When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
These crowds were examples of people seeking miracles not wisdom, gifts, rather than the giver. At a certain stage of spiritual development there might be no other way to get our attention than to satisfy our physical hunger with loaves of bread. But these gifts are meant to point to the possibility of a more lasting form of satisfaction. Food that perishes is meant to give way to the one who is himself the bread of life.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
The gifts that the Lord gives are themselves signs. If we come to understand them we will be led from temporary blessings to wisdom that is eternal.
Compared to light, she is found more radiant;
though night supplants light,
wickedness does not prevail over Wisdom (see Wisdom 7:29-30).
Wisdom may sound abstract and academic, but in the biblical parlance it is anything but. Wisdom is highly personal and directly impacts our lives day to day. The crowds asked Jesus, "What can we do to accomplish the works of God?" And we in turn ask, 'What homework do we have to do to have this wisdom?' in case we will be tested later. But what is being asked of us is actually something much simpler and more direct than we imagine.
Jesus answered and said to them,
“This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”
The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture provides a good summary of the meaning of this statement that is worth quoting at length:
God’s work is the act that the Father performs in believers’ hearts, which enables faith in Jesus. As we will see developed in the discourse, this work has two aspects. Not only does “the work of God” refer to the work that God does in us, leading us to faith in Jesus (6:37, 39, 44–45, 65); it also applies to our work of yielding to God’s action in us. Our work is to yield to the Father’s work within us and so believe in his Son and receive him as the source of our eternal life.¹
What made Saint Stephen so compelling in his debate with the Synagogue of Freedman was not so much his in depth Scriptural knowledge, though this certainly played a part, much less an abstract syllogistic reasoning. It was rather the wisdom with which he spoke. That is why it seemed so much as though Jesus himself was speaking through him. It referred more to his openness to being led and used by Jesus rather than anything that he prepared in advance and brought to the situation. It was because of this that even in the midst of debate his face wasn't deformed with anger, but was rather radiant, "like the face of an angel". Our world needs more wisdom of this sort. And as James writes, if we are lacking, all we need to do is ask.
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you (see James 1:5)
1) Martin, Francis; Wright, William M. IV. The Gospel of John (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture): (A Catholic Bible Commentary on the New Testament by Trusted Catholic Biblical Scholars - CCSS) (p. 121). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
No comments:
Post a Comment