A better Way

John 6:35, 41-51

Proverbs 9:1-6

I’ve said before that when God wants me to pay attention he generally repeats something over and over again. And today’s Bible readings have been one of those times.

As I was looking at the passages I was struck by how each of the passages presents a different way, a better way. In the Gospel of John, we see Jesus talking to those who struggled to see who Jesus was. Jesus starts by describing himself as the bread of life. He then goes on to really upset those listening to him by saying that keeping the old Jewish traditions essentially led to death. Jesus says: ‘I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die.’ Imagine being told that everything you hold dear is obsolete. Because that’s what Jesus is doing when he compares the manna in the wilderness with the bread of heaven. Jesus is challenging the very traditions of his own faith as well here. Manna was and still is important to Jewish people because it demonstrates how God has rescued and provided for his chosen people. It became an integral part of their tradition when a pot of it was placed in the Ark of the Covenant, along with Aaron’s rod and the tablets with the Law on them. All of these were symbols of God’s power, authority, and provision. And Jesus comes along and tells everyone there is a better way.

The writer of Proverbs is even blunter than Jesus in this passage. We are all called simple. The Hebrew word here is ‘Peti’ and it can be translated as simple or naive or foolish. In verse 6 the word is petayim which means folly. And the implication is that the lives we are leading are lives of foolishness and folly and that there is a better way.

So we have this passage in Proverbs where wisdom is laying out her hospitality, (Gentlemen, please note that wisdom is always female in Scripture) and is offering us a better way. The writer of Proverbs is using food here in the same way Jesus did in John by saying that there is a better way. So where am I going with this? What is God’s message to us?

I’ll be honest and say that I struggled with what I believe God was trying to say to me. The challenge here is what if God is doing a new thing and we are just not hearing it? What if we are like the simpleton that Wisdom is calling to. What if we are like the Jewish people who have clung to traditions for so long that it has become part of our identity? These are really difficult questions to consider.

Someone asked me the other day if I would still be a Methodist minister in 20 years’ time? The questions came out of a conversation about the decline of the traditional church. I have to say the question didn’t really bother me too much because even if the Methodist church ceases to exist, the Church of God will carry on and I will still be a Christian, not necessarily a minister and so I will still serve God wherever he calls me. Because here’s the point I think we need to wrestle with today. When we think about our past how wedded are we to it. Are we willing to give it all up for God? If God told us today to sell this place and move, would we? I’m not suggesting for a minute that is what God wants us to do. What I’m saying is we need to hold our traditions and our past lightly. Ever wonder why Jesus set out his disciples with only the clothes on their backs? It wasn’t about testing their faith and God providing, I believe it was, so they could respond quickly. Traveling lightly means that when plans change, it’s less of an upheaval.

Ask yourself today or even better ask God to show you a better way. There may not be one. You may be on the path that God has set you on. But it may be that God has something so wonderful in mind for you it may cost you everything. And then ask yourself are you willing to give it all up to find it. That’s what Jesus and the Writer of Proverbs are saying to you today.