Today's Reflections
Feeding of the four thousand
Mark 8:1-10
In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to
eat, [Jesus] summoned the disciples and said, “My heart is moved with
pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they
will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a great distance.”
His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread to
satisfy them here in this deserted place?” Still he asked them, “How
many loaves do you have?” “Seven,” they replied. He 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. They also had a few fish. He said the
blessing over them and ordered them distributed also. They ate and were
satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over — seven baskets. There
were about four thousand people.
He dismissed them and got into the boat with his disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha.
REFLECTIONS
There Again Was A Great Crowd. The first account of the
multiplication of bread and fish (Mk 6:30-44) is similar to the second
narrative in today’s Gospel. Both accounts speak of the compassion of
Jesus for the crowd, a great multitude who are fed and satisfied, with a
large quantity of food left over. Both events take place in the desert,
and Jesus’ actions prefigure the Eucharist: he takes the loaves, gives
thanks, and breaks them.
The differences are striking. In the first, five thousand eat from
five loaves and two fish, and twelve baskets are filled with food left
over. In the second, four thousand people eat from seven loaves and a
few fish, and seven baskets are filled with leftovers.
The second account is said to be envisaged for the Gentile people.
“Four” hints at the four corners of the world. “Seven” is seen as a
perfect number gathering all nations. The crowd that has been with Jesus
for three days hints at Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection.
Jesus feeds us today with the bread of the resurrection — his very self.
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