“What are you looking for?”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Tuesday, March 21, 2023
John 6:16-27 (Forward, p. 51) CEV p. 1107
Haven’t you had the experience of listening to someone talk, and finding yourself quite puzzled, quite perplexed, as to what they are getting at. Occasionally, knowing the context or situation helps, but not always. And sometimes simply watching the person’s head movements and spying how the person’s eyes have drifted from one thing to another during the course of the conversation, helps clarify what has been said, but again, not always.
Initially-and for some time—I found today’s passage to be like that. When the crowds realized that Jesus had somehow gotten to the other side of the lake without the benefit of a boat. (They had observed that there had only been one boat and that He had not left in it). So, their logical question would have been, “How did you get here?” But, oh no, they asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” I must have missed something, for it makes no sense at all, at least to me.
But then Jesus completely ignores their enquiry and darts off on an entirely different tangent. He addresses an entirely different question, but at least, this question makes sense, it is the question of what they are looking for in seeking Him:
“I tell you for certain that you are not looking for me because you saw the miracles (‘sign’ in the original Greek), but because you ate all the food you wanted” (verse 26). This does make sense, especially when seen in light of how John the evangelist uses that word. For John, Jesus’ miracles were never ‘ends in themselves’, but rather ‘signs’ that pointed beyond themselves to something—or rather, someone—greater than those mere instances of God’s power. They were always meant as signs to direct peoples’ attention to Jesus. But, as Jesus so eloquently points out here, the people that came seeking Him, had missed all that. They saw only the food that He had provided.
As so His next injunction is ‘right on’: “Don’t work for food that spoils. Work for food that gives eternal life. The Son of Man will give you this food, because God the Father has given him the right to do so” (verse 27). It is exactly as the Lord says in Isaiah, “Why spend money on what does not satisfy? Why spend your wages and still be hungry? Listen to me and do what I say, and you will enjoy the best food of all” (Isaiah 55:2).
So, Jesus is here addressing a most fundamental question, a key question to life and how we live our lives, namely, what is it that we are looking for? Is it something short term and transitory, such as food or drink, or pleasure or power or possessions or worldly success and acclaim? Or is it something that truly lasts, that truly satisfies, that gives not just life on this planet, temporary life, but rather, eternal life, life that goes on and on and is not impaired or stopped by the grave. As it turns out, it is only Jesus the Christ who can give us this thing, and indeed, even better than all this, is He Himself, for in Him we find, and enjoy, all of this. And so, truly the incredible miracle of the loaves and fishes was meant to point us beyond themselves to Him, who is the author and giver of all things, namely Jesus. May we learn a lesson from this and look for Him and seek Him, and only Him. Amen.
Forward notes: “Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves’” (verse 26).
“A mentor once told me, ‘Save early; it will pay off when you retire.’ He was right; saving early in one’s adult life does make a difference, sometimes a huge difference. Compound interest, or better yet, stock market compounding, can yield significant results.
“In today’s reading, Jesus tells the crowd, ‘Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life.’ Is Jesus warning the people against saving for the future? I doubt it. Most of us have to work for bread; and if we ever plan to retire, we have to save for future bread.
“I think Jesus is simply warning against devoting ourselves to lesser needs. We must take care not to make our lives about bread (money) but to seek divine nourishment, the eternal bread of life.”
Moving Forward: “Where do you spend most of your time and energy—on the lesser needs or the higher calling?”