Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him

 

 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum.  And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them.  Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing.  So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid.  But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid."  Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone -- however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks -- when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.  And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?"  Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.  Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him." 

 

- John 6:16–27 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.  Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.  And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.  Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.  Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?"  But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.  Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little."  One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?"  Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down."  Now there was much grass in the place.  So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.  And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.  So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost."  Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.  And 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 sign of seven given to us in the Gospel of John.  My  study bible has illumined the parallels between the story of the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt and this sixth chapter of John.  For these verses, it reminds us that in the Exodus, Moses led the people across the Red Sea, walking on dry ground in the middle of the water (Exodus 14:15-31).  Here, Christ sends His disciples across the sea, then walks on the sea as if it were dry ground.  

On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone -- however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks -- when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.  And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?"  Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.  Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."  We see the efforts of the people who wish to make Jesus king by force (see yesterday's reading above).  They search Him out in Capernaum.  Jesus affirms that they seek Him out because He gave them food to eat in the wilderness (again, in yesterday's reading).  But as He does frequently in John's Gospel, Jesus teaches and reveals what is His to give, by turning their thoughts from earthly food which perishes, toward 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."

 

 What does Jesus have to give?  In yesterday's reading, we read of the feeding of the five thousand men (and more women and children) from five barley loaves and two fish.   As a result, these men wanted to take Jesus and make Him king by force.  Today we see how He's evaded them, He remained alone on the mountain as He sent His disciples back across the Sea of Galilee, and came to them walking on the sea.  John sets this in a parallel to events of the Exodus or liberation of Israel from Egypt, as they began their trek to the Promised Land.  But in the other Gospels where we read this story, Jesus' words to the disciples are the same:  "It is I; do not be afraid" (Matthew 14:27, Mark 6:50).  It's also always a story where the disciples are in the middle of the sea, straining against rowing in a huge and threatening storm, and in the middle of the night; Matthew and Mark set it at about three o'clock in the morning ("about the fourth watch").  Jesus' statement, It is I, is, in the Greek, the Septuagint version of the Name of God given to Moses, I AM (Ἐγώ εἰμι/ego eimi).  And it is always connected to "do not be afraid."  In Matthew and Mark, it also follows the feeding of the five thousand.  But here in John, it's uniquely connected to these events of the people seeking to make Him king by force, and Jesus' evasion of this multitude.  In what is the characteristic style of John, Jesus will take these basic understandings beginning with the feeding of the five thousand, and expand on what it means to be truly fed, and the powerful reality of the food which He is offering to all.  He will expand understanding from the worldly to something multi-dimensional, if you will, something much greater than what these men expect.  The whole point of the Incarnation is to understand this intersection of the world and the divine, that both must dwell here with us, and that in fact the divine comes into the world in order to heal and create a synergy within which we can dwell and seek to live our lives.  Jesus comes to illuminate the normal, every day things of our lives, including even basics like the food that we eat.  The Eucharist will give us the fullness of such possibilities, just as Christ lives as both human and divine.  Let's think about the crowds who chase Jesus in order to make Him king because they were fed by Him.  He has walked on water in the middle of the night to get where He is, where they find Him, in Capernaum.  The disciples know and understand this; He has revealed Himself with the divine name.  What about these men who chase Jesus and track Him down here?  What do they want? What do they seek?  Will they understand Him and come to terms with what it is He really wants to offer?  How does your life go from concerns of the worldly to an understanding of where it is that God wants you in life, and what it is that God offers you today?  How does your prayer illuminate the options you have, the relations you have, the things you want and think you need?

 

 

There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?

 

 After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.  Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.  And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.  Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.  Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?"  But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.  Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little."  One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?"  Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down."  Now there was much grass in the place.  So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.  And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.  So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost."  Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.  And 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.

 

- John 6:1–15 

 

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

 

 After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.  Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.  And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.  Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.   My study bible comments that this next chapter which begins here is a parallel to the story of the Passover and Exodus of Israel from Egypt in many important ways.  Perhaps the first place we should start is here, where we're told that the Passover was near.  That means that at this point Jesus' ministry has continued for at least one full year, since we've already been given details of what happened at a previous Passover festival (in this reading).  In the Exodus account (Exodus 11-17), God first performed His signs against Pharaoh, and then gave instructions on how to be saved at the time of the Passover (Exodus 11:1-12:14).  In today's passage, my study bible notes, the multitudes follow Christ because of His signs, and it also takes place at Passover.  

Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?"  But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.  Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little."  One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?"   My study bible comments here that Christ tests Philip in order to increase his faith, for Philip needed help to understand Him (14:8-10).   Two hundred denarii corresponds to over six months wages for a laborer, something quite meaningful to these disciples.  Andrew, my study bible points out, has greater faith than Philip:  knowing that the prophet Elisha had multiplied bread for 100 men (2 Kings 4:42-44), he offers the food which has been broad by a lad.  Andrew, however, is still weak in faith, and questions what a mere five loaves could do for the number of people present.

Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down."  Now there was much grass in the place.  So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.  And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.  So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost."  Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.  This feeding of the multitude the fourth sign of seven which are given to us in John's Gospel.  It is of such significance that it plays an important role in each of the four Gospels.  Here in John's Gospel, as noted above, it plays a role paralleling the story of the Exodus of Israel.  At the Exodus, my study bible reminds us, the Jews were said to eat unleavened bread because they were quickly driven out of Egypt, and they had brought no provisions for themselves (Exodus 12:39).  Here, Jesus feeds the multitudes with earthly bread as they had brought no provisions, because they had rushed out to see Him.  In the ancient numbering system, it's the number of men who are given here (about five thousand).  But many more women and children were also present.  The description of Jesus as He took the loaves, gave thanks (in Greek, eucharisto/ευχαριστω), and distributed them prefigures the celebration of the Eucharist.

And 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.  My study bible comments here that although Jesus had performed greater signs than this, these crowds so desired an earthly Messiah that they declared Jesus to be the expected Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15-19) only when they were filled with earthly things (which Jesus will remark upon in verse 26).  Because of this misunderstanding, Jesus departed from them, going to the mountain by Himself alone.

There seem to be many lessons contained in today's reading.  First of all, let us note how things unfold.  None of this seems to be planned at all.  Jesus goes up on the mountain with His disciples, but a great multitude follows Him because of all the signs He's done.   But Jesus clearly understands something important, when we're told that He asks Philip about where they would get food to feed all of these people in order to test him.   And then there is the appearance of the five barley loaves and two small fish, which a boy happened to bring with him.  (Interesting to think that none of the men -- or women, for that matter -- who've followed had any thought for food.)   Although Jesus knew what He would do, as the text tells us, it seems also that there is a great message here about making do with what we have at hand.  When we find ourselves in a position of difficulty, we can't forget that we also have help with us all the time.  If it looks like we're not going to be able to cope with a particular circumstance in a way we understand, it's time to stop and pray, and ask for guidance.  It's time to reconsider if perhaps there isn't a way to begin with what we have, and find our way through with God's help.  This is the time when creative solutions, which might just surprise us -- I have found that they often do! -- can come into our hearts and hands and make do.  Often, these solutions that come with God's help turn out to be better than what we'd imagined was the way things should be done but it was impossible under the circumstances.  St. Paul says, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).  The text makes it clear that Jesus had no control over what all of these people would do, that they would follow Him, and so forth, because in the end the men decide to forcefully make Him king, something Jesus does not want.  It seems clear that the message here is all about God's power to multiply and to take what we have at hand, what the world might give us, so to speak, and make do in ways that might completely surprise us.  Even in the way that Jesus first gives thanks for the food, we're reminded to take time for God under all circumstances, and maybe most of all at the time when we're most hard-pressed to work out solutions to immediate problems.  By contrast, we notice Christ's response to the "earthly" ideas of the men, that they wish to forcefully make Him king.  This is not an idea accompanied by faith and prayer, but one made out of the response to being fed with "earthly" things, and it is therefore a "worldly" idea.  If we take these two aspects of today's reading together, it points to something Christ continually emphasized in yesterday's reading, in which He spoke to the leaders in Jerusalem about His relationship to God the Father.   As human beings, we turn to God in all things in the same way that Christ does.  He may be divine as Son, but lives His full life as Jesus the human being so that we may follow Him.  Let us take our time to root ourselves in prayer and faith for where we go and what we seek.  Ours is an imperfect learning curve, but it is His road for us nonetheless.

