In biblical Greek, the word for "to yearn" or "to desire" or "to want" is "ethelon," and it appears twice in John 6:1-21.
In verse 11, a huge crowd of hungry people gathered around Jesus receives an abundance of bread, "as much as they wanted."
As much as they wanted!
In verse 21, frightened disciples rowing a boat at night on the stormy sea hear the voice of Jesus saying "It is I, do not be afraid," and then what? They yearned. They desired. They wanted!
"They wanted to take Jesus into the boat and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going."
Mystical. Breathtaking. Passionate. Beautiful. A portal to traverse. A way to be in the world... trusting that even to yearn for God's help is to emerge from the storm and feel our boat come to rest on the sand.
Most commentators do not comment on John 6:21. Maybe it seems inconsequential. Maybe it feels hard to fathom.
Yet just this morning, I found a friendly echo from a poet named John Keble, writing in 1827:
Thou framer of the light and dark,
Steer through the tempest Thine own ark;
Amid the howling wintry sea,
We are in port if we have Thee.
For a meditation on the portion of John 6 where Jesus feeds the multitude, see the reflection for July 22, 2024 by clicking on Featured Reflection on seriousjoy.org