The Fashionable Christian
Ephesians 6:10-20
John 6:
Year B
The Twelfth Sunday of Pentecost
The one word that comes to mind as I think of the lessons of Ephesians and John 6 today is propaganda. Propoganda – the telling of facts and figures to a group of people, with an agenda in mind- to get a certain response. Usually this response is more about appealing to the emotions of a group, then it is appealing to the rational sense of a group. The whole point is that propaganda is not intended to be rational – it is usually exaggerated or inflammatory for a reason.
Today we usually associate that term to communication in wartimes. Times when people are trying to rile the crowd up- to get them to take their side and to justify their actions against another group. Truths, that when we look at them seem obviously taken out of perspective.
And yet recently, I have been amazed at how alive and well the concept still is. Propoganda is still very much alive and well in the way we communicate with one another today.
Politics is still a big arena for propaganda. We have all seen on the news the debates over health care reform. Recently I drove to Elkhart In to hear the president speak. Unknowingly discovering that we were put in the middle of a debate between republicans and democrats on this issue.
Propoganda is in our movies – recently I went to see the movie inglorious basterd a very dark comedy – keenly aware that is a movie that would only work in America to a crowd who did not live through the experience. They are the only ones who would laugh at a movie about a group of soliders getting killed.
And yet what strikes me most is how present propaganda is in the way we communicate with one another. Think that it is human nature for us to listen to the emotions of what someone says before we hear the logic. If we like that person, or we care about that person, or we have a connection to the person, then we automatically buy into their perspective – how else would you explain going to the story and getting 20 different scarves in 20 different colors because it is the style. I am sure if you thought about it – you can think of ways that you have been influenced by the emotional communication of those around you. Okay so maybe you are not susciptable to over shopping just because your friend does it – but that is human nature.
When Jesus spoke to the crowd about bread from heaven being the bread of life and giving all those who listen eternal life – that how the crowd took his words – as propaganda. An exaggeration of the truth in order to make himself look more important than he really was. No one is a gift from heaven – god would choose no one to bring the spirit of love into the world. And if you really loved God, certainly you wouldn’t claim such a crazy thing for yourself.
Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abid in me, and I in them. Just as the living father sent me, and I live because of the father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that of which your ancestor ate and they died, but the one who eats this bead will live forever.
Even back then when the words came out of Jesus mouth – he knew this would be a difficult saying for his audience. He said it in many ways – to get past their doubts and skepticism. He knew that from what they had heard all of their lives – this would be taken as propaganda.
And it remains so today. We don’t study John very often – because his beliefs are a little strong and hard to defend even for a Christian today. No one knows why he was saying these things. He was Jesus best friend – maybe he just got caught up into what the man was saying and forgot to think.
Propoganda is alive and well in the church today. And sometimes even we as Christians are susceptible to believing what others with an agenda have to say. All of the bible is to some propaganda - because it does encourage us to look at the world from a certain perspective. Paul also likes to use a lot of images of fighting a war in his talking. Ephesians 6 encourages us to put on the armor of God. The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes of peace, the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation. I have always thought of this as an outdated image – until I actually saw someone selling the armour of god – for children. It looks like a cross between a bad Halloween costume and a tacky pair of pajamas. As I picked up the bright silver and suit – couldn’t help but to think of what cruel and confused parent would actually buy this for their child. And where besides Sunday school class would someone even wear something like that. How far do you get carried away with teaching children bible lessons. Now I cant wait to get one- I hope they make them in my size.
Of course we don’t need a suit of armour to remember Paul’s lesson to us.
We live in a world full of propaganda – others peoples messages, others hidden agandas, others intentions for us, even other gospels of what is in our best interest.
Whether we think of ourselves as soldiers or not, we are all fighting a war. A war for our beliefs, our loyalties, our hearts and souls, a war for what is really right and true. How do we ever really know what it good for us and what and sometimes who is in our best interest to believe.
Even as Jesus talked – he started with a crowd of 5000, and the more that came out of his mouth – the more people walked away. The more people stopped listening. The more they decided that he was just talking propaganda – nothing for them to take seriously. Jesus talked and talked until there were only 12 people left. And he asked them do you also wish to go away? And Peter responds lord to whom can we go? You have the word of eternal life, we have come to believe and know that you are the holy one of God.
Carls Jordon and the church of 4.
With all of the proganda coming at us – how to we determine what is true and what it not, what to believe and what to not? Who is telling us something in our best interest and who is just trying to appeal to our emotions to get us to react to something?
Paul says the the fashionable Christian puts on the armor of God – truth, righteousness, peace, faith and salvation. But the most important thing that we wear – is prayer. Everything that we do is undergirded in prayer. Every question we have is given to god, every person we know is lifted up in prayer.
There is no way in this world to escape propoganada. And sometimes there is not real test to determine if the words of others are for us or against us. Even the words of the bible can be thought of as proganada – very strong words that can have no meaning. It can even be hard for us to take jesus seriously.
But jesus whole point is that when you do – it is not because of your senses – belief in what jesus is saying is a gift from god. We believe it because God was made it so for us.
John 6 – jesus the flesh and blood of God – jesus bread of life, jesus words being one with the will of God – were meant to be offensive. Meant for us to question, intended not to make any sense of have any meaning.
Words are truly the grace of God. Grace is the only real protection that we have or need.
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