Confusion reigns in today\u2019s gospel. Firstly, the people who were miraculously fed by Jesus – as we heard last Sunday – are confused by his sudden disappearance as well as that of his companions. Some of those people make an educated guess that Jesus might have gone to the fishing town of Capernaum, his Galilean base. So they sail across the lake and their guess is rewarded by finding Jesus in the local synagogue. They initiate a conversation with him, but the further they go, the more confused they get. They ask him questions, but his answers seem only to deepen their confusion. For them, as Israelites brought up in a culture where every aspect of life was regulated in fine detail by the religious law, Jesus\u2019 \u2018vagueness\u2019 is confusing. And, let\u2019s be honest, two thousand years later, Jesus\u2019 speech is no less confusing to many of us, sitting in our local church. So, let\u2019s try to chop up today\u2019s gospel reading into small, digestible pieces and – hopefully – by the end of my speech confusion will have left this place.<\/p>\n
\u2018You are not looking for me because you have seen the signs but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat.\u2019<\/em> To the people who have made a lot of effort to come that far following Jesus, his opening sentence must sound quite harsh. There is no appreciation for or acknowledgement of their effort, just a stern diagnosis of their motivation. \u2018The charming Jesus\u2019 is gone, replaced by \u2018the stern Jesus\u2019, and they don\u2019t like it.<\/p>\n \u2018Do not work for food that cannot last, but work for food that endures to eternal life, the kind of food the Son of Man (Jesus) is offering you.\u2019<\/em> Here\u2019s where the confusion really starts. Essentially we do work to earn money to put bread on the table. But on the face of it, Jesus basically tells us to neglect such work and instead to concentrate on food that endures to eternal life.<\/em> Excuse me? The confusion comes from the misinterpretation of the word \u2018to work\u2019.<\/em> Jesus\u2019 use of this verb refers to the efforts made by the people following him. Such efforts make sense only when their aim is to find eternal life, not digestibles.<\/p>\n \u2018What must we do if we are to do the works that God wants?\u2019<\/em> Jesus\u2019 audience, confused as they are, respond with a question. Seemingly they are willing to accept Jesus\u2019 demands in the same way that they were brought up, namely by doing things.<\/em> As I mentioned earlier on, the Jewish law regulated every aspect of life in fine detail. Fulfilling the obligations, duties and requirements of the Law was effectively the only way to gain God\u2019s approval. Now those people who followed Jesus ask him what they must do<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em> His response couldn\u2019t be further away from their current understanding: \u2018This is working for God: you must believe in the one he has sent\u2019<\/em> – namely, Jesus himself. He tries to turn their understanding of faith in God upside down: eternal life is a gift from God, offered through his Son Jesus; it is not a payment for the diligent, literal fulfilment of religious rules.<\/p>\n Jesus\u2019 attempt isn\u2019t successful. His audience demands a miracle that would confirm his credentials, but what they are actually trying to do is to trick him into becoming a \u2018free-meal provider\u2019 by recalling their nation\u2019s glamorised glorious past: \u2018What sign will you give to show us that we should believe in you? Our fathers had manna to eat in the desert.\u2019<\/em> Their attempt evokes a scene from Jesus\u2019 fasting in the desert when Satan tempted him to turn stones into loaves of bread. Jesus denounced Satan by saying that \u2018it is not just bread that keeps people alive. Their lives depend on what God says.\u2019<\/em> And, basically, it\u2019s the same answer that Jesus gives his audience. His mission is to satisfy a much greater craving than a physical one: \u2018Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.\u2019 (Matthew 5:6)<\/em><\/p>\n The word righteousness<\/em> here doesn\u2019t mean any form of arrogant and self-applauding, self-declared holiness. Righteousness<\/em> describes the desire for fairness, goodness, integrity, decency, honesty and rectitude in one\u2019s life. Such longing can find its fulfilment only in Jesus – that\u2019s what he tries to teach us in today\u2019s gospel. Short-term earthly prosperity – symbolised here by \u2018bread\u2019 – isn\u2019t Jesus\u2019 priority. He wants his followers to find a significantly deeper meaning to their lives. And when it\u2019s found, everything falls into place, into the right<\/em> place. So, at the end of the day Jesus does care about our daily bread, but in connection with the equally important food of our higher needs.<\/p>\n
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