Mark 8:14-21

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?”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I pray today that my heart has not been hardened. Soften my heart. Replace my stubborn heart of stone with a heart of flesh that is filled with your sanctifying Spirit.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Prideful Leaven of the Pharisees: In the Gospel, Jesus has just multiplied the bread for the crowds in Gentile territory and confronted the Pharisees, who demanded a sign from heaven to test him. Jesus is now in the boat with his disciples and wants to review the recent events with them. In this way, today’s Gospel sets up a transition between the “Bread Section,” which focused on Jesus’ identity and mission (Mark 6:30-8:21), and the “Way to Jerusalem Section” (Mark 8:22-10:52), which focuses on Jesus’ destiny and the call to discipleship. Jesus begins today’s Gospel by putting his disciples on guard against the pride and hypocrisy of the Pharisees. He alludes to this with the image of leaven or yeast. Leaven is the ingredient in bread that puffs it up, so to speak. Leaven, then, can symbolize sin or evil. In fact, the people of Israel had to remove all the leaven and yeast from their houses before the Passover. Just as leaven puffs up bread dough, so also pride can puff us up and become an obstacle to a filial and trusting relationship with God. The pride of the Pharisees was dangerous because they wanted to hold on to their human traditions and their separation from the Gentile nations. This prideful “leaven” was an obstacle to the spread of the Gospel, and Jesus warned his disciples about it.

2. Where’s the Bread? The disciples of Jesus were slow to understand and comprehend the identity of Jesus. Throughout the “Bread Section” of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus invited his disciples to deepen their faith in him. When they realized they only brought one loaf of bread, Jesus asked them questions about the two bread miracles to get them to realize who he was and that he alone could provide them with the Bread of Life. While they have very little natural bread in the boat – just one loaf for many people – they also have the supernaturaland eternal Bread of Life with them. When Jesus asked them about the two miracles, he wanted them to ponder how he fed not only the people in Israel with five loaves but also the people in Gentile territory with seven loaves. This alludes to the mission of the disciples, who will extend the Kingdom and its blessings and preach the Gospel not just to Israel but to all nations. It also alludes to the mystery of the Eucharist, which will be given not just to the children of Israel but to all nations. 

3. From the Natural to the Supernatural: The word “bread” will not be mentioned again until Mark 14:22, at the institution of the Eucharist. The two multiplications of the loaves of bread, then, were visible signs that pointed to the invisible sign and sacrament of the Eucharist. Today, we hear Jesus pleading with his disciples to believe and understand all that has happened. The scene in today’s Gospel “is the culmination of the disciples’ incomprehension: they fail again to see beyond the visible to the invisible, beyond the mundane to the spiritual” (Huizenga, Loosing the Lion, 189). Jesus’ disciples truly struggled to go beyond the visible miracles and signs. And we often struggle in the same way. We need to look through the visible to the invisible and see the spiritual significance of things. Much of Mark’s Gospel deals with perception, with Jesus calling people with natural ears to hear supernaturally and with natural eyes to see supernaturally. The disciples do not have natural bread with them in the boat, but they do have supernatural bread in the person of Jesus. We have supernatural bread in the Eucharist and are called to hear and see.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, accompany me when I am tested and alone in the desert. When I see evil around me, help me to renew my trust in the Father’s care. When I see evil in my own life, help me to not be discouraged, but to hear the call to repentance and change of heart.

Living the Word of God: Tomorrow, we will begin the season of Lent and our forty-day preparation for the celebration of Easter. What habits of sin do I need to break this Lenten season? Fasting: What good things do I need to abstain from to strengthen my will? Prayer: How is God asking me this upcoming Lent to become more prayerful? Almsgiving: How can I alleviate some of the material sufferings of those in my community this upcoming Lent?