There is a series of very funny television commercials that portray people in their 30’s dressed in clothing that was popular in the 1980’s and exhibiting behavior that one would associate with their parents’ generation.  The commercials advertise a product that offers to prevent young people from turning into their parents, but the advertisement also contains a secondary meaning in the form of subtext.  The unspoken message of the comical commercials is that values and practices from the past do not necessarily serve one adequately in the present.  I don’t know if that’s true with regard to the product the commercials advertise, but I do know it’s true with regard to relationships. Today’s Gospel reading contains a similar meta-message. 

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus returned to Galilee after having been misunderstood and denounced in Jerusalem.  While attending a religious holiday celebration in Jerusalem, he healed a man who suffered from a chronic illness.  The healing was performed on a Sabbath; this caused some people to complain that Jesus disregarded the Sabbath prohibition of work. (Jn 5:16) 

The misunderstanding allowed Jesus the opportunity to teach about the work he was doing, that is, the work given to him by God.  Despite his explanation of his divine vocation, the people in Jerusalem accused him of blasphemy. (Jn 5:18) 

Our Gospel reading today begins with Jesus’ return to Galilee from Jerusalem.  Not coincidentally, he encounters the same misunderstanding that he experienced in Jerusalem. 

The crowd which met Jesus when he returned from Jerusalem had traveled on foot to a remote area near the shore of the Sea of Galilee.  Realizing that the crowd was without food, Jesus instructed his disciples to collect whatever food they could find; they found a boy who had five loaves of bread and two fish. (Jn 6:9)  Miraculously, the large crowd was fed and satisfied. (Jn 6:11) 

Not coincidentally, the satisfied crowd acted much like the dissatisfied crowd in Jerusalem; they misunderstood Jesus’ mission despite the fact that Jesus left very little room for misunderstanding. 

Today, we might look at the miraculous multiplication of loaves and fishes and assume that this event entailed an unprecedented suspension of the physical laws of the universe.  Jesus did not intend this misunderstanding.  His miraculous feeding of the crowd was patterned after the miraculous feeding miracles of the ancient Israelite prophets; Moses, Elijah, and Elisha performed feeding miracles.  Jesus’ feeding miracle followed those familiar patterns, but with one notable exception.   

The feeding miracles of the ancient prophets were intended to be signs that taught a lesson about God’s fidelity to the Sinai Covenant.  Those feeding miracles used ordinary food as a metaphor that pointed to the extraordinary truth of God’s providential care of God’s People.  Jesus’ feeding miracle was also a prophetic sign; it pointed to God’s providential care, as well.  His feeding miracle, however, intended more; it intended to signify the proximity of the completion and perfection of God’s providential work of redeeming all people from sin.  In this regard, Jesus’ miracles differed significantly from the miracles performed by the prophets.   

The ancient Israelite prophets performed miracles to teach about how God’s providence was present in contemporaneous events; Jesus performed miracles to teach about how the intended goal of God’s providence was to unfold in the very near future.  Like the secondary meaning expressed in the comedic dialogue in those entertaining television commercials, Jesus’ miracles are contextual warnings about the inadequacy of past values and practices. 

The people in the crowd whom Jesus fed mischaracterized him as a political leader who would overthrow the Roman occupying forces and reestablish self-rule in Judea.  Jesus left their company because they intended to treat him as an earthly king. (Jn 6:15)  The crowd’s expectation of a strong political leader was in harmony with past religious expectations but not in harmony with God’s will expressed in the ministry of Jesus.  The crowd looked backward for salvation, despite the fact that Jesus invited them to look forward to what God was about to do in their midst. 

The tendency to look backward to what is familiar and comforting is easy to understand but difficult to overcome, and it must be overcome if we are to perceive how God is working today.  

Last Sunday, I mentioned that I enjoy classic movies; the old cars fascinate me.  As much as I enjoy those old movies, I would never want to drive those old cars.  Automobiles from the 1930’s and ‘40’s have the turning radius of a World War II era battleship and, despite having huge V-8 engines, their top speed can’t rival the cruising speed of a modern e-bike.   

Not everything from the past is necessarily adequate for life today.  Archaic notions about God and religion are as inadequate to modern life as old cars are inadequate to modern traffic.  The Gospel message is that God is working a new miracle of grace for us, and each of us has the obligation to understand God’s miracles appropriately.  Jesus intended that the crowds which followed him to understand that the new miracle of grace requires a new way of life, but they wouldn’t let go of what was familiar and comforting. 

Today, we are faced with the same invitation and challenge.  Those who see with eyes of faith are able to understand that faith and religious nostalgia are mutually exclusive because the former is directed toward God while the latter is directed toward self.  God offers the whole world a new miracle of grace, but receiving that miracle requires that we choose consciously and faithfully to live a new life.