Preface: Please be patient with this week's lesson. Four scripture passages discuss wisdom. We see wisdom as a gift from God, personified as a person, and a warning of the dangers of not seeking wisdom. Finally, John pushes us to think deeper. Open yourself to the spirit and let God’s wisdom seek you as you seek God’s wisdom.
1 Kings 3:5-12
5 At Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I should give you.” 6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you, and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. 7 And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. 9 Give your servant, therefore, an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil, for who can govern this great people of yours?”
10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11 God said to him, “Because you have asked this and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or for the life of your enemies but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12 I now do according to your word. Indeed, I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you, and no one like you shall arise after you.
Proverbs 9:1-6
Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars. 2 She has slaughtered her animals; she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table. 3 She has sent out her female servants; she calls from the highest places in the town, 4 “You who are simple, turn in here!” To those without sense, she says, 5 “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. 6 Lay aside immaturity and live and walk in the way of insight.”
Ephesians 5:15-20
Be careful, then, how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, 16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil. 17 So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to one another, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, 20 giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
John 6:51-58
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day, 55 for my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which the ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”
The past two weeks’ lessons have been concerning Jesus as the Bread from Heaven. In the first lesson two weeks ago, a portion of the 5000 who had been fed the day before followed Jesus to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. During the conversation, they mentioned the manna the Israelites ate in the desert after the exodus from Egypt. Jesus expands on the imagery of the divine bread and tells them that God has sent something even better than manna, a bread from heaven that will last them forever, himself. After that lesson, the people begin to grumble against Jesus because he said he had come down from heaven, and Jesus dismisses them, saying that only those drawn by the Father would come to him. Today, we see these same people arguing amongst themselves. They were debating the controversial subject of cannibalism, which Jesus clearly, to their ears, had made when he said they would eat of his flesh and drink of his blood. The metaphor was wholly lost on those whom the Spirit did not enlighten.
Now, I am not sure how this would have gone down with those heathens outside Judea, but I know the Jewish people had some strict dietary laws, especially about blood. According to Leviticus 17:10-11, blood was never to be consumed, only to be used for atonement on the altar. Jesus was deliberately using a double entendre when referring to the consumption of his blood, which we know was shed for the atonement of sins, our sins. Those who listened closely to Jesus would understand his meaning, and they would come to understand it fully when they saw him crucified and risen. Furthermore, of course, we remind ourselves of this when we participate in the sacrament of communion. The question that must be asked is this: bread and cup, the body and blood, we consume them because of what? That is the beautiful part of Jesus’ teachings. He says, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.” Jesus was telling the people who were following him and thinking of him as a Rabbi, teacher, and even friend that he wanted a relationship closer than that, closer than even physical contact could represent.
Illustration:Rudy Mancke, former Curator of Natural History of the South Carolina State Museum and longtime host of NatureScene on SCETV (a TV show I watched growing up as a kid), used to say that when one animal eats another, it recycles that animal into itself; if a sider eats a fly, the “fly” is recycled into “spider.” I cannot help but think of this imagery, but it is reversed when we partake of the body and blood of Christ. We are changed. Jesus wants us to be closer than teacher and student, closer than rabbi and disciple. Jesus wants to abide in us and us in Him.
This is heavy theological thinking, and it excites me. John's writing style sets him apart from the other gospels. He is both a historian and theologian. He gives you a story but also something to ponder later. He points to the events within the narrative and also to a meta-narrative with serious stakes: our very souls. Sometimes, it manifests in something as simple as two people having a conversation about being born again and having them debate the meaning (John 3). Other times, he has the crowd ask the questions we, the readers, are thinking outright, “How can he come down from heaven? We know his mother and father,” and “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” (John 6). With the woman at the well, she asks, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get this living water?” (John 4). John pushes his readers to think outside their comfort zone. Even the ultimate questions from Pilate are designed to make the reader ponder not only who Jesus is or what he has come to do but also why he is doing it at all. To the crowd, “What accusations do you bring against this man?” and to Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” and “What is truth?”
