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

 After these things 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.

- John 6:1-15

On Saturday, we read that Jesus taught in the temple:   "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?"  Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.  And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.  Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death."  Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon!  Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.'  Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?  And the prophets are dead.  Who do You make Yourself out to be?"  Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.  It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.  Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him.  And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."  Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"  Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."  Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.  

 After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.  In our recent readings, we've been reading about events taking place at the Feast of Tabernacles, an autumn harvest festival (see readings beginning with this one, from the start of chapter 7).  In today's reading, the lectionary skips back to chapter 6 (which it had earlier skipped over). 

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.   This chapter parallels the story of the Passover and the Exodus in several important ways, and indeed, we're told it takes place near the time of the Passover Festival.  Here, we're told that the multitude follows Christ because of the signs He's performed.  In the Exodus account, God first performs signs against the Pharaoh, then gave instructions on how ot be saved at the time of the Passover (Exodus 11:1 - 12:14).

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?"  My study bible suggests that Christ tests Philip in order to increase his faith, as Philip needed help in understanding Him (14:8-10).  Two hundred denarii would have corresponded to over six months wages for a laborer.  Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, has a greater faith than Philip.  He knows, apparently, that the prophet Elisha had multiplied bread for 100 men (2 Kings 4:42-44), and so offers the food brought by a certain lad.  And yet, Andrew is also still weak in faith, as he questions what a mere five loaves could do for the number of people there.  There is a parallel here to the Exodus in that the people had left Egypt in haste, having no time to bring extra provisions for themselves (Exodus 12:39).  Here people have rushed to follow Christ, and have very few provisions on hand.

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.  Exodus 16 tells the story of the bread in the wilderness, provided by God, in which each took as much as they needed. Here each has as much as they wanted.  This feeding of the multitude by Christ is the fourth of seven signs in John's Gospel.  So central is it to the story of Christ that it appears in all four Gospels.  The description in the text of Christ as He took the loaves, gave thanks (in Greek, the word for thanks is eucharisto) and distributed them is a prefiguration of the Eucharist.  As in the Exodus, the twelve baskets parallel the twelve tribes of Israel.  They also mean one basket for each of the apostles who will be sent out by Christ, and will take the gospel message and the bread of Christ to "fill" all the world with an inexhaustible bread.

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.  My study bible comments that although Jesus had performed greater signs than this, these crowds are so desirous of an earthly Messiah that they declared Him to be the expected Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15-19), but only because they were filled with earthly things (see verse 26).  Because of this misunderstanding of His mission and His person, Jesus departed from them.

The feeding of the multitude in the wilderness is such a great sign that Jesus responds Himself with a typical indication that this is a turning point in His ministry.  The text tells us that He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.  This is Jesus' typical response to great and surprising events that give pause and that function as a signal to reassess where His ministry is going.  He always withdraws for prayer alone with the Father.   We know that Christ has a great mission into the world, perhaps we should rightly say the greatest mission in the history of the cosmos.  His Incarnation is the intersection of all of history, one in which a universe will rejoice for the salvation it offers and the defeat of death.  But we who seek to be His disciples are also called into His mission.  We are called to participate with Him.  And so, what He does sets the example for all of us.  The journey of our faith is not separate from all of the events of our own lives.  Jesus as Jesus faces a new and surprising turning point, one which expands His ministry and the challenges that face Him, so we are meant to live our lives prayerfully as well.  The great events of life that change our perspective, the ones that shower us with surprise -- sometimes painful surprise -- and give surprising twists and turns to who we are and what we experience in life, should be met as Jesus meets them, with prayer.  So often we consider that our every day experiences are just that -- meant to be lived through, adjusted to, and decided upon in a kind of parallel life to faith, a separation from what is holy.  But this is really the furthest thing from the integrated life that Christ shows us and invites us into.  In the life of faith, there is nothing about us that is separate from that faith or from prayer.  We, on the contrary, are taught by St. Paul to "pray without ceasing"  (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).  Indeed, bracketing this admonition to pray without ceasing are the teachings that we must "rejoice always" and "in everything give thanks."  In other words, all of our lives are bracketed by a kind of sacramental disposition and dispensation:  whatever it is that comes, however our life asks us to adjust, which surprising twists and turns we are asked to take, we meet them with rejoicing, prayer, and giving thanks.  This is a life lived face-to-face with God, returning all things to God, and seeking God's perspective and light for all things on our way.  Jesus shows us this example by withdrawing for prayer.  He doesn't reach out to slay the world, He isn't a superhero with a superpower out of a comic book or fantasy film.  His superpower is at work in that prayer time with the Father.  As He has fed the multitude in the wilderness, He withdraws for His own nurturing and necessary time for adjustment.  So should we follow, for in our own prayer is the superpower that allows us to meet life with strength and faith -- even with joy and thanks, as St. Paul teaches us.  Do not mistake an outwardly oriented life alone for one that is entirely successful.  Without our own sense of wholeness, and a substance which is internal to us and found in the relationship of faith and communion, we don't stand in real strength -- and we don't have access to the transcendent reality of God at work in us and among us.  Lent is just such a time when we withdraw for reorientation to who we are in God's sight, for light to be cast on our lives and whatever changes and challenges we go through.  It is a time for showing up our faith, that thing that comes first and sustains us in the wilderness and through the surprising things we weren't necessarily prepared for before they happen.  Christ faces a demand to be made king; but that's not the way for Him, and this crowd who benefits from His grace and His signs of holiness doesn't understand Him at all.  Let us consider what life is like without this better direction, and what transcendent power is really at work in Christ and at work for us and in us with faith.  Why would you want to miss out on such a gift and what it holds for you?