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

 

 "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."  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 

 

 Yesterday we read that, after the feeding of the five thousand men (and more women and children) 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 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."

 

  "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."  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."  This is an interesting understanding, that Christ teaches that to pursue our faith is to work the works of God.  It indicates that faith is much more than simply an acceptance of an idea or believe.  The root of faith in the Greek of the Gospels means "trust."  To trust in Christ is to walk the journey of faith with Him, to follow His commandments, and to grow in that faith in all the ways that we might.  

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.'"  In yesterday's reading (above), Christ said Himself that these people had followed Him not because they saw His signs, but because they had been filled with the loaves, after which they tried to make Him king by force (see Wednesday's reading).  Here Christ's statement is affirmed; although He fed them miraculously in the wilderness, they demand a sign.  

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."  My study Bible says of Christ's own will:  Since He has two natures, Christ has two wills -- the divine will and a human will.  At the Sixth Ecumenical Council, which was held at Constantinople (AD 680-681), it was proclaimed that these two wills of Christ do not work contrary to one another.  Instead, "His human will follows, not resisting nor reluctant, but subject to His divinity and to His omnipotent will."  

In today's reading, Jesus clearly emphasizes the unity of wills between Father and Son.  He says, "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."  According to St. John Chrysostom, Jesus clearly states that it is His will as Son -- and therefore clearly the will of the Father -- that all are saved for this everlasting life He offers.  It stands to reason, then, he comments that neither faith nor unbelief are in some sense accidental, that faith is willed by the Father and the Son so that all are saved, because it is for this purpose that Christ in Incarnate in the world as a human being.  But unbelief also is not accidental, because it implies a denial or refusal of the Father's will.  In considering these things, it is imperative also that we think about the qualities that pertain to this everlasting life, this life to which we might be raised with Him through our faith.  Everlasting life pertains to a quality that is not simply about the temporal life we experience stretching on and on into eternity.  It pertains instead to a completely different quality or experience of life altogether, one outside of the moments in time we experience one after another.  In this sense, "everlasting" life is a quality of life which is independent of time.  According to HELPS Word-studies, this is life which is "simultaneously outside of time, inside of time, and beyond time."  In particular, it is the "unique quality (reality) of God's life at work in the believer," as God may manifest God's life within us.  In other words, this quality of grace permeates the meaning and values of what it is to experience everlasting life, and even as we live our lives in this world, as faithful, we may partake and experience this quality of life.  As such, there are gifts of the Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 12), there is fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), there are diverse experiences of grace that permeate the life of the Church and her saints, and may be experienced by us all.  If this "everlasting" life is really a quality of the fullness of what God's life means, then how may we experience this -- even a taste of it -- as faithful?  An insight given in prayer is part of that life, what seems like miraculous coincidences experienced by the faithful are a part of that life, a sense of depth of insight into another person or a seemingly impossible solution to a problem is also a part of that life, and these experiences are numerous among the lived life of the faithful.  An everlasting life (meaning quite literally in Greek the quality of being age-long as opposed to fleeting life we know in this world) is an indication, then, of fullness, relating to concepts of growing into something until no more growth is possible.  An "end" or "finish" in this sense means everything has expanded to its fullest extent.  That would be the life of the "end" in which Christ unites with His Bride, the Church, the raising up at the last day.  But as faithful we should consider what the bread of heaven, given to us in the Church, particularly in the Eucharist, and as the life of faith we may live even in this world, adds to our lives as a quality that transforms and changes our experience of our worldly or earthly lives.  We should consider what this "everlasting" quality is that touches our lives.  Jesus speaks of the grace we receive by living this life of faith ourselves, in the Sermon on the Plain reported by St. Luke:  "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you" (Luke 6:37-38).  To grasp a life of faith, then, to cherish the bread of life He offers, is to enter into and to participate in something far beyond ourselves, and to let this kingdom of heaven grow within us (Matthew 13:31-32).  Let us enter into, participate in, and cherish the life He offers, and grow in the path He opens, to an everlasting life, even to the last day.

 

What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?

 

 "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."  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 the miraculous feeding of the multitude, when evening came, the 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."

