After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias.A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?’ He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, ‘Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?’ Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down.’ Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all.Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.’ So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’
When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
-John 6:1-15
The feeding of the five thousand is one of the best-known stories in the Gospels. We remember the crowd, the five loaves and two fish, and the miracle of abundance.
But what caught my attention this time was what Jesus did afterward.
The people recognized him as the prophet they had been waiting for and wanted to make him king. Yet Jesus withdrew to the mountains alone.
That was not unusual for him. Elsewhere in the Gospels, Jesus repeatedly steps away from the crowds, often to pray. John does not tell us exactly what Jesus did on this particular mountain, but we know that solitude and prayer were part of the rhythm of his ministry.
Jesus did not withdraw because he was unwilling to serve. He had just fed thousands. He withdrew so that he could return to the work before him.
There is something important for us in that.
We sometimes imagine that faithfulness means always being available, always saying yes, always doing one more thing. But Jesus shows us that stepping away can itself be faithful. Rest, prayer, and renewal are not necessarily retreats from service. They may be what makes continued service possible.
God does not ask us to exhaust ourselves by proving our devotion.
Sometimes God calls us away from the crowd so that we can be renewed and sent back into the world with strength and courage to love and serve.
Musical Reflection - Bach: Prélude, Cello suite Nr.1 | Ophélie Gaillard
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Amen.
-Psalm 139: 7-14
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