Mark 8:1-10

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?”

They replied, “Seven.”

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 the crowd and got into the boat with his disciples

and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you are all-powerful and can take the little I offer and transform it into something great for your Kingdom. Help me to see the material and spiritual needs of those around me so that I may, like your Son, respond to them.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Jesus’ Heart: In the Gospel, we read about the second bread miracle. The first miracle took place in the region of Galilee, in the land of ancient Israel. The second miracle took place in Gentile territory. In both miracles, Jesus heart was moved: “When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34); “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat” (Mark 8:1). In both miracles, Jesus doesn’t want to send the crowds away and notes how they were in a deserted place. In the first miracle, Jesus could have sent the people to the surrounding farms and villages to buy food, but he chose not to. In the second, the people were very far from their homes and would collapse on the way if they were sent to find food. Jesus is fully aware that he is the Word of Life and the Bread of Life and that he can provide what the people most need.

2. Bread for the Gentiles: When Mark recounts the miracle of the loaves for the 5,000 in Israel, he points out that the bread left over was gathered in 12 Jewish-style small wicker baskets (kophinos). And when he narrates the miracle of the loaves for the 4,000 in Gentile territory, he points out that the bread left over was gathered into 7 Gentile-style large rope-baskets (spuridas). Not only do the different words for basket indicate that one miracle happened in Israel and one happened in Gentile territory, but also the numbers are highly symbolic of the difference. Five and twelve refer to the Five Books of Moses (the Torah) and the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Four and seven refer to the four corners of the world and the covenant with all creation. Between the two miracles, Jesus has a discussion with the Pharisees from Jerusalem about their traditions, abrogates the Law of Moses about dietary restrictions and declares all foods clean, and performs miracles for two Gentiles. By recounting the two miracles of bread, one for Israel and one for the Gentiles, Mark prepares his readers for the climactic bread event: the gift of the Eucharistic bread at the Last Supper for all peoples. “Ultimately, the bread signifies the passion and glory of the Son of Man, who will give his life for us as spiritual food (Mark 14:22)” (Healy, The Gospel of Mark, 124). 

3. The Eucharist and the Path of Discipleship: The Gospel today employs a significant phrase, “on the way.” The next major section in Mark’s Gospel will employ it five times (Mark 8:27; 9:33; 9:34; 10:32, and 10:52). The theme of the next section is discipleship and Jesus’ upcoming passion, death, and resurrection in Jerusalem. The phrase, “on the way,” means “the path of discipleship.” “When disciples and others in Mark’s Gospel are ‘on the way’ with Jesus, their literal walking ‘on the way’ in the story is a spiritual figure for the path of discipleship for all Christians. Gentiles, then, are also called to be Jesus’s followers, joining him on the path of discipleship” (Huizenga, Loosing the Lion, 185). By using the phrase now, in the Bread Section, Mark is indicating that discipleship draws its strength from the Eucharist. “On a literal level, then, Jesus must feed their bellies so that they will not faint on the way. On a spiritual level, Jesus must feed our bodies and souls with the Eucharist so that we will not faint while following him on the path of discipleship. The Eucharist feeds discipleship” (Huizenga, Loosing the Lion, 185).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you gave yourself for all peoples. You held nothing back and became an abundant gift of grace for all nations. Nourish me with the Bread of Life and guide me with your everlasting word.

Living the Word of God: The two Sacraments we can receive frequently are those of the Eucharist and Reconciliation. How can I prepare better for both sacraments? How can I more worthily receive the Eucharist? What habits of sin do I need God’s grace to break free from?