I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me

 

 "I can of Myself do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.

"If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.  There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.  You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.  Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.  He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.  But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.  And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me.  You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.  But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.  You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.  But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.  I do not receive honor from men.  But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.  I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.  How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?  Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust.  For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"

 

- John 5:30–47 

 

At the Feast of Weeks, Jesus has healed a paralytic, and been accused of violating the Sabbath.  Moreover, the religious leaders now accuse Him of blasphemy, as He declared Himself to be Son and therefore the equal of God.  Yesterday we read that Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.  For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.  For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.  For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father.  He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.  Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.  Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.  For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.  Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth -- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation." 

 "I can of Myself do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me."  My study bible explains that the divine will is common to the three Persons of the Trinity -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  All fully share in the same divine nature.  When the Son is said to obey the Father, it explains, this refers to Christ's human will, which was assumed at His Incarnation.  Jesus freely aligned His human will in every aspect with the divine will of the Father, and so we also are called to do likewise.

"If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.  There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.  You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.  Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.  He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.  But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.  And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me.  You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.  But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.  You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.  But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.  I do not receive honor from men.  But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.  I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.  How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?  Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust.  For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"  My study bible asks the question, "How could Christ's witness ever be untrue?"  It answers that it cannot (see 8:14).  Instead, Jesus anticipates the argument of the leaders, and speaks their thoughts (the same thing He does also in Luke 4:23).  In the Jewish tradition, a valid testimony requires two witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:6).  In these verses, Jesus offers four witnesses, to confirm His identity as Messiah and as Son of God:  God the Father, John the Baptist, Christ's own works, and finally the Old Testament Scriptures, through which Moses and others gave testimony to Him.

Jesus anticipates the thinking of the religious leaders.  My study bible comments that He does so elsewhere in the Gospels (in Luke's Gospel, to be precise).  It's not the first time that John's Gospel tells us Jesus is aware of what others are thinking, that He knows the hearts of others.  It is, in effect, a repeated and expanding theme in this Gospel, and yet another capacity of Christ that identifies His identity as divine.  But today's reading also emphasizes the cooperation between the two natures of Christ, human and divine.  It gives us a picture of a human being -- Christ -- who follows God's will and must choose to do so.  Jesus' whole emphasis is on this willing and necessary cooperation, and right from the beginning.  In the first verse, He says, "I can of Myself do nothing."  Everything for Christ is dependent upon God the Father.  He says, "As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me."   Christ's righteous judgment is totally dependent upon the Father because He seeks the will of the Father who sent Him rather than His own will.  In effect, as human being, Christ is obedient.  He does not exercise power or authority in His own interest; instead, Christ is dependent upon the Father for power, authority, and direction.  He then offers four witnesses to the Jewish leaders, in light of the two required by the Law.  In this He also shows obedience:  His obedience to the Jewish Law.  He goes out of His way to name double the necessary witnesses.  But the witnesses to whom He refers also carry authority that is traced to God:  first, the very Person of God the Father; next, John the Baptist whose ministry is widely acknowledged as holy and serving God (even by the leadership who came for baptism by John); the works Christ does for which He has already said He is dependent upon the Father in all ways; and finally the Old Testament Scriptures, whose author is understood to be God.  All in all, our entire reading goes out of its way to establish this depth of relationship to God.  But this is not simply the relationship of Son to Father.  It is the relationship of the human Jesus in obedience to God in all ways.  His human will is subservient to the divine nature and dependent upon it in all things, and this is deliberately so.  As my study bible points out, very importantly, He is the example that you and I are to emulate and do our best to follow.  In all ways, when we prepare ourselves and our own lives for the choices we need to make, for the will or obedience we seek to follow, we would do wisely to do our best to emulate Christ.  We study the Scriptures to learn of this will.  We pray to find God's will for us.  We seek guidance in prayer to God, for our guardian angel, and with the saints, also for this reason.  We worship in corporate services so that we may enjoy and participate in this life that Christ offers us, so that we may be guided and protected within the will of the good, so that we may be "shored up" to make good choices in leading our own lives through a frequently difficult and confusing world.  There is nothing about today's extraordinary statements by Jesus that excludes our participation in the same life.  We are not Christ, we do not share the precise relationship between Father, Son, and Spirit that He does, but His guidance in sharing the experience of His human will and soul is precisely given for us, so that we may learn to share in that same life, in seeking to live the same way.  While none of us is perfect or without sin, and none of us has the fullness of identity as divine Person that Christ does, He is here for us precisely so that we can live as He does and seek to follow, and the Spirit is given to us also for just this reason.  Let us consider then, in these lofty words that define the divine Person of Christ, how they also appeal to and can be understood by us in our own lives.  How do we seek this kind of union with God?  How do we seek God's will?  How can we participate in the life of Christ as human being, Incarnate precisely so that we can join Him in this life lived for us?  Let us consider His qualities, His testimony, His way, and remember that each of us is created precisely so that we may do so.  It doesn't matter where we start.  What matters is simply our hearts and the souls that follow, where we begin, and where we choose to keep trying, and to rest in Him.  The whole point is so that we, too, can say with Christ, "I can of Myself do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me."  Whose judgment do you seek in all things -- not to judge others, but in order to live a righteous life?