 

  "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."  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."  To understand this passage better, we might consider what it means that Jesus says God the Father has set His seal on Him.  A seal is an imprint; it was also a representation of an important person, something that conveyed more than image in a physical sense, but the presence and authority of that person.  In this case, it is the seal of God the Father, meaning that Christ acts for the Father, fully represents the Father to us in all ways (see John 14:9), and therefore gives this food which endures to everlasting life.  Christ speaks of labor, and therefore people as about the works of God they may do for this eternal food.  But to receive this food is something that comes from faith, from following Christ's word and participation in His life, and that faith is the union we seek to grow within all of our lives, for this is the true life of faith.   St. Augustine has a very interesting comment on this passage.  He first quotes from St. Paul:  "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes" (Romans 10:4).  Then he remarks that therefore Christ "did not wish to separate faith from work, but he said that faith itself is a work. For this is the faith that works by love" (Tractates on the Gospel of John 25.12.1-2).

 

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."   Although these are the people who were fed in Christ's fourth sign given in John's Gospel (see Friday's reading), when it comes to Christ's teaching about faith, they demand another sign.  They refer to the manna in the desert, which they say was given by Moses.  But Jesus once again points not to Himself, but to the Father.  The manna in the desert was given by the Father, and now the Father is giving another gift of the true bread from heaven:  Christ Himself.  Jesus describes Himself as the bread of God, 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."  The people still seem to misunderstand Jesus, and it seems that they ask yet again for what they believe in some form of physical food or bread.   By asking to receive this bread always, they even seem to be confusing His earlier statement  about food that perishes and food that endures to everlasting life with a sense in which somehow they may receive this bread always.  But Jesus clarifies.  It is He who is this bread, and it is faith that is the "work" for this bread of life.  Even so, "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."  My study Bible has a note on Jesus' phrase My own will.  It explains that since Christ has two natures (that is, human and divine, which are indivisible and united in His Incarnation), He also has two wills; one divine and one human.  At the Sixth Ecumenical Council, held in Constantinople in AD 680-681, it was proclaimed that these two wills of Christ do not work contrary to one another, but rather "His human will follows, not resisting nor reluctant, but subject to His divinity and His omnipotent will."  But what we can read here for ourselves is Christ's repeated turning to His relationship with the Father.  Whatever Christ has or will have, whatever He does, all has been given to Him by the Father -- and this includes those who will come to Him in the future.  In fact, it is the Father's will that He should lose nothing that is given.  

In these last few verses, Jesus' words are very interesting.  He speaks of all that is given Him and will be given Him by the Father, and that of all this He should lose nothing.  Earlier, Jesus spoke of Himself as the bread of God, who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.  In these statements, it is not specified that the things which are given to Him by the Father are only human beings; nor is the "life of the world" specified to mean only for human beings.  In the Revelation, we're told of the vision of a "new heaven and a new earth" (Revelation 21:1).  There is similar language used in the vision of Isaiah, and also in a letter of St. Peter (Isaiah 65:17,Isaiah 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13).  With so much testimony (and prophecy), we must accept that in the spirit of the language Jesus uses here, He speaks of the renewal of the world and all that it contains, and that His mission as Son of Man, as the One who is sent by the Father, is crucial to the  renewal of all of life, this new heaven and new earth, whatever that entails and means.  The phrase "for the life of the world" uses not the word for the planet earth, but the word that means all of the created order, the whole universe and everything in it; that Greek word is κόσμος/kosmos.  But then Jesus does something very interesting, and speaks again of human beings, and it is again using the connection between faith and work, or perhaps, as in the comments of St. Augustine, faith as work.  Continuing from the connection to all that the Father has given Him, Jesus says, "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."  This promise of everlasting life for human beings -- and we must infer, the new heaven and new earth -- is linked to the life of faith, and faith means so much more than simply an espousal of a particular belief system.  Faith means living out the life Christ offers by participation in all that He offers.  In the Greek, the word for faith is rooted in the word for trust.  To have faith in Christ is to put one's trust in Christ, and thereby to live by His teachings, to live the life He offers, to participate in that life through all the ways we're given to do so, including through worship and sacraments, of which the Eucharist is particularly and expressly significant in this same sense.  For in the Eucharist, Christ becomes our food to nurture us for this eternal day to which He has taught us to look, the food which endures and does not perish.  For the life of the world most surely depends upon our understanding of what it is to live our faith, and thereby faith is inseparable from work -- for to truly live that faith encompasses everything we do, a prayerful life that entrusts to Christ guidance for what we do, safekeeping for our lives, the direction we need, and the particular kind of blessedness that He offers to us.  All of this is inseparable from living faith, a prayerful life in which God becomes closer than our heartbeat, the word of God a sword that pierces between everything and enters deep into the heart (Hebrews 4:12), a sense of self in which soul and spirit and mind and strength become participants in the life He offers.  For faith involves our whole being, and not merely an intellectual reasoning out of what one might call a belief system; it touches us in places we don't know, encompassing so much more than intellect.  We entrust to Him all that we are, including our responses to life, our hurts and pains, our desires, our goals and dreams, our trauma, and even the things we don't yet know.  This is what it is to live faith, and why it is inseparable from whatever "work" we do in life, just as Christ's works are inseparable from His understanding of His closeness to the Father who has set His seal on Him.  

