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, after Christ's healing of a paralytic at the temple in Jerusalem, and His disputing with the religious authorities,  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.  Here is the fifth of seven signs we're given in St. John's Gospel.   As noted in the commentary as we began reading chapter 6, the entire chapter we're reading has parallels to the Exodus story (Exodus 11 - 17).  Here there is a parallel in that, in the Exodus, Moses leads the people across the Red Sea, walking on dry ground in the midst of the water (Exodus 14:15-31).  Here, Christ sends His disciples across the sea, and then walks on the sea as if it were dry ground.  In Christ's words, "It is I," we read the divine Name of God as given to Moses in Exodus 3:14. In the Greek of the Septuagint and of the Gospel, they are identical, literally "I AM" (Greek εγω ειμι/ego eimi), thus affirming His divinity as Son and Lord.

 

 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."  In a certain sense, this is a continuation of the story from yesterday's reading (see above).  These are the people from whom He fled before, because He understood they were going to forcibly take Him and make Him king, after they'd been fed in the wilderness by Him.  Here they still desperately seek Him, so He turns and teaches them the truth.  This is another condescension of grace, in that He is feeding them the spiritual food they need.

 

As we began this chapter with the miraculous feeding in the wilderness of five thousand men -- and more women and children -- from a few loaves and fishes, so the theme of feeding and the food we eat becomes an important element to Christ's teaching here.  As He says, these people sought Him to make Him king not even because they saw the signs He's done, but because He gave them food ("because you ate of the loaves and were filled").   As we noted in yesterday's commentary, Jesus helps us (and the crowds) to understand that gifts from God are not simply "free food" or "free goodies" that we take on purely material terms.  There are values that go along with them, and God must be understood and approached within that particular context.  Just as we don't wish to have friends who abuse our hospitality, or relatives (for example) who consistently take without respect or the slightest consideration, so God also -- simply by being God -- commands a particular attitude.  Here Jesus begins to address their material orientation to what He has offered to them.  In this context, let us note that the astonishing miracle of walking on the water has been revealed to His disciples in the meantime.  This is a kind of privileged revelation; they are the ones closest to Him who presumably follow Him as disciples because they wish to learn from Him.  But this crowd chases Him to make Him king so that they will always be fed.  In His generosity and compassion, He now begins to feed them with the guidance they need, for they need to understand not only the One who they address, but even to understand their true needs from God.  Jesus gives them the grace of seeking to open their eyes to the spiritual reality in which we all live, but may fail to understand.  What is worthy of our hard work?  What comes first before all things?  In St. James' Epistle we read, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" (James 1:17).  Here Jesus teaches, "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."   Consider these words.  We labor after food for our earthly lives, but think about what Christ is offering them here.  There is a food He has which endures even to everlasting life, and only Christ, the Son of Man can give it to us -- "because God the Father has set His seal on Him."  Effectively, He is teaching them that He has something much better to give, a food for everlasting life, even life more abundantly (John 10:10).  But this can come, not because they take Him by force to make Him king, but because they receive His teachings, and learn how to approach these gifts -- and our God -- appropriately, in the ways He can teach.  In the modern world, we are so used to a material frame for all things that we fail to grasp the significant values beyond all things we use, labor for, desire in our lives.  Everything comes with values attached to it, nothing comes in simply a void.  We live in a spiritual reality but often fail to notice it, and the things it asks of us all the time.  What or whom do we serve, and how?  What is appropriate to the God we say we worship?  It is remarkable to think about what all of that reflects about us and about our lives, but Jesus teaches that we'll give an account even for every idle word (Matthew 12:36).  So let us consider the reality of the ever-presence of our Creator, the Holy Trinity among us, and how we approach all the things in our lives, with what attitude we live and serve and find ourselves in life.  Most especially, He invites us to ask today, for what do we labor?  Let us remember that He is with us, all the time.

 

 

 

 

It is I; do not be afraid

 

Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land.  Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.  Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.  And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled.  But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased.  And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.  For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.  

When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there.  And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was.  Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched Him were made well. 

 

- Mark 6:47–56 

 

Yesterday we read that, upon return from their first apostolic mission, the Twelve gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what the had done and what they had taught.  And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."  For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.  So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.  But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities.  They arrived before them and came together to Him.  And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.  So He began to teach them many things.  When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late.  Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat."  But He answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?"  But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have?  Go and see."  And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish."  Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.  So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties.  And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all.  So they all ate and were filled.  And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish.  Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.  Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away.  And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. 

Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land.  Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.  Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.  And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled.  But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased.  And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.  For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.  My study Bible comments that this is the second time Christ permits His disciples to be caught in a storm (see this reading for the first).  The first time He was with them, asleep on a pillow in the stern.  But this time He has left them to row across the sea, while He was alone on the land where He remained behind to pray.  In this way, my study Bible says, Christ strengthens their faith that He will always be with them in the middle of the storms of life.  It is I (Greek εγω ειμι/ego eimi) is literally translated "I Am," which is the divine Name of God given to Moses at the Burning Bush (see John 8:58; Exodus 3:14).  In this way Christ reminds the fearful disciples of His absolute and divine authority over their lives.  Their heart was hardened:  My study Bible tells us that knowing Christ is a matter of the heart, not simply the intellect.  When our hearts are illumined by faith in God, it notes, they are open to receive His presence and grace.  In the ascetic writings of the Church, the heart is known as "the seat of knowledge."

When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there.  And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was.  Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched Him were made well.  Again, Christ heals by touch.  My study Bible comments that this shows that His very body is life-giving (see also Mark 5:25-29).  

In today's reading, Jesus reveals His identity as Lord through the use of the Name of God given to Moses, the "I Am."  In the Greek of the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, and the Greek of the New Testament, these are the same.  It clearly ties Christ to the divine identity we know as the Son of God, or God the Son, second Person of the Trinity.  But it also ties Christ to God the Father.  In the Nicene Creed, we state our belief "in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages; Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten, not created, of one essence with the Father through Whom all things were made."  So close are Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that they act as one.  In today's reading, Jesus affirms that union through His use of the title "I Am" (translated in today's reading as "It is I") and His mastery over the elements of nature tell us so as well.  Also tellingly, Jesus walks across the sea from the place where He had stayed behind, sending the apostles by themselves to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, while He stayed on the mountain to pray (see yesterday's reading, above).  There Jesus turns to the Father, after feeding the multitude in the wilderness (again, see yesterday's reading), and we can see that this has become a clear turning point of His earthly ministry.  For in that feeding in the wilderness is the prefiguring of the Eucharist to come, which is irrevocably tied to the sacrifice that Christ will make on the Cross.  At all points, Christ the Son is working in tandem with God the Father, just as at the creation He did the same, and cooperating, as the human Jesus, with that will of the Father as one.  Powerfully, there are places in the Gospels where we find that, although the Father is possibly the most mysterious of the Trinity to us (as Jesus the Son is our mediator, for He lived as one of us, and the Holy Spirit's actions and mercies are known in the world), God the Father is shown to be active and in communion with us.  When St. Peter confesses that Jesus is the Son of the living God, according to St. Matthew, Jesus replied to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 16:17).  So, in a sense, God is "all in all" (as St. Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 15:28), including in us.  Elsewhere Jesus teaches, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9).  Christ's miracles of touch, of the domination of natural forces like the sea and the wind, His use of the Name "I Am," and His prayer to God the Father, all tell us about the integral play of the greatest mystery of all to us, God the Father, united to us and to our world through Jesus.  As we read through St. Mark's Gospel, let us come to terms with the powerful reality being revealed to us through the life of Christ, and that purpose toward which it works to bring God as "all in all," including in us.  Let us not minimize the power of prayer, and of our faith, for it links us to the greatest heights of God who seeks to be in communion with us -- so much so that God's only begotten Son was given to us as Jesus, to live and die as one of us, to suffer with us, and to reclaim us for God.  Above all, it is the compassion of God we take with us, as we see in Christ's healing and redemption of ailing humanity, giving not just a temporary physical healing but an eternal life as possibility for us.  For when we imitate Him, in prayer to God Our Father, when we read and study the Scriptures, when we walk and pray with the saints, when we call on the Son and the Holy Spirit, even when we choose an act of compassion, we participate in those energies of God which Christ puts on display and manifests, so that we may also be "sons of God."  Jesus teaches the disciples, "He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me" (Matthew 10:40).  Let us remember that He came so that God would be all in all, and to leave none of us behind.  For, like the apostles, even when we seem to be alone, He is with us.