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life

 

 Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.  For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.  For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.  For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father.  He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.  Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.  For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.  Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth -- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."

 

- John 5:19–29 

 

On Saturday we read that there was a feast of the Jews [considered to be the Feast of Weeks, or Old Testament Pentecost], and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.  And that day was the Sabbath.  The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.  For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.   

 Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.  For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.  For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.  For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father.  He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him."  My study bible comments on Christ's statement that the Son can do nothing of Himself.  It proves that His every act and word is in complete unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  In other words, Jesus is teaching that the Father and the Son are completely united in nature, will, and action.  So Christ the Son shares the divine attributes both of giving life and of executing judgment. 

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.  Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.  For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.  Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth -- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."   That the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God has two references, my study bible comments.  It refers both to the spiritually dead, who will find life in Christ; and it also refers to the physically dead, who will rise in the general resurrection.  Christ confirms this statement, it further explains, by raising Lazarus from the dead (11:38-44), before going to His won death.  These verses (vv. 24-30) are read at the funeral service of the Orthodox Church.  It confirms the same reward for those who fall asleep in faith.  Christ's judgment is based on both faith (he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me) and works (those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation).

Since so much depends upon faith in Christ's statements, perhaps it is a good idea to review the whole concept of what faith or belief is.  Jesus says, in verse 24, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life."   This word, believes, translates a word in Greek that is derived from the word for "trust."   It's also given in an active form in the text, indicating a present active state of a person, "believing in the One who sent Me."  If we understand the verb "to trust," it gives us a different sense of what this faith is that Jesus is seeking than simply an intellectual acceptance of a premise or a set of statements or values.  He is not talking about a simple intellectual concept with which one either agrees or disagrees.  This word for "believe" is one that indicates that Jesus is talking about relationship.  If a spouse or loved one tells you something incredible, hard to believe, that has never occurred to yourself as possibility, where does one go in terms of belief or credibility?  Moreover, the statement is one made as witness -- it is a statement, in Christ's case, of something Christ has witnessed and knows as Son that we don't.  It's not a theory and it's not a strange idea He heard somewhere.  Again, going back to the idea of friend or spouse or loved one telling you a strange thing that person knows or has witnessed -- how do you believe or not?  It all goes back to trust.  It goes to a basic sense of the person who is revealing something to you that might be hard to conceive.  Do you trust that person?  How credible do you find them based on your relationship to them?  And this is what faith is with Christ, and the Greek word for "believe" used here.  How do you find trust in a person?  What sense within oneself is activated deep in the heart for trust?  This reveals not simply an intellectual assent to a set of ideas.  It is rather a question of depth of relationship, something coming from an inner place we don't always understand at all, but will sometimes make itself known and present to us.  This is where real faith comes from:  it is a connection deep in the soul.  Many times one might speak of a relationship to spouse or loved one on this basis:  there are people one knows one can trust, and there are others one does not.  This sense of trust comes from a depth that can feel almost instinctual, but is strongly linked to love, to a sense of what is intrinsically or deeply good.  In this sense, we understand faith to be that which draws us into trust in a Person (in this case, with a capital P).  It doesn't mean we already understand all things; it means that we are drawn, and will be drawn more deeply into the truth He offers.  It implies a sort of relationship that is always in the process of fulfillment and deeper reconciliation, in the same way that deep and significant human person-to-person relationships work.  Christ has spoken of Himself as a door, in John 10:9, "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture."  To be actively believing is to enter through that door and to continue into that journey of faith it opens to us.  This is a continual process, one in which we might struggle with doubt, we might backslide, and which will always involve ongoing encounters with repentance.  But that is just part of what the "good fight of faith" is all about (1 Timothy 6:12).

Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me

 

 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.  And that day was the Sabbath.  The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. 

 

- John 5:1-18 

 

Yesterday we read that after the two days He departed from Samaria and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.  So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

 

  After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  Traditionally, this feast is viewed as the Feast of Weeks or the Old Testament Pentecost (as it occurs 50 days after Passover).   It is a celebration of the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai.  Later in this chapter, we will see many references to the Law of Moses, which confirm this interpretation.  

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  This was a double-basin pool, which was believed to have curative powers.  My study bible says that it has recently been discovered about 100 yards north of the temple area, near the Sheep Gate.  The water for this high-ground pool was from underground springs.  It was used to wash down the sacrificial lambs before they were slain.  My study bible further comments that this pool functions as a type of Christian baptism.  Under the old covenant, a great multitude waited to enter the water for physical healing after an angel touched it.  The waters were special in the sense that they offered a way to indirectly participate in the animal sacrifices in the temple, since the animals were washed in the same water.  But in that case, only the first person to enter could receive grace.  By contrast, under the new covenant, baptism is given to all nations as a direct participation in the sacrificial death of Christ (see Romans 6:3-6) and without mediation of angels.  Thereby baptism grants healing of the soul and the promise of eternal resurrection of the body, with inexhaustible grace. 

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  My study bible cites St. John Chrysostom's commentary as saying that Jesus singled out this particular man who had waited for thirty-eight years so that we are taught to have perseverance, and also as a judgment against those who lose hope or patience in much lesser troubles lasting a far shorter time.

When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.  And that day was the Sabbath.  My study bible comments that Christ's question to the man is relevant for many reasons.  First, it makes public the fact that the sick man kept his faith although in a seemingly hopeless circumstance.  How could a paralytic ever be the first in the water?  Second, Christ draws attention away from the water and toward the need that we have for a man to help us.  This is fulfilled in Christ, who became that human being in order to heal all.  Finally, not all those who are ill actually desire healing.  Some might prefer to remain infirm for varying reasons, such as the capacity to freely complain, to avoid responsibility in some sense for their lives, or to continue receiving the pity of others.

 

The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  Although the Law itself does not specifically forbid the carrying of burdens on the Sabbath, my study bible notes that it is prohibited in Jeremiah 17:21-22, and also explicitly forbidden in rabbinical teachings.   It is made clear that Christ is Lord over the Sabbath by His command, "Rise, take up your bed and walk," and also by the man's obedience in response.  As we frequently note, in John's Gospel, the term the Jews -- as in this example -- refers to the leaders and not to the Jewish people in general.  My study bible comments on the malice of these leaders, who focus solely on the Sabbath violation in asking him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk?" and ignoring altogether the miraculous healing. 

 

Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  A note in my study bible remarks on the fact that this man was found in the temple:  it shows his great faith, for he had gone there directly to thank God for his healing, rather than leaving to someone's home or the marketplace.  Jesus tells him, sin no more.  My study bible comments that while there is a general connection between sin and suffering (Romans 6:23), this connection is not always one-to-one, for the innocent frequently suffer, and the guilty are also often spared earthly sufferings (see also 9:1-3).   But there are times when our sins do lead directly to our own suffering in this world.  St. Chrysostom states that this was the case with the paralytic.  But, my study bible adds, Christ's warning is that the sins that destroy the soul lead to a far worse result than an affliction of the body.  The only hope is to flee from sin altogether.  

The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.   My study bible notes that the man doesn't report Jesus to the leaders in a malicious way, but rather as a witness to the goodness of Christ.  Although these leaders only show an interest in the violation of the Sabbath, the healed man nevertheless emphasizes that it was Jesus who had made him well, and he says nothing about carrying his bed.  

