Mk 8:1-10
1In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to eat, [Jesus] summoned the disciples and said, 2“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. 3If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a great distance.” 4His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?”
5Still he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” “Seven,” they replied. 6He
ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then, taking the seven
loaves he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to
distribute, and they distributed them to the crowd. 7They also had a few fish. He said the blessing over them and ordered them distributed also. 8They ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over—seven baskets. 9There were about four thousand people.
He dismissed them 10and got into the boat with his disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha.
Reflection:
Seven baskets.
The Gospel is the second account of the multiplication of loaves in
Mark. In the first miracle (Mk 6:34-44), five thousand men are fed and
twelve wicker baskets are filled with leftovers. Twelve refers to the
twelve tribes of Israel. In the second, four thousand people eat of the
loaves and fish, of which seven baskets of leftovers are gathered.
Seven stands for the seven pagan nations that occupy Canaan.
The common denominator is the
compassion of Jesus. He is concerned not only about people’s spiritual
needs but also about their material wants. Jesus satisfies both
spiritual longing and material need. This he does at the Eucharist,
foreshadowed by the multiplication of loaves, where he gives his word
and his very self to both Jews and Gentiles. All peoples—regardless of
race, color, and status—are united with Jesus and with one another.
Do you see the Eucharist as a celebrationof unity and communion in the Lord?
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