It is I; do not be afraid

 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 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 hundered 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.  Yesterday's reading gave us the fourth miraculous sign reported in John's Gospel, the feeding of five thousand men (and more women and children) in the wilderness.  This is the fifth sign, given here.  Both are part of a chapter which has parallels to the story of Exodus.  In yesterday's reading, there was a fulfillment of the passage in which the Jews ate unleavened bread, as they'd left Egypt without taking provisions (Exodus 12:39).  In today's reading there is a parallel of Israel's crossing of the Red Sea, when they walked on dry ground in the midst of the water (Exodus 14:15-31).  Here Christ has sent His disciples across the sea, and then walks on the sea as if it were dry ground.  In the Greek, It is I is written ego eimi, or I AM, the name of God given to Moses (Exodus 3:14).   For the second time in John's Gospel, Jesus is declaring His identity in the text (see also John 4:26, in which He uses this same phrase in the Greek when speaking to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well).

 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."   We see how desperately the people follow Jesus, and conclude how strongly they feel they need Him.  But Jesus did not want to be taken by force to be made king (see yesterday's reading, above).  Here, Jesus tells them bluntly that they seek Him, "not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled."  He then tells them there is a kind of labor to do, but it's not the labor they are thinking of.  They are aiming for the wrong goal.  In our next reading, Jesus will answer their question when they ask how they may work the works of God.

In today's reading, we are given to understand how desperately the people search for Christ.   Elsewhere in the Gospels, we're told that Jesus is filled with compassion for the people who come to find Him, because they are weary and scattered, "like sheep having no shepherd" (Mark 6:34, Matthew 9:36).  This is the way that we find these people, who have made such a diligent effort to follow Jesus.  But Jesus takes the opportunity for teaching, to tell them the truth.  They labor and search for the wrong thing in this circumstance.  That is, there is something else more important to put first, and to seek in Him.  Everything points to an understanding of faith, and the kind of faith that Jesus wants from us.  There is a type of dependency encouraged here, but it's not one that ignores our intelligence and our capacity for labor.  Neither is it one that ignores our creativity; rather true faith and dependence upon God encourages us to use and to develop all the skills and talents with which we are endowed by God.  The type of faith Jesus wants us to place in Him is more about leadership for our lives; good direction, and an invitation into the life that He promises to us.  Jesus' words to His disciples, "It is I; do not be afraid," mean that He is always at hand for us.  Our faith is what teaches us exactly how this dependency works, and we go forward learning more about what that means, and deepening that relationship of faith, as they do.