Read John 6:41-51
Have you ever worked for one of those managers who says, “My door is always open,” yet when someone actually needs to speak, the diary is full, the meeting has moved, or the moment never quite arrives? A parent may tell their children, “You can always come to me,” but then the pressures of life mean that, when the moment arises, it does not quite work like that.
Perhaps that is how approachability often works: someone important says they are accessible, and then we have to find the right moment, make the request, and hope we are received. In the reading, Jesus describes something much deeper and more gracious. He says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
The background is that Jesus is being complained about because of what he has claimed: that he is the bread that came down from heaven. Those listening think they know where he has come from. They know his family — and familiarity can be a problem. They know his background. And so they grumble. They cannot see, or do not want to see, that God is reaching out to them in the man they know but cannot accept as able to offer them life.
Jesus’ answer is striking. Faith is not presented as a successful attempt to get an appointment with God. It begins with the Father drawing us. Before we reach out, God has reached out. Before we come, God has already been at work. Before we seek a place with him, he is already welcoming us through Christ.
We do not have to battle our way into God’s presence. In Christ, the Father is already reaching out. And when he draws us to Jesus, Jesus promises not only to receive us, but to hold us, feed us, and raise us up on the last day.
Prayer:
Lord God, thank you that you draw us to Jesus before we even know how to come. Help us to trust your welcome, rest in your promise, and reflect your generous love to others. Amen.