John 6:1-15
1After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. 2A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. 3Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near.
5When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?" 6He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. 7Philip answered him, "Six months' wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." 8One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9"There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?" 10Jesus said, "Make the people sit down."
Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. 11Then Jesus 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. 12When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost."
13So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. 14When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world."
15When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
The Gospel According to Saint John
Each of the three synoptic gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke – has a distinctive style with a particular audience in mind, yet all three view Jesus' life and ministry with a similar perspective. John, the latest of the biblical gospels, is the rogue outlier that almost didn't make the canonical cut. Jesus' Beloved Disciple John and the community gathered around him compiled this account around 110 C.E. Scholars believe they they mostly drew upon two written sources referred to as the Signs source and the I Am source.
All four gospels proclaim the inbreaking reign of heaven on earth, but more than the others, John brings us the here-and-now of God's presence in Jesus. We sometimes call that "realized eschatology," meaning the fullness of salvation and redemption already is a done deal. You may remember Jesus' first act of public ministry in John is a wedding party, where water not only flowed like wine, and where water had become wine? In both the Hebrew and New Covenant scriptures, flowing wine is an image of the reign of heaven. Bounty, excess, and celebration set the mood for John's entire gospel.
This is Mark's year B in the Revised Common Lectionary that provides our scripture readings, but with Mark being the shortest of the synoptics, during Mark's year we have quite a few readings from John. Today begins five consecutive Sundays from John 6, the Bread of Life discourse.
It would be easy to confirm this (though I didn't yet), but I believe today's account of feeding at least five thousand people with very little food is the only story found in all four gospels:
• Mark 6:32-44
• Luke 9:10-17
• Matthew 14:13-21
Interpreting Scripture
To the extent we can figure it out, the historical setting and original meaning of a passage always is our first question when we read scripture, even before we discern it as God's word to us and for us. Just as every mention of water doesn't refer to baptism, every mention of bread and/or fruit of the vine doesn't correlate to the Lord's Supper, yet they still remind us water is life and food is essential. At this beginning of John's long Bread of Life section, I agree with the commentator who said do not jump in right now and associate this feeding with the Lord's Supper, Holy Communion, the Eucharist right away, even though here in John's account Jesus takes the loaves, gives thanks, and Jesus himself feeds the people. Did you notice there's no mention of water, fruit of the vine, or wine…?
Jesus' disciples would not have heard Jesus' words in this chapter in terms of the Last Supper/Lord's Supper or related to a post-resurrection Eucharistic meal with the risen Christ. Although Jesus' original long discourse would have been more scattered and piecemeal than what John's community gives us, as he wrote down his gospel John was very theologically intentional about the order of Jesus' words, and today's reading doesn't yet have Jesus' proclaim I Am the Bread of Life where Jesus not only gives the food, Jesus is the food, so let's wait on it.
Most of scripture closely aligns all facets of life. In fact, separating out sacred and mundane, religious and profane is somewhat post-enlightenment, which partly helps us appreciate (for example) Martin Luther's close alliance with political electors and royal princes in ways that horrify us today, and probably would even if we didn't live in a country where "religion shall not be established."
Bread and Fish Notes
This chapter happens during Passover. Just as at the first Passover, there's been a sea crossing, followed by bread in the wilderness. John 6:9 "Five barley loaves and two fish." Barley was one of the seven agricultural gifts of the promised land; barley was the coarser, less expensive poorer person's grain, and the barley harvest had the advantage of being ready before the wheat! Barley bread provided sustenance for the poor, and some in that culture considered fish a food of the gods.
To prepare for this blog, I listened to an oldish sermon by James Howell, whose blog is chock full of resources for scripture study, prayer, and daily Christian life. He mentioned "leftovers and baskets full" are the same words in Greek, but whatever happened to those leftovers? He added well… they just now fed the poor, and they didn't have plastic wrap. aluminum foil, to-go containers or really any safe long-term food storage options. Pastor Howell told us St. John Chrysostom suggests those extras went to people who were't present, possibly Judas Iscariot!
Howell also put out the idea the leftovers might have been thrown away. Maybe to feed birds or wild animals? I'd hope so! Jesus and his disciples lived in a mixed economy, with Roman taxes that helped maintain infrastructure and line politicians' pockets, and similar to our own economy of scarcity, too much money chased too few goods, so supply and demand determined prices. Bartering was a third aspect of their economy, to a greater extent than exchanges like babysitting for garden produce some of us do. We only can guess what happened to those leftovers, but we have very good knowledge of God's abundance, generosity, grace, supply—as in you can't out-give God! You've probably heard, "There's enough for everyone's need, but not for everyone's greed?" More next week!
During distribution of the sacrament, the contemporary church often sings Sr. Suzanne Toolan's "I am the Bread of Life" musical setting of John 6.
I Am the Bread of Life
I am the bread of life
You who come to me shall not hunger
And who believe in me shall not thirst
No one can come to me
Unless the Father beckons
Refrain:
And I will raise you up
And I will raise you up
And I will raise you up on the last day
The bread that I will give
Is my flesh for the life of the world
And if you eat of this bread
You shall live forever
You shall live forever
[Refrain:]
I am the resurrection
I am the life
If you believe in me
Even though you die
You shall live forever
[Refrain:]
Yes Lord I believe
That you are the Christ
The Son of God
Who has come
Into the world
[Refrain:]
Scripture: John 6
Songwriter: Suzanne Toolan, RSM
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