For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.  Here is an explanation of the effort to persecute Jesus, but once again, Christ's response is on the work of the Father which He is working.  As Jesus declares God to be "My Father," the leaders clearly understand that it implies Christ is equal with God.  

In the first chapter of John's Gospel, John the Baptist introduces Jesus to His future disciples as the Lamb of God (1:29, 36).  Here in today's reading, the commentary of my study bible ties in that title and understanding with this reading about the pool at the Sheep Gate.  It is the pool in which the sacrificial lambs are washed before they are slain, and that is part of the perception that this water has properties through which one may indirectly participate in the sacrifice.  But, as my study bible explains, those properties are limited:  they are restricted only to the first one to enter the water, and that grace is mediated by an angel.  Expanding on this understanding, we take on the meaning of the name of Christ as Lamb of God.  In our understanding of the Cross, and Christ's sacrifice as Lamb of God, we are each invited to participate fully in His grace and His healing for us.  Thus, we understand the viewpoint of our earliest ancestors in the Church:  that Christ is an expression of the fullness of the potential in our ancient expressions of faith and reaching toward God.  Where the man with the infirmity hoped for decades to reach the pool first, now Christ is fully in the world for each of us, as is the grace with which we've been bestowed, which my study bible calls "inexhaustible."  We should not think it strange that the water that washed the lambs was hoped to heal, and also through the intervention of an angel.  In the long history of the Church, and from the beginning, it was understood that objects could retain healing power through contact with the holy.   In today's reading, we're given the third sign in John's Gospel.  It exemplifies the divine power to restore a person to wholeness, an important expansion on what we already understand of Christ's power and identity as divine Person.  In our previous reading, we were given the healing of the nobleman's son, a presumably youthful and ill boy.  But here the text goes out of its way to let us know that this is an older man with a long degenerative illness, seeking a cure here at the Sheep Gate for thirty-eight years.  His immediate restoration to wholeness through Christ tells us of the abundant grace available in the Person of Christ, and also that time is no object to His power.  That Jesus tells the man, "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you," is, to my ears, an affirmation of that power, as to go and sin would be a type of deliberate violation of the grace and power that has so fully been bestowed to heal.  What has been given is given freely and abundantly, and through faith:  to go and sin would be a deliberate act against both faith and the gift of grace, and thereby risking the effects of rejection of the presence of Christ in the paralytic's life, a turning away from the gift of participation.   This is a theme from the beginning of John's Gospel, that to turn away from the light is to risk the effects of the darkness.   Let us consider the ways in which we participate in Christ's sacrifice and in the grace of God.  What good things have come to you?  Is there healing that has happened in your life in response to faith?  Let us remember that gifts of grace are myriad, and seldom spectacular, except to the one who understands God's work in oneself and one's life.  To be grateful is a key here, as my study bible notes that Christ finds this healed man giving thanks in the temple.  Let us always refresh our connection and participation in the life and grace we're offered.  The man tells Jesus, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Let us remember that in the communion we're offered and the fullness of our Pentecost, there are countless saints, and always a Helper present -- even when we feel alone.

Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe

 

 Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast. 

So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

 

- John 4:43–54 

 

Yesterday we read that, midst Christ's conversation with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?"  The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  Then they went out of the city and came to Him.  In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."  But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."  Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.  Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!  And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  For in this the saying is true:  'One sows and another reaps.'  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."  So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His own word.  Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."  

 

 Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  Jesus' own country is Galilee (1:46; 2:1; 7:42, 52; 19:19).

 

So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.  John's Gospel has already recorded Jesus attending one Passover festival (2:13-25).  While there, He performed many signs.  My study bible cites St. John Chrysostom, in saying that while here the Gospel tells us that the Galileans received Christ because of having seen His signs, greater credit goes to the Samaritans for accepting Christ based on words alone, without the accompanying signs (see also 20:29).  

So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."   My study bible comments that Christ is admonishing the people in general (you in this last verse is plural both times), and not simply the nobleman.   It says that faith based on miraculous works alone is not sufficient for salvation.   This type of incomplete faith can quickly turn to scorn when miracles cease (19:15).  

