Daily Gospel Reflection - 11 January 2013

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Jesus understood that they were about to come and force him to be their king, so he took refuge again, alone on a mountain.

When evening came, Jesus’ disciples went down to the lake. They got into a boat and were crossing the lake to Capernaum. It was already getting dark and Jesus hadn’t come to them yet. The water was getting rough because a strong wind was blowing. When the wind had driven them out for about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the water. He was approaching the boat and they were afraid. He said to them, “I Am. Don’t be afraid.” Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and just then the boat reached the land where they had been heading.

The next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the lake realized that only one boat had been there. They knew Jesus hadn’t gone with his disciples, but that the disciples had gone alone. Some boats came from Tiberius, near the place where they had eaten the bread over which the Lord had given thanks. When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

Jesus replied, “I assure you that you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate all the food you wanted. Don’t work for the food that doesn’t last but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Human One will give you. God the Father has confirmed him as his agent to give life.”

Here’s another famous scene - Jesus walking on the water. But, I don’t want to talk about that. I want to point to the other part of the reading.

In the last half of the reading, the people come looking for Jesus for the wrong reason. They’re looking for another free meal! They thought they could circumvent the way things work for the own immediate benefit. And that’s the point. Their intention was not for the betterment of the community but their own personal selves. They were being selfish.

Jesus corrected them. He told them that they should “work...for the food that endures for eternal life.” That is, they should be doing the work that he was doing. It is in doing the works of Jesus, it is in being Jesus in the world that “endures for eternal life.” And the life Jesus exemplified was the life of self-sacrificing love for others.



~~~
In the Love of the Three in One,

Br. Jack+, LC

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