Today I’m reflecting on the aftermath of the feeding of the five thousand. It’s hardly surprising that after the miracle people feel compelled to find out more about Jesus, and the crowds went looking for him and, not finding him:
“They got into those boats and crossed to Capernaum to look for Jesus.”
As becomes clear when they eventually catch up with him, they don’t really know who or what they are looking for. But already something is drawing them to him. Maybe it’s curiosity, like the curiosity that drew Moses to the Burning Bush.
Maybe, as Jesus later challenges them, it’s because he fed them. It’s easy to be judgemental about that, but in times when people are struggling to feed themselves and their families it’s understandable, and we’d all do it.
Jesus’ response to them is very direct. He says to them:
“I tell you most solemnly, you are not looking for me because you have seen the signs but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat.”
He recognises that their motives are mixed and challenges them to reflect on that. Then he accepts where they are and invites them to move beyond that to a new understanding:
“Do not work for food that cannot last, but work for food that endures to eternal life, the kind of food the Son of Man is offering you, for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.”
His words are an invitation to them, and us, to recognise our mixed motives and then move beyond them to a deeper understand of who Jesus is. His invitation offers us the opportunity to enter into a deeper & more meaningful relationship with him.
In challenging us to examine our motives he invites us to embrace the new life of resurrection and the hope it offers for our challenging times.
How is Christ inviting you to a deeper relationship this Eastertide?