Children of God

Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ They were saying, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’

- John 6:41-51

No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Jesus here claims a kinship with his followers that is deeper than mere belief, as I understand the word. There is a kinship here in that first his followers are somewhere in themselves taught by the Father, influenced by the Father. As we are formed and shaped by the Creator, made in the image of God, so the Father has an indwelling connection in us - and those who hear what Christ has to say are those who already have a kinship through the Father, deep within.

In today's epistle reading (from the Epistle to the Romans), Paul writes:

When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

and

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

So, in the words of Christ in his ministry, and in the words of Paul, we have further statements of kinship. Humanity is included in this kinship of Father, Son and Spirit. Indeed all that Christ does has been inspired to claim the "children of God" that Paul refers to in these quotations - that through faith, through the depth of Spirit to spirit, we are called to Our Father in Heaven. This kinship of which Jesus has spoken so eloquently through the gospel of John as we continue through Lenten readings, is also a kinship that is within us. But it is felt through the reality of the Father and the Spirit. We understand this Trinity to be inseparable, but what I read in these passages is this depth of relationship at work within us.

I think this is highly significant; it has a resonance for us that we cannot put down and cannot ignore. Because if we are called to such a level of relationship then what is it when we don't feel that call, or when we ignore it? Jesus here speaks of resurrection and judgment, but for me there's a greater immediacy to these words spoken long ago. And that immediacy is in my heart. What do I find there? If I pray or meditate, or call upon Spirit, what do I find in myself? In my heart? What connection or teaching is there for me?