 

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 the 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

Yesterday we read that when evening came (after the feeding of the five thousand), 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."

 "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.  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."   The work of God is to believe in Him whom He sent."  So often we forget that faith itself is a choice, a "work" -- there is so much work that must go on within ourselves as our faith is challenged by our lives, our experience, our thoughts and habitual responses, and the earthly life we live.   In this vein of understanding, prayer itself is another kind of "work of God."

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."  Following the parallels to the Exodus noted so far in chapter 6 of John's Gospel, here Jesus declares Himself to be the true food and drink, the true bread that has come down from heaven (see also Exodus 16:1-17:7).

"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."   My study bible remarks that since Christ has two natures, He has two wills:  the divine will and a human will.  The Sixth Ecumenical Council , held in Constantinople (AD 680-681), proclaims that these two wills of Christ do not work contrary to one another, but rather "His human will follows, not resisting nor reluctant, but subject to His divinity and to His omnipotent will."

Christ speaks so strongly of the link of faith between Himself and those whom He shall raise up at the last day.  He tells us of His link, His closeness with the Father:   "I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."   At the Sixth Ecumenical Council, we are given to understand, the existence of both human and divine will in Christ was decided -- and so Christ speaks here not of the divine will which is united within the Trinity, but of His human will, that in His earthly ministry He has chosen to fully align His human will with the divine will of the Father.  This is an example to us, it is something we should wholly and fully desire for ourselves.  Indeed, this is the great goal of all monastic life, and we are also to understand that it is in that divine will of Creator where we truly "find ourselves" -- this process of alignment is, in fact, one of truly becoming ourselves.  If we seek who we truly are, we need to align ourselves to Creator, to have that as our firm aim and direction in our prayer and our efforts to become the persons that Christ asks us to be.  To follow Christ in faith, then, is like a time-based alignment of this will in the sense that Christ sets the example of alignment of will.  We don't "become" God, but we can become "like God."  We simply have a lifetime of work at this work He names, an ongoing process of conversion based on the gift of time that is also given to us as creatures by God.  And once again, what is the work of God?  "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent," Jesus tells the crowds, and us.  Faith itself becomes a work, because it implies so much else that is purely "work."  That is, this kind of faith sets out a lifetime of works, of choices and decisions to follow and to align ourselves with His will -- of allowing the Holy Spirit to work within us, and the indwelling also of Father and of Christ, influencing who we are which is known by the works that we do.  Let us reiterate that "works" are not merely things done to be seen by others.  Works are all the choices we make; the decision to pray; the decision to find the will of God and seek it for ourselves; to hand ourselves over to Christ, so to speak -- and faith itself, to "believe in Him whom He sent" is also the work of God, as Jesus states here.  So let us think about these works we do, what kind of fruit we wish to produce, and the results of a lifetime of choices offered and made through time within this discipline and gift of faith.  Let us never forget how it ties us to the gifts of Father, Son, and Spirit themselves working in us and with us -- and how much help we have all along the way, with myriad messengers and saints as a great cloud of witnesses helping us as well.

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 the 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 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 when evening came, Jesus' disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum.  [Jesus had gone alone back to the mountain -- see Friday's reading.]  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."  

"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."  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."  What a powerful statement this is; putting our trust in Christ is the work of God.

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."   As so frequently happens in the Gospels, the people immediately ask for a sign.  We should keep in mind that these are the people who were fed in the wilderness by Christ (Friday's reading), and who have sought to forcibly make Him king because He fed them.  For Scriptural reference to their quotation see Exodus 16:4, Nehemiah 9:15, Psalm 78:24.  This is a good illustration of how Jesus uses language to point to something higher, deeper, more foundational to faith, and that leads into mystery.  They know the story of Moses and the manna from heaven, but the true bread from heaven is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.   Even so, they still do not understand that He is referring to Himself as the bread of God.

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 I will by no means cast out."  Jesus states plainly that He is the bread of life.  But these do not believe, they do not receive His words somehow.  And Jesus links even this also to the Father; those who do come to Him, who have trust in HIm, are those "the Father gives Me."

