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The Gospel according to Mark (6:34-44)
When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them,
for they were like sheep without a shepherd;
and he began to teach them many things.
By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said,
“This is a deserted place and it is already very late.
Dismiss them so that they can go
to the surrounding farms and villages
and buy themselves something to eat.”
He said to them in reply,
“Give them some food yourselves.”
But they said to him,
“Are we to buy two hundred days’ wages worth of food
and give it to them to eat?”
He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”
And when they had found out they said,
“Five loaves and two fish.”
So he gave orders to have them sit down in groups on the green grass.
The people took their places in rows by hundreds and by fifties.
Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples
to set before the people;
he also divided the two fish among them all.
They all ate and were satisfied.
And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments
and what was left of the fish.
Those who ate of the loaves were five thousand men.
Reflection:
As we near the end of the Christmas season, we turn from the visit of the Magi (which we celebrated this past weekend on Epiphany) to Jesus beginning His ministry, living out the call to be the “King of the Jews”. We haven’t yet started our Ordinary Time journey (that begins next Monday), but we get a quick little view into the kind of King that Jesus would be. Spoiler alert: He wasn’t the kind of King that many of the Jewish leaders expected, though if you’ve been reading or listening to the reflections on the DEACON5, then you already know that.
Today’s story was of one of the most showy miracles Jesus did – the feeding of the 5,000. There is so much in this reading that I could focus on, but I’d like to just look at this one line: “They all ate and were satisfied.” This miracle highlights the amazing generosity of God. Jesus, the Son of God, sees that the people were in need. And, as a result, He performs a miracle for them, transforming just five loaves and two fish into enough food for such a large crowd (5,000 men, but there’s no doubt that there were a lot more than just the men present). In this miracle story, we are called to contemplate the fact that no matter our need, God will provide for it in abundance – not just what we need, but so much more!
That should give us hope that it isn’t up to our own efforts, which are quite puny when compared to what God can do. No. When we act to live out our call as followers of Jesus (and the ones who are now called to share His light in the world), God adds to our own effort and magnifies it. We just have to take the first step. How can it be otherwise, when that same God gave us the most amazing gift ever in His own Son?
It is hard to act sometimes – we can make no shortage of excuses. But, today, as we continue to live in this Christmas season, may we look to that all-powerful, all-loving, all-generous God, and ask Him to help us to take that step, and leave the results up to Him.
Action for the Day:
My brothers and sisters, ask our loving Creator to show you that small act you can do to shine His light today. How can you be one who brings light and love to another today through our actions?
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