2nd Passiontide
John 6: 1-25
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| Woloschina |
After this, Jesus crossed to
the far shore of the Sea of Galilee near Tiberius and a great crowd of people
followed him because they had seen the signs of the spirit, which he had
performed on those who were ill.
Then Jesus went up on the mountain and sat down
there with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Feast was near.
When Jesus raised his eyes to the world of the
spirit, and beheld how crowds of people were coming toward him, he said to
Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that all these people may eat?”
He asked this to test his understanding and
presence of mind, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered
him, “200 denarii [seven months wages] would not buy enough bread for them each
to have only a little.”
Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s
brother, spoke up: “A boy is here with five barley loaves and two small fish,
but what are these among so many?”
Jesus said, “Let the people sit down in groups.”
There was plenty of green grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five
thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave to those
who were seated, likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.
Now when they were satisfied, he said to his
disciples, “Gather up the fragments, that nothing be lost.” So, they gathered
them, and they filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley
loaves left over by those who had eaten. Seeing the sign that he had done, the
people said, “Truly, this is the prophet who is to come into the world.”
When Jesus became aware that they intended to come
and make him king by force, he withdrew again to the mountain alone by himself.
When
evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat
and set off over the sea for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not
yet come to them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When
they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the
boat, walking on the sea; and they were terrified. But he said to them, "I
AM, have no fear" Now when they wanted to take him into the boat,
immediately the boat was at the land, at the place where they wanted to go.
The
next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized
that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his
disciples, but that they had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias
landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had
given thanks. Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were
there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.
When
they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi, when
did you come here?"
Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, the truth I say to you:
You are seeking me not because you saw signs of spiritual power, but because
you ate of the bread and were satisfied.
2nd
Passiontide
John
6:1 -25
Some movies are made
that require you to put on special glasses. Then what you would ordinarily see
flat, out there, pops you into another dimension that surrounds you.
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| Vanaesch |
In
today’s reading, Christ gives his followers the means to see him in another
dimension. In feeding the five thousand, He gives them bread and fish imbued
with the teeming invisible life of the twelve stars of heaven. This nourishment
becomes a lens.
That
night in the boat the disciples enter another dimension. They see Him as the
Son of Man, walking on the surging realm of the sea of life that surrounds
them. They are agitated and fearful. But He assures them that He is no mere
apparition. He is reality—I AM. He becomes the stabilizing centering force that
they take into their ship.
When
we come to the altar, Christ gives us, too, the bread of the stars. It is the
bread of life, the reality of Himself. In us it gradually forms itself into an
instrument. It becomes the lens by which we can begin to see Him, and orient
ourselves toward His reality. For this bread is not ordinary food; it is the
nourishment for our life in the imperishable, welling life of the starry sea.
It is the spirit bread of Christ Himself. Taking Him into the little ship of our lives, He becomes our calming, centering
force. He is the steadying but motive power that we can trust on life’s stormy
seas.
