“Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph,
whose father and mother we know?” It is a legitimate question for those in the crowd
“who knew Jesus when” even if they have followed him across the lake expecting
to see something more. Of course they didn’t ask any questions when the meager
meal was multiplied into a feast for five thousand plus (and twelve doggie bags
besides). Everyone likes a magic trick and even if you ask to see it again (but
more slowly) you can suspend disbelief for the thrill of the illusion or in
this case your fill of fish sandwiches. But when the magician claims a higher
status than “watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat – presto - oops wrong hat!””
(Bullwinkle Moose) objections soon follow. After all a good trick accomplished with
mirrors is one thing; claiming to be the trick is quite another. “I am
the bread of life come down from heaven” is a bigger trick than the crowd can
believe or even understand. But then are we any different? We live comfortably
within the confines of our religious systems that determine WWJD (What Would
Jesus Do) on the basis of personal preference or denominational bias or desire
to demonize whoever is not like us. Is it any wonder the world has wearied of
the Christian trick and has determined we follow Jesus to feed our belly or ease
our conscience or maintain the status quo? But there are moments when we are so
captured by the mystery of the bread of life from heaven that we change the way
we distribute that bread in the world. Since Jesus claims to reflect the will
of the One he calls the Father then God the Father is no different from God the
Son and “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do (even though they
seemed to know exactly what they were doing) is a bigger deal than feeding five
thousand with a few loaves and a couple fish.
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