"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."  For Christ, everything refers back to the Father.  Those who are sent to Him are from the Father, and of all that is given to Him He will lose nothing but raise it up at the last day, and each person who trust in Him may have everlasting life.  Let us note the subjects being raised up -- the implication is for the whole of the creation (all that is given to Him by the Father), and for those who believe in Him.  He has come down from heaven, not to do His own will, but "the will of Him who sent Me."  Since Christ has two natures, my study bible says, He has two wills -- the divine will and a human will.  At the Sixth Ecumenical Council, at Constantinople (680-681), it was proclaimed that these two wills of Christ do not work contrary to one another, but "His human will follows, not resisting nor reluctant, but subject to His divinity and to His omnipotent will."

Jesus speaks of belief:   that belief in Him is the way that we may work the works of God, that those who believe in Him are those given by the Father whom He will not lose but raise up at the last day.  He remarks on those who have seen Him but do not believe (those who ask for a sign).  If we explore the concept of belief, we must always turn to the roots of this word in the original Greek of the Gospels.  This word's root is trust.  We must choose to entrust ourselves to Christ, to be persuaded of the validity of His words, that He Himself is true so that we can put our faith and trust in Him.  It's a similar idea to meeting a person and deciding whether or not they seem trustworthy, whether or not we will put our faith into what they have to say to us or be persuaded of the validity of their words.  There is a connection to be made here, and this is what Jesus goes by.  The demand for proof means that something is missing, the trust element is not there despite their encounter with Him already.  Faith itself is a work in Jesus' proclamation in today's reading.  It is what we do when we work "the work of God."  If we think about it, faith is truly a lot of work.  Every moment we have choices to make, and in those choices we also have the internal struggle of whether or not we find trust in Christ's words and directives for our lives, whether or not we will place our trust in the path that leads to Him, His way, and seek His guidance, the place that He has for us.  In Jesus' words today, we are reminded that to put trust in Christ involves a kind of depth of intuition (to use a rather inadequate term).  That is, we may have a depth of instinctive turning to Christ.  At times of trouble, we find ourselves praying.  Our own capacities for faith are built into us as human beings.  Every day, and all throughout the day, we put our trust into one thing or another.  We look before we cross a road and put our trust in our assumption that there is no car coming to endanger us, for example.  We trust that what a salesperson tells us about a product is true, or that a store will honestly refund our money if we find a product defective.  Life is a series of choices to trust or not to trust in something or someone.  So Christ asks for our trust, not by proofs, but by a kind of love that is deep inside.  Faith works also in mysterious ways, because once we do trust, we will find all kinds of "proofs" and workings of our faith in our lives.  Through this trust -- like putting trust in a spouse or friend or partnership -- we grow to learn more of Christ.  Moreover, Christ puts His trust in us as disciples.  Our commitment and dependency grow.  This is all about the work of God, the work of faith.  Do we put our trust in Him?  Do we need further proof first?   On what is trust based?  Let us remember the examples of the disciples in the Gospels; they begin with a little faith, and that grows -- and in some cases it does not.  Who do you trust?  In what do you put your trust?  Jesus offers us Himself as the bread from heaven, the bread of God.

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world

 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.  And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"  Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.  I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."  When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.  And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent).  So he went and washed, and came back seeing.

Therefore, the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, "Is not this he who sat and begged?"  Some said, "This is he."  Others said, "He is like him."  He said, "I am he."  Therefore they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?"  He answered and said, "A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.'  So I went and washed, and I received sight."  Then they said to him, "Where is He?"  He said, "I do not know."

They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees.  Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.  Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight.  He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see."  Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath."  Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?"  And there was a division among them.  They said to the blind man again, "What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?"  He said, "He is a prophet."

- John 9:1-17

In our current readings, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem (beginning with this reading).   He has been in a dialogue with the leadership begun on the last day of the feast (the eighth day), which began with this reading and continued over the subsequent three readings.  Finally, we read His last reply in yesterday's reading:   "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.

