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Gospel: John 6:22 – 29
[After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.]
The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea
saw that there had been only one boat there,
and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat,
but only his disciples had left.
Other boats came from Tiberias
near the place where they had eaten the bread
when the Lord gave thanks.
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
And when they found him across the sea they said to him,
“Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus answered them and said,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me
not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”
So they said to him,
“What can we do to accomplish the works of God?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Over the last 18-months, I’ve put my heart and soul into the first pillar of our three-fold mission, which is Building Community. I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that! Now we have ministries in place to continue that momentum.
But as your shepherd, it is my responsibility to make sure that we not only experience a sense of community humanly speaking, but also that our minds and hearts are transformed, deepening our faith in God.
It’s the reason why we journeyed together on our first parish pilgrimage to the Holy Land last week.
Now we will begin making an intentional, strategic turn towards the second and third pillars of our mission: Worshiping God and Making Disciples.
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A disciple is someone who knows Jesus, who loves Jesus, and who places God at the very center of his or her life.
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This is the same invitation that the Lord is extending to the crowds in today’s Gospel. They need to be concerned about more than having their stomachs filled.
“Amen, amen, I say to you,” he says, “this is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”
Belief demands effort.
But it always comes easier when tried in a community, which is why we’re so blessed to have this parish.
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Together, we will accomplish what Jesus calls, “the work of God.” Day by day, through still and stormy waters, we’ll come to, “believe in the one who was sent.”
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Image credits: (1) Created to Worship the Lord, Tell the Lord Thank You (2) Adam Willaerts, Christ Preaching from a Ship (3) Christianity Matters