Can you see the picture the prophet is painting here of God
standing about with His hands outspread, begging to be found? I was ready to be found by those not seeking,
shouting “Here I am!”, making Himself available to not only those not
searching, not only to those who ignore Him, but to those who provoke Him to
His face continually. The picture is
Jesus. All the things listed are things
not only prohibited for Jews but are also religious practices of other
nations. They aren’t just ignoring Him
and the Law, they are actively seeking connection with other gods. For all these things, the Lord announces
judgment on the nation but promises that there will be those who escape
judgment and these will be rewarded and the nation rebuilt with them as
leaders. The pursuit of righteousness is
the pursuit of God.
The Passover is at hand, commemorating the exodus, God’s
judgment on Egypt and His deliverance of His people from bondage. A huge crowd has followed Jesus out here to
the wilderness and He asks Philip where they could purchase food for them. Philip doesn’t bother answering the question,
it is immaterial where it could be purchased, the real question is how they
would purchase it. Providing even a
little bread would be cost prohibitive and yet, Jesus feeds them not only a
little bread and fish, but enough that each disciple gathered a basketful of
leftovers. The response of the crowd is
to proclaim Jesus as the Prophet who was to come into the world, the prophet
like Moses from Deuteronomy 18. That prophet
will not speak prophetically, He will offer signs as Moses did to authenticate
Himself. One of those signs would surely
be like the manna, provision of food miraculously. Jesus exceeded expectations though by
providing not manna but bread and fish and more than anyone could want, just
like the abundance of wine at the wedding.
The letter to the church at Sardis is the most scathing of
all. Sardis was the home of king
Croesus, a place where metallurgists first learned to separate gold and silver,
producing a purity of each metal unknown before, the place where modern currency
was invented. It was a place of great
wealth, even to this day, 2500 years after his death, the saying continues that
someone of great wealth is “rich as Croesus.”
Sometimes wealth can make something seem alive that is dead inside and
such was the accusation against the church there. As in the first reading, however, there were
some who were still alive and pursuing righteousness and these would receive
the reward of life. When we depend on
finances, a preacher, great music, whatever, rather than pursuing Him, we run the
same risk as the church at Sardis. Sometimes
it is more important to keep it simple.
The blessing is for those who pursue, just as the five thousand not only
ate but saw a glimpse of Jesus’ identity because they followed after Him.
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