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.  And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"  Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him."  Chapter 9 of John's Gospel gives us further events at the Feast of Tabernacles.  Here is Christ's sixth of seven signs in this Gospel, the healing of a man blind from birth.  Of all of the miracle stories of the Bible, this is the only one in which the person was blind from birth.  My study bible tells us that this blind man is symbolic of all humanity:  in need of illumination by Christ, the Light of the world.  This sign is also an illustration of baptism, which is also called "holy illumination."  We read in this passage that Jesus rejects the assumption, common to the ancient world, that all troubles or illnesses are necessarily the consequences of personal sins or the sins of parents (see Exodus 20:5, Deuteronomy 5:9, contrast with Ezekiel 18:19-21).  Suffering can certainly be the result of consequence of personal sin, but this is definitely not always the case.  Jesus makes the case here for quite the contrary:  this man's blindness provides the occasion for the works of God to be revealed.  It was not related directly to any personal sin.

"I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work."   My study bible comments that the work that people do consists of faith (6:29), good deeds (5:29), and repentance (12:40).  The night that comes refers both to the time after a person's death and to the age to come, when there is no longer an opportunity to express faith.  My study bible cites John Chrysostom, who comments that on that day there will not be faith, but all will submit, whether willingly or unwillingly.

"As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." In the spiritual history of Judaism, we look at this unprecedented healing of a man born blind.  It puts in context Jesus' statement that He is the light of the world.   Light figures prominently throughout John's Gospel as an image of Christ (for example, in the Prologue). See also 8:12, in which Jesus makes the same statement.

When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.  My study bible refers us to St. Irenaeus, who sees in this mixture of clay and saliva a type of the creation of humanity from the earth (Genesis 2:7).  Christ reveals His own divinity through this restoration of creation -- using the same material with which He created humanity in the beginning.   It is an expression of His absolute creative power, and a restoration of humanity, both physically and metaphorically.

And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent).  So he went and washed, and came back seeing.  We remember that the pool of Siloam is featured in the the events of the feast, especially on this last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, in which there is a commemoration of the water that poured from a rock struck by Moses.  The pool was on the outskirts of Jerusalem, a considerable distance from the temple.  From this pool water was taken for the rites.  Siloam, translated, Sent, symbolizes Christ -- the One who was sent by the Father (5:36, 20:21).  My study bible says that just as the healing of the blind man confirmed Christ's claim to be the light of the world (8:12), so also, His making use of the pool of Siloam confirms that He is the true purification of the temple and those who worship in it.

Therefore, the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, "Is not this he who sat and begged?"  Some said, "This is he."  Others said, "He is like him."  He said, "I am he."  Therefore they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?"  He answered and said, "A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.'  So I went and washed, and I received sight."  Then they said to him, "Where is He?"  He said, "I do not know."   John's Gospel once again offers us the differing opinions of the people there for the feast at Jerusalem.  But the formerly blind man's testimony is true, as to what he knows and what he doesn't know.

They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees.  Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.  Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight.  He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see."  Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath."  Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?"  And there was a division among them.  They said to the blind man again, "What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?"  He said, "He is a prophet."  My study bible says here that just as the Pharisees had ignored the healing of the paralytic and focused only on the perceived violation of the Sabbath (5:10-16), here many of them cannot see the glory of God, due to their own prejudices.  It's also a revival of the earlier disagreement with Christ, rather than a clear examination of what has happened.  And again we're treated to a picture of the disagreements that surround Christ and His work and ministry, the divisions among the people and the leadership.  The formerly blind man also testifies to the best of his ability and understanding.  For now, he believes that Jesus is a prophet, and will not deny Christ's holiness to please the leadership.

The healing of the man blind from birth is important in a  number of ways to our understanding of Christ, who He is, and what He does, as my study bible explains.  The man blind from birth is a symbol of afflicted humanity.  The disagreements among all those at the Feast, including the healed blind man's still-partial point of view, give us a picture of what it is to struggle in our own blindness or partial sight on a spiritual level.  And that partial sight or blindness of course affects all of our lives and all  of the choices we make, how we live.  Christ as the light who comes into the world and shines in the darkness is the one way to truly see.  It is His light that must illumine us.  There is nowhere else to turn.  He is the One, as St. Peter said, who has the words of eternal life.  It's as if all the people in this story are struggling to see.  Some are blinded by their own prejudices and fears.  Some struggle to find Him, although one has been clearly touched and healed by Him.  And still the road leads forward, and it is only His light that can clear up the darkness, or the dimness that remains of it.  Light is in some way the entire focal-piece of John's Gospel.  And it is clearly Christ who is the Light that shines in the darkness.  His words are light, and they are spirit.  He asks us to abide in Him and He in us, to participate and be illuminated also by His light, so that we may in turn shine that light in the world.  The darkness may always be there somehow, and it may always be uncomprehending of the light.  But the light shines, and must shine.  It will remain true to its Source, and so must we in the same purpose!