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Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.
On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone -- however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks -- when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?" Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."
- John 6:16-27
Yesterday, the lectionary skipped back to chapter 6 of John's gospel. We read that Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little." One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?" Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost." Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world." Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.
Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going. This is the fifth sign given to us in John's gospel. It's nearly the time of the Passover, as recorded in yesterday's reading (see above), and we're given more allusions to the time of the Exodus, of Israel leaving Egypt. In yesterday's reading, Jesus fed the multitudes bread in the wilderness, and today He sends His disciples crossing over the sea, just as the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. Moses walked on dry ground in the midst of the water; Jesus walks upon the water as if it were dry ground.
On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone -- however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks -- when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?" Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him." Jesus turns thoughts, once again as is common in John's gospel, from everyday things to the things of God. Everything works as metaphor, and in this sense, everything is a kind of sign. It's not so much the bread He fed them that is significant, and for which they seek to make Him king. What He wants them to understand is the great gift of the heavenly bread He offers, for which the "worldly" bread was a sign.
Jesus repeatedly gives us signs of divinity, signs of the presence of God. They are signs that only God could make: walking on water and defying the laws of physics, appearing before the disciples although they left Him on the mountain (defying time and space), the breaking and multiplying of the bread, and the other signs reported so far in John's gospel. But, the great thing is that these signs are to be read a particular way. He's just fed thousands of people in the wilderness from five loaves and a few fishes. But he doesn't want these people to be impressed by that in such a way that they want to call Him king. This is what He resists, and resists very strongly. So the text tells us. Instead, He tells them that they've got it all wrong. They received that bread and were fed in the wilderness not for the bread itself, but for the thing that the bread is a sign of. It's that that He wants them to desire. It's that heavenly bread, heavenly food that is the point. That's what He wants them to work for. No matter how spectacular the sign, it's not the sign that's the thing. It's where the sign is pointing, -- and over and over again, Jesus tells us to look up from whatever material viewpoint we're using and take a good look at what the sign is pointing to. That's His point. That's what He wants us to get excited about. That's what He wants us to work for, to chase after, to thirst and hunger for. And this is what John's gospel will do for us over and over and over again. From the surface meaning of the words Jesus uses, He will always point us to a deeper or higher meaning, something beyond the surface of what we see or hear or experience. The signs work the same way. These people in today's reading have followed Jesus everywhere, even across the sea, in order to demand to make Him king over them, because He fed them in the wilderness. But it's not that bread He cares about. It's the food of eternal life that makes the difference, that He wants them to labor for. It doesn't matter how great the sign, there is always something more important He's pointing us toward, something more spectacular, and better news, that the gospel message is really all about. A man walks on water? Then you have to think about who that Man might be. Moses crossed the Red Sea, but here is Someone clearly greater than Moses. Even so, Moses and Jesus have this in common: it's not the signs done through either one or by either one that are important. What was important to Moses and what is important to Christ is faith. Moses may have "pointed" to Christ when he prophesied about the "Prophet" who was to come, and Christ is both God and man, but the great good news is really the grace of God, and the food of heaven that He's here to give and to present to us. The really good news is in those words to the disciples: "It is I; do not be afraid." That's because He's always with us. His grace is with us. His food -- the food of heaven -- is always on offer to us. And it's these things that all the signs point to. It's this reality of grace that is present to us that the signs are meant to speak to us about. And if we miss that, we miss the entire point. There's a famous quotation from President John Kennedy, made during his inaugural speech, that many people like to repeat: "Ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country." This was a compelling statement, asking people to think about the community of the country. But the gospel message stands that on its head. Jesus is here as the Son Incarnate, and He appears with a different saying. His message, His signs, say to us: "God doesn't ask what you can do for God -- God is here to show you what God can do for you." God doesn't just give food for the day, but food that endures to everlasting life. We have grace on offer. Salvation. Mercy and love are here in the signs, and even in the direct question posed to the paralytic He healed, for which Jesus was accused of violating the Sabbath, "Do you want to be made well?" This mercy, this love, that makes whole, that heals, that feeds us, that gives eternal life, and life in abundance, those are what the signs point to. That's where He wants us to look. That's what He wants us to value, and to work for. Can we see? And do we have ears to hear?
