, affirming their trust in Jesus, and their confidence in His divine Person.
How did he do this? Spiritual discernment. He intuited the truth of and about Jesus. He said, "Your words give eternal life." Now, those who walked away that day did not discern that, did they? Peter says, again using the plural as representative of the Twelve: "We have faith in you, and we are sure that you are God's Holy One."
Peter represents the faithful of the Body of Christ. Yes, later he denied Jesus, but his heart never turned from his Savior and Master. He loved Jesus much, even in his denial, and Jesus knew that and restored him after the resurrection.
Hillyer writes of this discernment of the inner Person of the Christ, the spirit discerned by Peter. One day, many saw only the face and turned away; others saw what "needs no more":
Who sees the face but sees in part;
Who reads the spirit which it hides,
sees all,
and needs no more.
Hillyer calls us to the discernment of Peter. We are not to be attached to any representation of Christ. These representations - in image and word and rite - can aid in devotion. Yet, we are to discern what they hide: the spirit of the Christ.
Our spirit with that Spirit will result in an inner espousal allowing us to know there is no one else our heart desires to follow. We will long for the spirit of His words found in Scripture, and we will imbibe not of their outer form, but their inward meaning. They will communicate to us the Heart and Mind of our Best Friend and Master.
This devotion will flow into loyalty in all relationships in Christ. Even at personal cost, we will seek to be loyal to those in Christ, for they are Christ - being the Body of Christ. We belong to them, and they to us, for we belong together to Jesus, Who shares with His Body - "Words of eternal life."
And, also, a church is an image of the wholeness we long for, but it will always be a very human image. Even in its lack of wholeness, a church is the Body of Christ, and in being faithful to it, we can hear through it, clergy and laity alike, the Spirit of Eternal Life.
Grace,
Brian K. Wilcox
Ordained Pastor, Christ Community UMC, Punta Gorda, FL
Ordained Oblate, Greenbough House of Prayer
*Sunday, January 26, 2009
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*Charitable contributions would be appreciated to assist Brian in continuing his ministry. For contributions, contact Brian at barukhattah@embarqmail.com .
*Brian's book of spiritual love poetry, An Ache for Union: Oneness with God through Love, can be ordered through major booksellers or the Cokesbury on-line store, cokesbury.com .
*Brian K. Wilcox, a United Methodist Pastor, lives in Southwest Florida. He is a vowed member of Greenbough House of Prayer, a contemplative Christian community in South Georgia. He lives a contemplative life and seeks to inspire others to enjoy a more intimate relationship with Christ. Brian advocates for a spiritually-focused, experiential Christianity and renewal of the Church through addressing the deeper spiritual needs and longings of persons.
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