This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent

 

 "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 he Father has set His seal on Him."  Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."  Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You?  What work will You do?  Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."  Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."  And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.  But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.  All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

 

- John 6:27-40 

 

On Saturday we read that, after Christ fed the five thousand in the wilderness, 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 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, or 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 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."

 

 "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endues to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God he Father has set His seal on Him."  Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."  Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You?  What work will You do?  Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."  Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."  And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.  But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.  All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."   Jesus says, "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."  My study Bible comments here that since Christ has two natures, He has two wills:  the divine will and a human will.  At the Sixth Ecumenical Council, which was held in Constantinople in AD 680-681, it was proclaimed that these two wills of Christ do not work contrary to one another.  Instead, my study Bible quotes the Council, "His human will follows, not resisting nor reluctant, but subject to His divinity and to His omnipotent will."  

In today's reading, we once again see at work a common motif in John's Gospel:  misunderstandings of Christ's words that lead to deeper explanations of the mystical reality He brings into the world.  The people first respond to Christ's command to labor for the food which endures to everlasting life.  They ask Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."  It's always very intriguing to understand that Christ speaks of faith itself as the work of God.   In today's lectionary reading is also included a passage from the Letter to the Hebrews, in which St. Paul speaks of faith.  He writes, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).  As another way to understand St. Paul's language and meaning, it's suggested that we may read this as saying that faith is the realization of things hoped for, the confidence of things not seen.  This sense of faith emphasizes our capacity to live our faith, to act upon it and live in accordance with it.  When it comes to the words of Jesus, then, we understand the trust, hope, and confidence He asks us to put into Him, the way He will lead us to live. This is "the work of God" Christ advocates to us.  But the people, who have just been miraculously fed by Him (see Friday's reading), respond by asking Him for proofs before they will believe in Him, and they bring up the manna given as Moses led the Israelites.   Jesus again takes this language, and turns it into the spiritual meaning He brings with Him, saying that the true bread from heaven comes from the Father, "For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."   When the people, still not understanding, ask to be given this bread always, Jesus responds clearly:  "I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."   But faith, as St. Paul's words teach us, is about perception, the capacity for eyes that see and ears that hear that which is hoped for, and and take confidence in what is not seen.  These people see Christ, even His works, and yet do not perceive, do not believe.  But it is Christ who responds with His own declaration of faith, in displaying His faithfulness in doing God's will.  With confidence, He replies, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."  In so doing, He responds to the unbelievers, who demand (more) proofs from Him, by setting for us the ultimate example of faithful living, and declaring His absolute confidence in the Father.  So much so, that there is a unity of will in Him, so that even His human will is subject to the divine.   Christ's confidence is clearly in the Father, as He expresses here, for although these people do not believe, the Father will give Jesus others.  And in the Father Jesus puts His full trust.  In this vein, He assures all that of everything He is given by the Father, He will lose nothing -- and that everyone who similarly places trust and faith in Him will be raised up at the last day.  So, taking together the words of the Sixth Ecumenical Council quoted by my study Bible, the words of St. Paul, and the words of Christ, we ask ourselves, what is the substance of our faith?  What does that look like in our lives?  In particular, what kind of shape does that "work" take in our lives?  If we place our confidence and trust in Christ, if faith feeds and substantiates our convictions, then how does that build our choices and movement in life?  Both Christ and St. Paul speak of faith as something substantial within us, tangible, a kind of measurement of how we respond to Christ which in turn creates a similar unity of will within us.  Let us think about what it means if faith is more than belief, when it is instead a building block of hope and evidence of what is not seen.  

For God so loved the world

 

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"  Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  

 

Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, "We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

 

 - John 3:1–21 

 

 On Saturday, we read that the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.  When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables.  And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away!  Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"  Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up."  So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."  Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"  But He was speaking of the temple of His body.  Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.  Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.  But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.

 

 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."  My study bible comments here that Nicodemus believed that Jesus was from God, but his faith was still weak, as he was afraid of his peers among the Pharisees and on the Council, so he came to Jesus by night.  After this conversation, Nicodemus would grow in his faith to the point of defending Jesus before the Sanhedrin (7:50-51), and eventually making a bold public expression of faith by preparing and entombing the body of Christ (19:39-42).  According to some early sources, Nicodemus was baptized by Peter and consequently removed from the Sanhedrin (the ruling Council), and forced to flee Jerusalem.

Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  What does it mean to be born again?  In the original Greek of the text, the word for "again" (anothen/ἄνωθεν) means also literally "from above."  My study bible says this clearly refers to the heavenly birth from God through faith in Christ (1:12-13).  This heavenly birth is baptism, and it is also our adoption by God as our Father (Galatians 4:4-7).  This "new birth" is the beginning of our spiritual life.  It begins a lifetime process, and its goal is entrance into the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"  Nicodemus is puzzled, as he understands Christ's words literally and on worldly terms.  He questions the possibility of a second physical birth.  In John's Gospel, such misunderstandings are frequent (2:19-21; 4:10-14, 30-34; 6:27; 7:37-39; 11:11-15).  They serve as opportunities for Christ, who uses them to elevate an idea from a superficial or earthly meaning to a heavenly and eternal one.

Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."  Water and the Spirit is a reference to Christian baptism, and the gift of the Holy Spirit at chrismation.  One becomes a child of God through a spiritual birth which happens, as my study bible puts it, by grace, through faith, and in the Holy Spirit. 

"Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  These verses include a play on words by Jesus.  In Greek, pneuma/πνευμα means both wind and Spirit.  My study bible comments that the working of the Holy Spirit in the new birth is as mysterious as the source and destination of the blowing wind.  Likewise, the Spirit moves where He wills, and cannot be contained by human ideas or agendas. 

Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, "We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?"  According to St. John Chrysostom, earthly things (in the context of Christ's words here) refer to grace and baptism which is given to humankind.  These are earthly not in the sense that they are "unspiritual," but rather in the sense that they occur on earth, and they are given to creatures.   The heavenly things of which Jesus speaks here are references to the ungraspable mysteries of God such as the eternal generation of the Son from the Father, as my study bible puts it.  They relate to Christ's eternal existence before all time, and to God's divine plan of salvation for the world.  A person must first understand the ways in which God works among human beings before one can start to understand the realities which pertain purely to the Person of God.

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."  Moses lifted up the bronze image of the serpent in order to draw their attention and cure the Israelites from deadly bites of poisonous snakes (in Numbers 21:4-9).  In Jesus' terms, this miracle-working image was a prefiguration of His being lifted up on the Cross.  My study bible says that as believers behold the crucified Christ in faith, the power of sin and death is overthrown in them.  As the image of a serpent was the weapon that destroyed the power of the serpents, so the instrument of Christ's death becomes the weapon that overthrows death itself.  

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  Why must the Son be crucified ("lifted up")?  Jesus declares here the powerful reality of God's love -- not simply for Israel but for the world.  My study bible calls this single verse the expression of the whole message of John's Gospel, and of salvation history.

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."  Christ came to save and not to condemn, but human beings also have the free will to choose.  We can reject this gift, and effectively shut ourselves off from salvation by our own rejection.  The condemnation comes through a preference for the darkness of ignorance of God and the things of God in us.

When we explore John's Gospel and the depth of the concepts we find here, it is important to keep in mind that the salvation process is only begun through baptism.  That is, we have a lifetime of movement toward God as a possibility, and embracing of the things of God as they are offered to us.  That offering comes through Christ, and especially is viewed in His emptying on the Cross, giving all for love of human beings.  All of the teachings that Christ offers, everything He brings into the world, such as the spiritual truths we read here, are offerings for our salvation and regeneration, for our very life.   In the beginning of his Gospel, John writes of Christ, "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it" (1:4-5).  This life that is offered to us, and that includes all of Christ's teachings, is both our light and life, if we choose it.  These verses from chapter 1 in some sense encapsulate all that is written here as well, and the fullness of the Gospel message.  Do we choose the light or is darkness preferable?  There is a level of commitment to this light and the life it offers to us that comes from impulses so deep inside of us that I am not certain we can ever pinpoint where that is found.  But it nevertheless is an inner reality reflected in the soul.  This light is also spiritual truth, it is the very truth of the being of Christ, a depth of reality that grounds the whole of creation.  We don't fully grasp such things, but we do choose to grasp toward them, to take in what we can as we can.  And this is the basic choice offered to us in the life of Christ as Son of Man, as incarnate Jesus.  Do we want to know, or do we not?  Knowing or "enlightenment" involves change, it means often making tough choices to let go of the past or our own ways of thinking, and this becomes a daily and lifetime practice found in prayer and in the varied disciplines of the Church for the deepening of our faith.  To be born again through baptism becomes a constant process, and one that goes on through the whole of our lives as we learn, and learn again.  It is also a deeply spiritual and mystical process, something we don't do of ourselves, but is the work of grace within us to which we give assent.   As Christ says, "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."   It is not up to us to choose or decide the work of the Spirit in us; it is up to us to desire the things of God, to be willing to accept this light, and its work in us.  Perhaps what is most important to keep in mind is that this is the work of love, and is given of God's great love, deeper and wider than we can understand.   Yet, how easily it is dismissed and rejected!