Bible Text: 1 Kings 3:3-14, John 6:52-59 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes
What would you do if you had three wishes? Honestly, what would you do? Perhaps one wish would be for something like world peace, or a cure for cancer, but I bet the other two might be a bit more personal, like perhaps money or long life, or maybe it would be a wish concerning a friend? Of course, I would do the smart thing and wish for a thousand more wishes. There is something within our culture that makes us wish. In 1940 Leigh Harline and Ned Washington wrote a song about wishing that became the theme song for the largest diversified multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. “When you wish upon a star”…..If I sing anymore I could be sued for copyright by this large multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate so I have to stop there. The song was written for the 1940 Disney film Pinnochio. It was Disney’s first song to win an oscar for best original song, and of course has come to symbolize that Disney Resorts is where wishes come true. An ideology I would debate. But we must admit it is fun to dream about what we would wish for if we were granted a wish or two or three or a thousand.
Solomon was offered the chance to make a wish. God appears to Solomon in a dream and offers to give him whatever he asks. Solomon is in good company when it comes to God appearing in dream. While we remember the stories of God speaking through dreams, they don’t happen all that often, which is perhaps why they are so memorable. This is unique, however, because most of the time that God speaks in dreams it is to teach a lesson or to warn the dreamer of upcoming events, like Joseph and his multi-coloured coat or Joseph in the New Testament and the warnings about his son or the apocalyptic literature in Daniel. But in this instance it is unclear why God appears, other than to reveal just how wise and great a leader Solomon is.
We see this wisdom and leadership in the very request that Solomon makes. Solomon does not ask for money or long life, he doesn’t even ask for prosperity, but rather an understanding mind to govern God’s people and the ability to discern between good and evil. Solomon’s wish is to simply be a good leader and serve the people as best he can. Solomon opts to focus on relationships rather than things. As we begin the longest election campaign in Canadian history, I can’t help but wonder if the candidates ever wish to be wise, with understanding minds and the ability to discern between good and evil. If they do, I don’t see too many of those wishes being granted. To be fair not many of us opt to focus more on relationships than things.
God is so pleased with Solomon’s request- so impressed that he did not ask for long life or riches or to defeat all his enemies, that God doubly blesses Solomon by not only granting his request but also giving him riches and honour so long as Solomon does the smartest thing he can possibly do, which is to keep God’s statutes and commandments and walk-in relationship- with God. Garrett Galvin, an Old Testament professor, says, “Since Solomon desires the interior and profound rather than the superficial, Solomon becomes the hero of this story. Today we are more challenged than ever to overcome the superficial materialistic consumerism for the profundity of relationships and the personal growth they offer. This is true wisdom whether it be in Solomon’s time or our own.”
It is in fact a relationship that Jesus is also seeking to have with the crowd as he continues to talk about the bread which he provides, the nourishment that a relationship with Jesus can give. It recently occurred to me that while Jesus seems to be explaining his analogies and parables in this section he is actually not really explaining very well but rather making a promise. It was pointed out to me that if this is a discussion on communion it occurs after the people have been fed. It may seem like weeks ago to us, but the feeding of the five thousand happened less then 24 hrs ago for this crowd. Jesus did not give them a catechism class before they could consume his miracle. Jesus didn’t even prepare them with a long lecture or sermon. Instead, Jesus shared this miracle, fed their bodies and then began to unpack what it all means. You might not think this is relevant but it actually puts a few of our church traditions on their head. We have done away with the necessity for people to be members to receive communion- and that’s a good thing. But we still expect that people have a basic knowledge of who Jesus is and what communion really means. If we were to actually follow Jesus’ example, than those things aren’t really necessary. The only thing would be of import is that we have a curiousity about who Jesus is.
Its actually a good thing that Jesus begins to unpack the miracle after it happens, because in reality if before he had begun to share this bread and fish by saying to people you have to consume my flesh and blood, I don’t know if that would have appealed to the crowd. It sounds a bit cannibalistic. Of course, this is another caution not to take things too literal, because what Jesus really means is that his flesh will be placed on the cross and his blood will be spilled- it is the moment in which Jesus’ whole self will be given for the life of the world. But it is our task to consume this wisdom.
We find ourselves back in an understanding that wisdom leads to relationship. The actions on the cross don’t actually require an understanding or an explanation because a relationship with God is not something that requires knowledge but it does require the wisdom to trust in the relationship. Professor Satterlee says, “Eternal life does not come through understanding correctly or believing the right things. Eternal life is being in close communion with Jesus. Eternal life is to remain in Jesus and to have Jesus remain in us.” While this might worry some of us, it really should bring relief.
What it means is that every time I tell you, you have to follow in a certain way, or you have to abide by certain rules, I’m wrong. What it does mean, is that we must seek a relationship- not things, not even wishes- just simply a relationship with the one who loved us so much that he was willing to place his flesh and blood upon a cross for each one of us. And that is more than we could ever wish for. Amen