From the Daily Lectionary for Tuesday in the Fourth Week of Lent
John 6:16-27
When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, got into a boat, and started across the lake to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The lake became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the lake and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land towards which they were going.
The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the lake saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 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. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.”
There are two themes John is underlining here. The first is his metaphorical description of Jesus (and the way of Jesus) as light. What stands out in the story of the storm on the lake is that it occurs in the dark. John consistently contrasts the dark and the light as the poles between which we live our lives. Jesus is the light who has overcome, negotiated, the darkness. The boat reaches the other side of the lake in spite of the storm and the dark.
The second theme has to do with eternal life. In the prologue of John, the writer proclaims that “what has come into being through him is life.” He is speaking of eternal life. Human life is eternal life. Eternal life has nothing to do with the afterlife. Eternal life in scripture is the abundant life on earth full of meaning and purpose and praise. Eternal life is not supernatural. It is radically natural, the way we were created to live.
The “way of Jesus” is the way into living in eternal life. When we live for the good of the other, we are in God, because God is love, and love infuses our world with possibility, meaning, and purpose. To love one’s neighbor is to love God and oneself. Love raises all boats, as it were. To live in Love is to have eternal life. That is John’s formula, if formula there be.
In a world operating under the intractable rubric of self-interest, such a commitment takes awareness and courageous intentionality. To live the Gospel is, as I often say, counter-cultural, because we have been acculturated into believing that “I” count first. Culture is a powerful force. The message of the Gospels is that that mentality leads to an empty life. We are made for loving our neighbor first. That is the secret to this short life. That is Jesus’s message plain and simple. To find yourself (which is to find God) is to give oneself away.
Think of this teaching as a new perspective. Try to see yourself in the world in a new way. Let go of yourself and seek the good of the other. What you may find is an eternity worthy of praise.
A Prayer for Faith (BCP p. 233)
O God of all power and might, the author and giver of all good gifts: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
