Wit, will and wisdom

Jock Stein September 26, 2023 2 1

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John 6: 22-24 (NRSVA)

22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the lake saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23 Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

Here we have a crowd of people who preferred to make calculations about Jesus than to follow him across the sea. They had enough wit to work out where he was and enough will to go looking for him, but not enough wisdom to be around him at the right time. The account suggests that those who meet him this second time may include some of those who were there when he fed the five thousand, but either way the message is clear: don’t spend your life just working for a wage which will feed you, spend your energy on what Jesus will give you.

So, John is a spiritual gospel after all? Yes – but not boxed in: rather, flowing over. The good news of Jesus changes us and everyone who comes to Jesus into people who share bread, food for the body and food for the soul.

There is a bit of this chapter we missed out, verses 12 to 15. That is of course a lesson not to waste food, but more, it is a sign of how extravagantly the Lord wants to bless his people. And it is a sign that Jesus is Messiah. But what kind of Messiah? The Lord will have to die and rise again before his followers realise just who Messiah is – and so for the moment Jesus withdraws to the hills by himself.

PRAY:

Lord God, with you a thousand years may be as one day, but one day is as a thousand years – and how much Jesus fitted into these two days of miracles and teaching. Help us to use our day fruitfully, with understanding and with diligence.

We remember today all those who live under cruel and unjust regimes, as they seek change. Raise up good leaders, and especially people who combine wisdom with faith and an understanding of the times, In the name of Christ. Amen.