Tues., May 17, 2005
CHRIST IS RISEN!
Apostles Andronikos & Junia of the Seventy
Kellia: Deuteronomy 1:1-5 Apostle: Acts 8:5-17 Gospel: St. John 6:27-33
St. John 6:27-33, especially vs. 33: "For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives
life to the world." To be an Orthodox Christian is to accept a life-long series of surrenders through which I am weaned
away from this seemingly normal, material-centered life into which everyone is born, in order to be reshaped into a very
different person. I am called to gain a brand-new life-purpose, a primary commitment for measuring all claims and
loyalties, and an unshakeable bond with every sort of human being throughout the world. Weaning, changing, and being
reshaped do not come easily for earth-bound people. Observe a child during the months when it is being taken away from
the breast or the bottle and is gaining a minimum facility with cup, plate, and table service. During such a time one may
discern in microcosm something of the spiritual struggle required by the life in Christ. No easy task!
In the present passage, the Evangelist John introduces his readers to the personal realignments that Christ our God requires
of those who approach Him for whatever reason. The key to understanding these verses as well as to appreciating how
revolutionary it is to be a Christian, is to grasp the profound conflict inherent in the interaction between the Lord Jesus and
the multitude who had pursued Him ever since He had fed them (Jn. 6:1-14). First, they determined to "take Him by force
to make Him king," an act which He resisted by departing "to the mountain by Himself alone" (Jn. 6:15). When they
caught up with Him, He confronted their search for Him by pointing out that they had failed to see the point of His
miraculous signs but instead sought Him only because they "ate of the loaves and were filled" (Jn. 6:26).
On the basis of His diagnosis of their purpose in life, the Lord Jesus advises them - and us - to change basic purposes and
"not labor for the bread which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life" (Jn. 6:27). Being an authentic
follower of Christ Jesus is to abandon the commonplace purpose which underlies the lives of the vast majority of people in
the world in favor of laboring for a spiritual bread which not only "endures to everlasting life," but also which the Son of
Man alone can and will "give...because God the Father has set His seal on Him" (vs. 27). For fallen creatures, dominated by
cravings for material returns, His demand is quite a reversal.
According to our Lord Jesus, what then is the guiding commitment around which people should organize their energies?
What ought to be the undergirding goal determining all of one's loyalties and priorities? Christ our God states it very
simply: "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him Whom He sent" (vs. 29). Believing in Jesus Christ must be first
and foremost. What is more, as the Evangelist shows us, this demand of the Lord was and is difficult for many to grasp.
The mob quite missed the point: "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You" (vs. 30). Still
thinking in material terms, they hold up to Jesus the miracle of the manna in the wilderness which "our fathers ate...in the
desert" (vs. 31) - a challenge that He top that ancient miracle. Ironically, their challenge was quite ill-informed, for the
Christ had already fed them, five thousand strong, with fives loaves and two fish (Jn. 6:9). The Lord Jesus is very blunt
concerning the manna, or bread, which the people received under Moses. It was "not the bread from heaven," but material
food that fed physical bodies. Still, there is a "bread from heaven" which God the "Father gives...the true bread from
heaven" (Jn. 6:32), and that is "He Who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world" (vs. 33), Jesus Himself.
How He strove to give them and us Himself - the true, eternal blessing of God! O taste and see that the Lord is good,
Who for our sake was made like unto us of old and once for all offered up Himself...sanctifying those who partake of Him.
