The Gospel according to Mark (8:14-21)
The disciples had forgotten to bring bread,
and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
Jesus enjoined them, “Watch out,
guard against the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod.”
They concluded among themselves that
it was because they had no bread.
When he became aware of this he said to them,
“Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread?
Do you not yet understand or comprehend?
Are your hearts hardened?
Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?
And do you not remember,
when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand,
how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?”
They answered him, “Twelve.”
“When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand,
how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?”
They answered him, “Seven.”
He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
Reflection:
Today’s Gospel follows immediately from yesterday’s, where Jesus “sighed from the depths of His spirit” at the request from the Pharisees for yet another sign. I could totally see Jesus “sighing from the depths of His spirit” at the Apostles in the boat with Him today, too. I mean, they had seen Jesus feed thousands with practically nothing. How could they fear from not having bread and having only the dozen or so of them in the boat?
As I’ve mentioned before, Mark is often quite hard on the disciples of Jesus, showing them as just not “getting it”, when it comes to what Jesus was doing and preaching. One of the sites I use as a resource for these reflections, one operated by the Irish Jesuits, suggested that Mark’s view of the disciples with Jesus was to highlight the need to look at our own understanding and faith (or lack of it).
Jesus’ exasperation at the disciples is clear. They had just seen Him perform amazing miracles of feeding thousands, and yet they seemed oblivious to their own situation. Perhaps that same thing applies to you and me today. How many times have we seen a miracle or some amazing instance of grace at one moment, and in the next, we are overwhelmed by something that causes us to completely forget that moment of grace?
I think there are two lessons here for us to consider today: first, how many instances in our days do we miss where God breaks through to us? Matthew Kelly calls those “Holy Moments”. And, maybe we don’t miss them – we just forget to see them as they are, and ponder them in our hearts. The second lesson is to know that we are always – ALWAYS – in the loving hands of our heavenly Father. When those moments come where we despair, or think that God has left us alone, may we take a breath and see that God is truly with us, and He never leaves us. It’s hard, but in those moments, we are called to say thank you to God for His love and care, and then ask Him to help us through that moment of need, and finally, to believe in our hearts that He is there and He will provide.
If we can live our lives each day with those two lessons in mind, think of how our lives will be. Think of the witness that you can give by abiding by those two lessons. What a wonderful blessing that is for each one of us, to be the light that guides others closer to the God who loves us!
Action for the Day:
Be especially mindful of “Holy Moments” today. Be as present as you can be to those moments and treasure them in your heart. Then, if (or when) things go awry, bring the recollection of that “Holy Moment” to mind as a reminder of how God is always close, and ask Him to increase your faith!
Link to the DEACON5 website: https://deacon5.com/
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