Which Hunger Gets First Billing?
- davidwperk
- Apr 1
- 7 min read
Devotional Reflection, Tuesday, April 1, 2025
The week of the fourth Sunday in Lent
The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.
Key phrases for reflection from today’s Gospel reading:
22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 25When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ 26Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.
(You will find the full text of today’s Gospel reading at the end of this reflection.)
Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 954)
AM Psalm 97, 99, [100]; PM Psalm 94, [95]
Jer. 17:19-27; Rom. 7:13-25; John 6:16-27
Today we celebrate the Feast of John Donne. (See below.)
David's Reflections
John's first twelve chapters follow a pattern. A sign of Jesus, one of his miracles, gets narrated and, then, gets unfolded and explained through dialogue with which it is connected. The dialogue normally follows the sign. Here, the account of the miracle occurs in the first fifteen verses and the remainder of the chapter reports a running dialogue that the miracle provokes. We find revealed in that dialogue the meaning of the sign, the identity of Jesus as the bread of life.
In today’s reading, the disciples get caught in a squall on the Sea of Galilee and Jesus walks to them on the water and gets them through the storm to the shore. The crowd follows in boats the next day. John's Gospel thrives on the double entendre, the double meaning. Here, the question of the crowd, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" has to do with when Jesus crossed the lake. But, for John (and for us, the enlightened readers), the question sounds like, "Rabbi, when did you come to earth?"
Jesus' answer contains another double entendre. "You did not seek me because you saw the sign, but because you ate the loaves and were filled." In other words, "You did not get the symbolic significance of the miracle, that I am the Bread of Life. You're just looking for another meal." Jesus questioned their motives for seeking him.
Now, there's an inquiry that challenges us. In my case, why am I a priest? Why am I spending my life in the church? Why did I accept the bishops’ invitation to serve as the start-up priest for a new congregation? Why did I leave after eight years for interim ministry? Was it because I understand that Jesus is the Living Bread and that human souls are starving for a genuine experience of God's love and for the assurance of forgiveness. Or, did I say “yes” because it was a job that appealed to me, because of the salary and benefits, because I needed the satisfaction and the recognition, because I thought I must do it or risk losing God's loving favor? Perhaps it’s a combination of these honorable and less-than-honorable motives and others about which my awareness is too dim to inquire.
Motivation probably almost always lacks absolute purity, probably almost always suffers some taint of inner darkness and selfishness. All the more reason to stand guard over our motives, our reasons for doing and being. When we are at our best, what we do arises out of a genuine concern for the well being of others and a genuine desire to do what we believe the God who pours Godself out for us in Holy Eucharist desires of us. Life then is all about pouring ourselves out for the one who gives without reservation to us.
"You did not seek me because you saw the sign, but because you ate the loaves and were filled." Just which hungers of our souls most consistently get first billing? What is our “why”? Who are we?
Roethke captures something of our ambivalence in the closing lines of his poem “In a Dark Time.”
Dark, dark my light, and darker my desire.
My soul, like some heat-maddened summer fly,
Keeps buzzing at the sill. Which I is I.
A fallen man, I climb out of my fear.
The mind enters itself, and God the mind,
And one is One, free in the tearing wind.*
*The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke (New York: Doubleday, 1966), p. 231.
Collect of the Day, the fourth Sunday in Lent
Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, now and for ever. Amen.
Collect of Tuesday in the Fourth Week of Lent
O, God, with you is the well of life, and in your light we see light: Quench our thirst with living water, and flood our darkened minds with heavenly light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen. (Weekday Eucharistic Propers, p. 35)
Today we celebrate the Feast of John Donne, priest, preacher, and poet (died 31 Mar 1631 CE).
Collect of the Feast of John Donne
O God of eternal glory, whom no one living can see and yet whom to see is to live; grant that with your servant John Donne, we may see your glory in the face of your Son, Jesus Christ, and then, with all our skill and wit, offer you our crown of prayer and praise, until by his grace we stand in that last and everlasting day, when death itself will die, and all will live in you, who with the Holy Spirit and the same Lord Jesus Christ are one God in everlasting light and glory. Amen.
A Collect for Peace
Most holy God, the source of all good desires, all right judgments, and all just works: Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, so that our minds may be fixed on the doing of your will, and that we, being delivered from the fear of all enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through the mercies of Christ Jesus our Savior. Amen. (BCP, 123)
For Young Persons
God our Father, you see your children growing up in an unsteady and confusing world: Show them that your ways give more life than the ways of the world, and that following you is better than chasing after selfish goals. Help them to take failure, not as a measure of their worth, but as a chance for a new start. Give them strength to hold their faith in you, and to keep alive their joy in your creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 829)
A Prayer for Light
O Lord God Almighty, as you have taught us to call the evening, the morning, and the noonday one day; and have made the sun to know its going down: Dispel the darkness of our hearts, that by your brightness we may know you to be the true God and eternal light, living and reigning for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 110)
A Collect for Mission
Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. (BCP, 100)
Daily Office Gospel, John 6:16-27
16When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. 20But he said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.’ 21Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.
22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 25When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ 26Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’
Daily Prayer Offices in The Book of Common Prayer
Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, Book of Common Prayer
Noonday Prayer, p. 103, Book of Common Prayer
Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p. 109, Book of Common Prayer
Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer
Compline (Night Prayer), Page 127, Book of Common Prayer
Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer
Comentarios