The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.   My study bible remarks that the overriding concern of the noble is for his child, even though his faith is weak.  He doesn't understand that Christ is Lord over illness even from a distance.  He also doesn't understand that Christ would have the power to heal even if the child were to die.  In the end, he asks about the time of the healing, still seeking to validate (and not completely trusting) Christ's authority.  But after all is confirmed, he and his whole household finally believe.  Therefore, my study bible says, in healing the child from a distance, Christ heals not just the body of the child, but also the soul of the nobleman.   

This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.  This second sign of seven in John's Gospel reveals another facet of Christ's divine identity.  In this Gospel, He's already revealed that He can see into the hearts of people from a distance, in the story of calling of the disciple Nathanael (1:45-48).  By this second sign, Christ demonstrates that He can also heal at a distance.  In effect, my study bible notes, showing that His divine power has no earthly limits.  There are some similarities between this sign and the miracle which appears in Matthew 9:5-13, there are also crucial differences.  These are viewed as two different encounters.

 

In today's modern age of science, much more is made of different dimensional characteristics than possibly could be understood at the time of Christ.  But even then, the sciences were considered important and held a great place in education.  Mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology, and many other sciences were already quite developed.   From a shipwreck that occurred sometime in the first century before Christ, there has been discovered what is called the Antikythera Mechanism (after the Greek island next to which the shipwreck took place).  This device is an early analogue computer, one made of many gears which enabled it to compute eclipses, the orbit of the moon (including its period of irregular orbit), as well as the orbit of the sun through the Zodiac.  It tells us of the advanced understanding and importance of science at that time, despite a general Western point of view that such sophistication didn't exist until far later.  At this time, no educated person was without an equal training in science and letters, and so it should be understood that the earliest great theologians of the Church were also well-trained in the sciences.  Therefore, the understanding of Christ's revelation of Himself in today's reading as one whose power is not held back by earthly restrictions of space and other understood dimensions or limitations of worldly life  takes on a significance we can start to appreciate in the eyes of the earliest Christian theologians.  Even time was understood as not a barrier to Christ, as philosophically these earliest Fathers of the Church understood life and time as that which was characterized as always in movement, and even in the action of entropy, or gradual decline.  Christ's healings were seen as evidence of disruption of that cycle, and even in this sense defying the laws of physics that govern the world.  So when we read about His signs, we should try to understand them as our highly rational and educated ancestors did:  as evidence that His origin and nature were connected to a place that transcended these dimensions or limitations.  A sign, after all, points to something beyond itself, and that is the way that we need to understand Christ's miracles.  They are not some sort of magic trick, or sensational ability or gift.  They are signs of His divine nature, they point to something which we can't see but which He is fully a part of, although He is also fully a human being.  As these signs unfold in John's Gospel, we will continue to view the fullness of Christ's ministry, eventually revealing the fullness of His identity and its importance for us as human beings.  We should keep in mind that all of this is for us and so that we may become and grow in communion with Christ and all that is brought to the table in Him.  

 

My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work

 

 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?"  The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  Then they went out of the city and came to Him.  In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."  But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."  Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.  Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!  And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  For in this the saying is true:  'One sows and another reaps.'  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."  

And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."  So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His own word.  Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world." 

 

- John 4:27–42 

 

Yesterday we read that when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.  But He needed to go through Samaria.  So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Now Jacob's well was there.  Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well.  It was about the sixth hour.  A woman of Samaria came to draw water.  Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."  For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.  Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being  Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?"  For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.  Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.  Where then do You get that living water?  Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?"  Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.  But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."  Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."  The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."  Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ).  "When He comes, He will tell us all things."  Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He." 

 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?"   My study bible comments that they marveled not only that Jesus spoke with a Samaritan, but that He was speaking with an unaccompanied woman, which was potentially scandalous.  See also other of Jesus' dealings with women in 7:53-8:11; 11:20-33; 20:11-18 (also Luke 8:1-3).  

The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  Then they went out of the city and came to Him.   As we mentioned in yesterday's reading and commentary, this Samaritan woman is known in the Church as St. Photini.   In the context of these verses, she becomes an early evangelist, who testifies to the advent of Christ and brings others to Him.  In accordance with early Church tradition, after the Resurrection, she was baptized with the name Photini which means "the enlightened one."   Together with her two sons and five daughters, she went to Carthage to spread the gospel.  Later she was martyred with her family under Nero, by being thrown into a well.  

