Texts:
1 Kings 8:22-20, 41-43 -- Solomon's dedicatory Prayer for the Temple
Psalm 84
Ephesians 6:10-20 -- "The whole armour of God"
John 6:56-69 -- "Do you also wish to go away?"

1. Some of the people who deserted Jesus did so because he would not be the kind of Messiah they wanted. Those who stayed did so because they heard God speaking through Jesus. "You have the words of eternal life.

The first parish I served had been without resident clergy for 20 years. They had developed a "Messiah complex" around having their own priest again, and some were deeply disappointed when the church did not suddenly fill up again, as it had in the '50's.

2. Solomon's prayer acknowledges the limitations of the temple, a house which "cannot contain you." The temple is not God, but the place of which God has said "My name shall be there."

The second parish I served had never had its own building. They were fixated on the need to have their own home. I heard many people say, "When we get our own building, everything will be great." Just another "Messiah complex."

When we put our trust in an individual or in a building, we have missed the point -- we have a Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, the one who "has the words of eternal life." We put on the whole armour of God when we place our trust in him.

The church is not about individuals, whether lay or ordained. The great prayer at the heart of the Eucharist, although said mainly by the priest, is not a prayer by and for the priest, but a prayer on behalf of the people of God, led by the priest. It is all in the plural!

The church is about God, and about putting our trust in his Son.

And so we say "Lord, to whom shall we go?" To him only.