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:
I’ve mentioned in the past how Mark particularly shows how slow-minded the Apostles were – truly, in Mark’s view, they did not “get” who Jesus was until after His resurrection. Yesterday’s Gospel included a statement of how Jesus “sighed from the depth of His spirit”. I can totally picture Jesus, shaking His head, rolling His eyes, and being extremely tempted to just to toss them all overboard at this point. Thankfully, two factors were at play: first, these were the ones Jesus chose, and He would never abandon them like that, and second, Jesus was the Son of God, and would never give in to such a base human urge like that!
Our faith is an amazing gift to each and every one of us. But, it’s like one of those toys or other contraptions with the note on the box: “some assembly required”. Our faith isn’t something that just comes all together without any effort or attention on our part. We have to *do* something with it. When I’m preparing families for Baptism, I remind them that the symbol of the lighted candle is so important because our faith is like that light – bright enough to fill a darkened room with light, but fragile, too, in that it can be snuffed out. It is the responsibility of the parents and godparents to encourage that light to continue to grow. That’s the “assembly required” for little ones who are new to God’s family.
The same thing applies to us as well. We have to consciously (or our pastor, Fr Tom, would say, “intentionally”) make a point each day to say that we will do our best to allow our faith to guide our lives, and that we will trust that God will help us in that regard. May we look ahead to the start of Lent tomorrow as an opportunity to re-dedicate ourselves to trusting God more, and allowing His Spirit to fill us up and guide us to live as His children. I think that’s one of the reasons we have the blessing of Lent, a season that begins in winter, but ends in spring with new life, and the celebration of the most blessed event of all time, Jesus’ sacrifice for us, and His triumph over death that gives us hope that we, too, will be with God forever one day.
Action for the Day:
On this last day of Ordinary Time before Lent begins, take time today to pray that your faith will be renewed and strengthened in this upcoming season, that YOU will be a bright light of Jesus’ presence and love with everyone you meet.
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