In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."  But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."  Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.  Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!"  My study bible cites St. John Chrysostom, who comments that Jesus' command to behold was given because the townspeople were approaching, ready and eager to come to faith in Christ.  Jesus compares these "foreigners" (relative to the Jews) to fields which are already white for harvest.  Some suggest that they approach wearing traditional white garments, and so we understand the image given to the disciples.  My study bible further notes that this command is also to believers to look to those around us and to share the gospel with anyone wanting to hear it, regardless of race of ethnicity.  

"And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  For in this the saying is true:  'One sows and another reaps.'  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."  Again, according to the commentary of Chrysostom, those who sow and those who reap are, respectively, the prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles.  The prophets sowed in preparation for the coming of the Messiah, but didn't see His coming and therefore couldn't reap.  The apostles didn't do the preparation, but they would draw thousands to Christ in their own lifetimes.  All who testify and witness to Christ do the same, entering into others' labors.

And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."  So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His own word.  Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."   My study bible comments on the fact that these "foreigners" or outsiders (to the Jews) are among the first to recognize Jesus as the Savior of the world shows that the gospel is for all people in every nation.

The story of St. Photini is a remarkable one because this revelation of Christ's identity happens so early in John's Gospel.  It tells us something powerful about Jesus' reception within the lands of "strangers" or "foreigners" vis-a-vis Christ's own people.  Jesus declares to Photini (in yesterday's reading, above), "You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews."  So there is no confusion about this faith and about His mission and identity.  But once Christ begins to manifest His divine nature in the form of signs, such as turning the water to wine at the wedding in Cana, He knows what will happen.  Once Christ begins to gather followers, so the leadership begins to take notice and to oppose.  Indeed, Jesus is here in Samaria because He's on His way to Galilee, having already begun His conflicts with the religious leadership in Jerusalem.  But here among these foreigners, He finds one to whom He has revealed Himself, and she in turn brings many more along who believe.  This is the paradoxical stuff of the Gospels.  It is the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" to whom He has been sent (Matthew 15:24), but it is here -- and to this woman, no less -- where He chooses to reveal Himself.  It is also a kind of affirmation of Christ's words to Nicodemus about the Holy Spirit, "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" (3:8).  The holy works in accordance with the holy; there is no earthly check on God and the works of God in the world.  But despite the reception here, Jesus has work to do, and a mission, to go to those to whom He was sent, and to whom He will also first send His apostles before they go out to all the nations (Matthew 10:6).  And so it might work in each of our own lives.  There are those to whom God has sent us, or whom God sends our way.  Perhaps, as faithful, we share or at least live our faith among those to whom we're closest, those whom God gives us.  We should be prepared, as is Christ, for a kind of heartache and rejection, the image of the cross, in our own lives should that become a part of our experience.  But it nevertheless does not diminish the mission to live the life God has given us.  We should not be attached to images of success and particular outcomes, because this is not the way that Christ lives His life and leads His ministry either.  Spreadsheets and profit margins don't belong in the ministry of the word that works mysteriously, with its own living power that we don't control and can't see.  Jesus will be rejected among His own family and neighbors, something John's Gospel will go into in quite a bit of detail, but it is Christ who says -- in some form in all four Gospels -- that a prophet has no honor in his own country (4:44).  We should be prepared to understand that living a life faithful to Christ isn't without its pitfalls and rejections, and to keep our mind open to our faith and where it takes us.  Those whom we might expect to be most receptive may in fact be quite the opposite, but God's word and truth finds reception perhaps in the house of strangers, those who become brothers and sisters through faith.  Let us keep in mind the understanding of work, the "labor" in which He's engaged, and His own attitude toward the mission with which He's entrusted.  In today's reading, He tells His disciples, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work."  He is faithful and true to the One who has sent Him.  Let us understand our own lives in the same context, and our own faithfulness in whatever way we're sent.  We also enter into others' labors, and we don't know the time of the harvest or even what that harvest might look like.  But we who know His love must be true and faithful to it, as He has shown us first.