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

 

 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 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 these 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.  In yesterday's reading (see above) we were told that it is the time of the Passover.  We have noted that John's chapter 6 contains parallels to the story of the Passover and Exodus of Israel from Egypt (Exodus 11 - 17).  This miracle of Christ walking on the sea is the fifth sign of seven recorded in John's Gospel.  In the Exodus, Moses leads the people across the Red Sea, walking on dry ground in the midst of the water, my study Bible reminds us (Exodus 14:15-31).  Here Christ sends His disciples across the sea and then walks on the sea 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."  The people who got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus, are the same people who wanted to take Him by force and make Him king in yesterday's reading (above).  Jesus had left them when He understood this, and gone to the mountain alone, presumably to pray.  

 

In today's reading, Jesus notes the people's motive in following after Him, and seeking to make Him king:  "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."  This offers also a kind of explanation as to why being taken and made king by force is unsuitable to His mission:  they simply seek Him because they ate of the loaves and were filled.  Jesus wants people to seek Him not for some sort of material gratification, or because He promises us an easy life without work, but because the signs He performs are signals of the presence of the kingdom of God.  He wants those who will seek Him because they seek this Kingdom, and the life of the Kingdom it offers to us.  He says to the people who seek Him, "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."  Once again, as we have noted in the past several readings, Jesus makes the connection between food and labor.  In His encounter with the Samaritan woman, Jesus told His disciples, after they encouraged Him to eat, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work" (see this reading).  In this sense, Jesus' statement asks us to think for ourselves about what work would "feed" us, feed our souls and spirits, giving us a sense of sustenance and satisfaction.  Here Jesus directly tells the people (and therefore us) what we should "labor" for, what food will truly sustain us and feed us, which endures to everlasting life which only Christ can give us, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.  Everything is related, and begins with Christ's relationship with the Father -- the Father who gives Christ the works to finish that He does to begin with.  We can see how the feeding of the five thousand men (and more women and children) "feeds" into a Eucharistic sense of communion, of how all is connected through Father and Son (and Spirit) and through us.  This food that feeds us is given by Father through Son and in the Spirit, but it also includes the works in which we may join in this Kingdom, the food of the Eucharist, and the communion that is inseparable from the everlasting life of which Jesus speaks.  Here in today's reading, Jesus is not simply giving us a direct appeal, but rather a direct command:  "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."   This does not mean we're never supposed to think about putting food on the table or how our families will survive.  What it does tell us about is what comes first.  We first think about the kingdom of God, we first place ourselves in relation to that which supersedes the other in power and in lasting impact:  the food which endures to everlasting life.  And we place all things under that priority, including our orientation to what we work for:  what it is we are willing to put all our efforts and energy into.  Jesus asks us to consider what is more consequential and what will pay us a true lasting dividend that won't perish.  It's akin to His command to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (see Matthew 6:32-34).  It stands to reason that if Jesus had not understood perfectly well that people need food for physical sustenance, He would not have given us this fourth sign of John's Gospel, the feeding of the five thousand.  If He didn't understand our human need for physical security, we would not be given this fifth sign in John's Gospel, Jesus walking on the water to His disciples in the middle of a stormy sea, and telling them (and us), "It is I; do not be afraid."   But His concern is what we put as top priority  -- what we put first, that we understand what that priority must be, how its surpassing value makes it worthy of our efforts, beyond that of the food which perishes.