Pentecost Ten (Revised Common Lectionary) | 07.28.24 | John 6.1-21 | Carl A. Voges |

The Passage

After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain and there he sat down with his disciples.

Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand, lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.”

One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number.

Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.”

So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

[English Standard Version; © 2001 by Crossway Bibles]

“…that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith…” [Ephesians 3.16-17a]

In the Name of Christ + Jesus Our Lord

There are a number of us who come into the Saturday evening or Sunday morning liturgies unsettled by the storms which keep pouring out from the world’s life yet are calmed by the larger reality of their Lord’s Life surrounding and sustaining them! This larger reality wheels strongly into our lives from John’s sixth chapter.

The storms we encounter are fierce – social media fueling harsh relationships among the people in our culture while pretending to build them; faithful parents being wracked with the addictions and deaths of their children.

However, thanks to the Lord’s activity from his Holy Writings and the holy places of his Baptism, Forgiveness and Supper, we are calmer! This larger reality pours out from the opening verses of John 6. The reality will continue to pour as the readings from this chapter run through 25 August.

As the passage opens up, the crowds are being attracted by the signs which Jesus has been doing for the sick: There was the very sick son of a royal official in Capernaum who was healed by our Lord; There was a man at the side of a Jerusalem pool ill for thirty-eight years (!) who was also healed by our Lord. These illnesses not only reflect the storms of this world’s life, they also show Jesus’ eagerness to confront them and immerse these people in the realities of his Life.

The crowds follow him to a mountain where they are startled by his next actions (biblically, recall that mountains often serve as references to the LORD God’s presence). It is important to notice as well that this story is taking place at the time of the Passover, the annual remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt. The Exodus is the premier saving event from the Old Testament, one pointing to Jesus’ dying and rising for the world’s people.

When Jesus sees the large crowd coming toward him, he asks Philip where they can buy food for the people to eat. Philip notes that even a six month’s accumulation of income would not be enough for each person to get a little. A denarius is equivalent to laborer’s wages for one day. Assume the laborer is paid ten dollars an hour and works ten hour days; six days a week over six months would give the laborer an income of more than fourteen thousand dollars. Philip observes that such an amount is not enough to feed five thousand people (the income comes to less than three dollars per person)!

So Simon Peter’s brother, Andrew, comments (perhaps he’s joking?) that there is a boy present with five barley loaves and two fish. Andrew quickly notes, though, that this is pitifully small for such a large crowd. Jesus orders the crowd to be seated. Then, in words and actions that are heard and seen in every liturgical celebration of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus takes the loaves, gives thanks and distributes them to the people. He does the same action with the fish.

When the crowd’s hunger is satisfied, Jesus tells the disciples to gather up the fragments so nothing is lost. The disciples gather up the fragments, filling twelve baskets! This action not only refers back to the twelve tribes of Israel, it also points forward to the gathering of the Church through the ministry of the twelve apostles.

When crowd sees this sign, they say that this is the prophet who is to come into world (Moses and Elijah were the most prominent prophets in the Old Testament; the crowd could also be referring to Elisha, Elijah’s successor). Jesus, realizing the crowd is coming to take him by force to make him king, withdraws again to a mountain by himself. His disciples get into a boat and cross the water to Capernaum (this body of water is about seven miles wide and twelve miles long).

A strong wind is blowing, causing the water to become rough. Three or four miles into the journey, the disciples see Jesus walking on the sea as he comes near the boat. This frightens them, but he says, “It is I, do not be afraid!” They gladly take him into the boat and immediately arrive where they were headed.

What do we make of this passage for the Church’s life today? A first look suggests the passage is quite disjointed (a miraculous feeding and a storm on the water), but a second look shows that there is strong connection between these two sections. The passage is dominated by our Lord’s actions in confronting people burdened with illness as he brings his Life to this world. Further, the passage is also dominated by the presence of the LORD God (recall the references to a mountain at the beginning and the end; remember, too, the references to the observance of the Passover at the beginning and the end).

We can understand the crowd’s reaction to Jesus after he fed them in such a miraculous way. Quieting their hunger in an unbelievable fashion, they are motivated to make him their king (they are already imagining the many other things he might be able to do for them!).

Yet the storm on the sea and Jesus’ appearance in it gives a fuller picture of who Jesus truly is. That storm – Jesus’ walking on the water, his calming of the disciples’ fears and their safe arrival on land – recalls the crossing of the Red Sea by the Lord’s people during their Exodus from Egypt. In the middle of the fears generated by hunger and a storm, Jesus states, “It is I!” This reflects the LORD God asserting in the Old Testament, “I am who I am!”

On the four Sundays following this one we will see how such feeding and delivering pushes into our lives from the Lord’s Supper along with the other sacraments of Baptism and Forgiveness. Today, however, we pause to notice the sharp contrasts between the foods of this world and the Food of our Lord. The world’s food can impact our lives in strengthening and healthy ways or it can impact them in weakening and illness-generating ways. Over the years we learn how to manage the world’s food so it is helpful (not hurtful) for our bodies, minds and spirits, but we admit that such managing does not always go smoothly.

As our lives mature, we recognize how the world’s life, with its foods and its storms, can be messy and burdensome. But we also recognize that it is critical for us, as the Lord’s people, to be consuming his Body and his Blood! The Son steadily feeds us with his Life so we can be held together in the illnesses and hungers swirling around and through our lives, calming us immensely!

From the time that you and I are born into the world’s life, it is obvious that the world’s

foods, in varying quantities, are necessary for us to grow and live and function. Because those foods, however, can have wildly differing effects on our bodies, minds and spirits it is difficult to rely on them permanently.

The Food given us by the LORD God, though, is sharply different; it is his Body and his Blood, drenching us with the Son’s crucified, resurrected and ascended Life! Its effects on the lives of his baptized people are always same – Life-giving, Life-restoring, Life-sustaining, Life-calming – there is no problem relying on it permanently!

When we come then into the Saturday evening or Sunday morning liturgies, unsettled by the storms which keep pouring from the world’s life, we are calmed by the larger reality of our Lord surrounding and sustaining us with his eternal Life! As noted earlier the world’s storms are fierce – parishes aiming to be faithful in their ministries find themselves hampered by regional and national offices; muddled politics keep clamoring for our constant attention.

In the middle of these storms may the Son’s Spirit keep heightening our exposures to their Life from eternity. Through their activity and the Father’s from their Holy Writings and the holy places of their Baptism, Forgiveness and Supper, our lives will remain calm, especially when the world’s storms are being turned loose to unsettle our lives!

Now may the peace of the LORD God, which is beyond all understanding, keep our hearts and minds through Christ + Jesus Our Lord

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Pr. Carl A. Voges, STS, Columbia, SC; carl.voges4@icloud.com