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?"

 

 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 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.

 

 - John 6:1-15 

 

Yesterday we read that, in His response to the religious leaders who accused Him of violating the Sabbath, and making Himself equal with God (in Saturday's reading), Jesus said, "I can of Myself do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.  If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.  There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.  You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.  Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.  He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.  But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.  And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me.  You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.  But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.  You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.  But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.  I do not receive honor from men.  But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.  I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.  How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?  Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust.  For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"

 

 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.  As we begin reading chapter 6 in John's Gospel, my study Bible tells us that this chapter parallels the story of the Passover and Exodus of Israel from Egypt in various ways.  In the Exodus story (Exodus 11 - 17), God first performed signs against the Pharoah, and then gave instructions on how to be saved at the time of the Passover (Exodus 11:1-12:14).  Here, we're told that the multitude follows Christ because of His signs, and this also takes place at Passover.  

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 says that Christ here tests Philip to increase his faith, because Philip needed help in understanding Him (John 14:8-10).  Two hundred denarii, it says, corresponds to over six months' wages for a laborer.  Andrew has greater faith than Philip:  he knows that the prophet Elisha had multipled bread for 100 men (see 2 Kings 4:42-44), Andrew offers food brought by a lad.  Nonetheless, Andrew is still weak in faith, and questions what a mere five loaves could do for the number of people there.  

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.  This feeding of the multitude is the fourth of seven signs reported in the Gospel of John.  Note the description of Christ as He took the loaves, gave thanks (in Greek eucharisto/ευχαριστω) and distributed them.  It prefigures the celebration of the Eucharist.  In another parallel to the Exodus story, in which the Jews were said to eat unleavened bread because they were hastily driven out of Egypt and had brought no provisions for themselves (Exodus 12:39).  Here, Jesus feeds the multitudes with earthly bread because they had brought no provisions, as they had rushed out to see Him.

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.  Although Jesus had performed greater signs than this, these crowds so desired an earthly Messiah, my study Bible says, that they declared Jesus to be the expected Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15-19) only when they filled with earthly things (see verse 26).  Because of this misunderstanding, Jesus departed from them.  

 

 In recent readings, we have discussed the concept of work as Jesus seems to define it on His own terms and from His perspective.  In Saturday's reading, in confrontation with the religious leaders over their charge that He violated the Sabbath by telling a man to take up his bed (and walk), Jesus replied, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  This was an opportunity for us to think about work, and the nature of work -- and especially the dignity of work implied here by Christ in that God the Father and Son are "working."  Earlier, in chapter 4, in the story of the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, when the disciples pressed Jesus that He should eat something, He told them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know . . . My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work" (see this reading from last week).   So there is this subtle thread running through these chapters that involves both food and work, and today's reading is no exception.  Again, let us consider that in an earthly sense, food and work go hand in hand:  we work in order to "have bread," to eat food and supply it to our families and community.  But in an agrarian society like Christ's that connection is that much stronger.  Without a good harvest, people are in danger of famine.  Even today, with our worldwide transportation systems, we see what the disruption of war is doing to grain supplies for the poor.  But to get back to our text, there are things we are offered to think about in this context.  The people want to make Jesus a king, and to do so by force.  This will be addressed by Jesus in our following reading, and it is directly linked to the idea of work and the food they've been given by Christ.  But for today let us look at Jesus' choice when they want to take Him by force and make Him king.  This is not the proper "work" for Him.  He has been sent to do a particular job, on a particular mission, and although we might naturally assume Christ's qualifications for such a position of authority, this is the last thing He wants.  He knows what He is about, He knows what work is proper to Him, and that reason is because He seeks the Father's will in all things and there is where He makes His choices.  So while we think about being fed, and this fourth miraculous sign in John's Gospel, let us consider that for Christ, who can feed a multitude from very little resources through His own authority and power to do so, becoming king is not appropriate, not a part of His worldly mission.  This is because His job, His work, is in fulfilling the plan of salvation, and that has to happen a particular way within a particular life He will live in this world, and does not involve becoming king.  The reason why this is important for us to understand is not only so that we think about what specific "work" Christ does and why, and how that works for our salvation, but also so that we, too, should be as discerning about what work we choose to do  in life and how we make that choice.  A job opportunity might sound like a great thing; the money might be entirely enticing to us.  There are all kinds of ways in which various professions will appeal to us, or various types of avenues of what we choose to do or become in our lives, including the skills and experience that come with them.  But let us put our choices first in the lens of our faith.  Let us turn in prayer and communion to the One who not only knows us best and more deeply than we know ourselves, but to the One who has lived among us and understands something about the choices we need to make, the hardships and struggles, and the ways of the world.  Let us find what it is that is an opportunity to please God through our skills and our efforts and energy -- not that we all have to work for a church or religious establishment, but to seek where we can shine the light shared with us through our energy and creativity and our efforts.  It seems to me that just as a flower blooms in beauty that was contained in its seed or bulb, so God has a hand in our creation with particular ways in which we can express the identity, talents, and beauty endowed in our own creation, regardless of which walk of life we choose to pursue.  Be it artistic, industrial, agricultural, a service work, or any other kind of profession we do, we can bring something of this inner light we're given to that work, in one way and another.  I believe this choice, to follow what seems to be pleasing to God, to start with prayer and communion, is present for all of us all the time.  It's important to note Jesus' action at the time He perceives they are trying to take Him by force to be made king:  He departs to the mountain alone, a place for prayer and communion with the Father.  Let us once again consider what work means -- what we "do" in life, what actions we take -- and seek to find that in which we can "work together" with God in the same way Christ pleases the Father, and says no to what is not the way for Him.  In this way, we also will find the work that will feed us, just as Jesus feeds the multitude.