As discerning readers of the gospel, contemplate Christ's innocence as he is put on trial and recall that Jesus is the Truth, the Way, and the Life. For John, questions are more than just narrative tools; they are theological training tools. He uses them to pull us closer, challenge our paradigm, and ultimately deliver us, ready to submit, at the foot of the cross. Biblical Commentator Margrey R. Devega writes, “For John, theological reflection is grounded in the courage and clarity to ask the right questions, especially those for which there are no readily apparent answers. (Devega, Margrey R., 2021)
The questions the people in this lesson are upset about are, in fact, the wrong questions. Just as it was with Nicodemus’ “How can a man be born again?” John is not concerned with the question, “How can he offer his flesh?” The question we are to ask in both situations is, “Why?” Why do we need to be “born again,” and why do we need to “eat the flesh and drink the blood?” The answer to why goes back to the imagery of recycling one thing into another. Jesus encourages his disciples to be so closely aligned with him that their flesh becomes one. Christ wants our lives to be so closely identified with him that we literally become one with Christ. Some use simple language and say, “Jesus lives in my heart.” Others may say, “I discern the path Christ has laid before me, and I strive to walk in his steps.” The result is the same: someone striving to be as close to Jesus as possible until we are arm in arm with him in heaven.
The promise of eternal life, which John finds so many ways for Jesus to bring up in his gospel, is central to our relationship with Christ and the promise of God given throughout scripture. Also relevant is God's promise that wisdom comes through the Spirit, and by asking the right questions and discerning through the Spirit, we may come to understand that the apparent questions may not be the right questions. More importantly, in our initial reading of scripture, our first understanding may not be what God is trying to teach us. Wisdom comes from the teaching of the Spirit through discernment, study, and prayer.
Today’s lesson has four scripture passages. Each one deals with wisdom. Solomon discerns that if he is to be a good king, he will need wisdom to make decisions (1 Kings 2). So, that is what he asks for. Proverbs gives wisdom personification as one who comes into maturity. Paul will use similar imagery when he tells us, “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.” (1 Corinthians 13:11) In Ephesians 5, Paul tells us to be filled with the Spirit so we can live as wise people and make the most of the life that God has given us. Finally, John expects us to heed the instructions given all through scripture to dig deeper into the lesson that Jesus offers his disciples. John pushes us to seek what it means to want Jesus to abide in us and us in him, right?
As Christians, how do we live Spirit-filled lives? How do we abide in Jesus Christ? We can sell all our worldly possessions and use the money to feed people experiencing poverty. I cannot help but hear my grandfather in my ear, “Boy, the best way to help the poor is not to become poor.” Comedian Dave Chapel pointed out in an interview when contemplating his childhood, “Being poor is a state of mind; there is a distinct difference between being poor and being broke.” I can relate to this observation. By any account of the world, my grandparents were poor, but you would not have known it, because, as grandma would say, [they] “lived with Christ in their hearts.” God gives us what we need, and my grandparents always had God. Our lesson today provides this point of view as an answer if we discern it. Paul tells us to “Be filled with the Spirit, sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord.” A worship-filled life is a life in which we may be broke, but we will never be poor.
Do not be afraid to seek wisdom, to dig deeper, or to ask questions. If you allow the Spirit to guide your life, your study, and your worship, you may discover what it means to abide in Christ. Christianity is not the destination; it is the journey of sanctification, learning, and belief that results in a spirit-filled life of obeying Christ's commands. It is making the most of the grace we are offered from the cross so that we may hear our master say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”(Matthew 25:21). So, how will you interpret Jesus as the Bread from heaven? There is no real wrong answer here; remember, it is a journey. We each must discern through the Holy Spirit our level of study and how deep we go into the scripture. Are you just beginning and seeking a spiritual understanding, or are you farther into your Christian journey, seeking a deeper understanding of Christ, the Holy Spirit, sanctification, and discipleship? The wisdom is found in the Word, no matter where we are on our journey. This is the good news of Christ; He will meet you where you are if you are willing to accept that he is seeking you even as you seek him.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Works Cited
Devega, Margrey R. (2021). John 6:51-58. In J. B. Green, T. G. Long, L. A. Powery, C. L. Rigby, & C. J. Sharp (Eds.), Connections: A lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship (Vol. 3, pp. 242-243). Westminster John Knox Press.
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. (2022). NRSVue Holy Bible with Deuterocanonical/Apocryphal Books of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
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