Daily Devotion for 4th June 2025
St John 7: 32 – 36
The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering such things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent temple police to arrest him. Jesus then said, ‘I will be with you a little while longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will search for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.’ The Jews said to one another, ‘Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What does he mean by saying, “You will search for me and you will not find me” and, “Where I am, you cannot come”?’
Reflection
The premise of the 2021 film, Don’t Look Up, is simple; a comet hurtles toward earth, scientists are disbelieved, the government, and the billionaire it is in hock to, prefer to explore the exploitation of the comet’s mineral wealth instead of deflecting it away from the earth. The scientists beg people to “just look up” and see the comet’s approach whilst the government urges people “don’t look up”. The divided population doesn’t know who to believe; the story doesn’t end well despite the drama of the plot, the steadfastness of the main characters, and the confusion of the masses.
In today’s reading we’ve the same drama, steadfastness, and confusion.. The police seeking Jesus who steadfastly continued to teach despite the people not understanding him! It seems like a metaphor for contemporary life where we’re treated to drama all the time through our 24 hour news cycles, and where the masses are confused by the steadfast proclamation of contrasting truths.
As in the film, so in life, it suits many powerful people to keep us confused and distracted. It’s so much more convenient (for the super rich) if migrants, not millionaires, are blamed for our woes. It’s more palatable (for the elite) to raise taxes on middling incomes rather than to tax wealth accumulated over generations. It’s easier (for big business) to hide the poison in our food rather than change their ways. Confusion reigns, the steadfast get exhausted, and the dramas of our age distract us.
Can we change? Biblical prophets often proclaimed doom and gloom to try and wake their people up from their slumbers. We long for change but are, forever, disappointed by those who promise it yet don’t deliver. Only in Jesus will we find the change the world needs; only in Him will we find the longed for liberation from all that drags us down, only He can make us look up and see what’s going on – if we let him.
Prayer
Help us look up, O Most High,
to see what’s coming.
Open our eyes, Lord Jesus,
to see the world as it really is.
Open our hearts, Most Holy Spirit,
to hear and follow Your call. Amen.