According to John 6:3-15, in the course of his ministry Jesus went off to the mountains with his disciples and a large crowd followed them. Beyond all expectation, Jesus saw to the feeding of this crowd, which numbered five thousand men and an undetermined number of women and children. He started with five loaves and two fishes, and ended up with a feast so sumptuous that twelve baskets of bread pieces were left over afterward. The story closes with two comments. The crowd was impressed and concluded that Jesus really was the messiah. But, Jesus went further up the mountain to avoid being abducted by them and forced to become king.The question before us is not, "Did this really happen?" Rather, the question we need to ask esp. in our mainline churches is, "Is this happening?" When will it happen? How does it happen? In ancient times, Christian biblical commentators frequently treated the stories of scripture allegorically. The stories have layers of meaning, and the trick is to get to the deeper, non-literal meanings. In modern times, we have gotten so wrapped up in the debate over the literal, historical meaning of the Bible that we've lost our playful, spiritual ability to discover for ourselves those layers of meaning.
This story's allegorical meaning seems obvious. Jesus feeds those who come to him seeking spiritual sustenance. In his grace and compassion, he more than meets the needs of those who seek him out. But, there is a surprising element to Christ. His disciples did not expect that he would feed the people this way. They thought the situation was impossible. There is even a warning about believing in Jesus at the end of the story. Once the crowd believed in Jesus, he had to flee them! He feared that they would seize him and force him to become their kind of a king.
This story, in sum, can be seen to teach us that Christ can provide deep spiritual meaning and life for those who seek it from him, in ways beyond the expectations of his "official" disciples (read, clergy and lay leaders in our mainline churches today). But, faith in Christ does not guarantee that one understands God's will or the person of Christ. In our enthusiasm for the faith, we can actually become a danger to Christ.
