Word to the Wise
Saturday, February 15, 2020 - Saturday in the 5th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Kgs 12:26-32; 13:33-34 and Mark 8:1-10]"Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?" [Mark]
Each of the four evangelists had different collections of traditions to choose from in composing the story of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. And each evangelist had a different approach. Since Mark was the earliest, he provided Luke and Matthew with much of the materials in their own gospels, but they, too, had other sources. Sometimes the materials were the same, but the evangelist put them in a different sequence to further the central picture of Jesus. In the Gospel According to Mark, the overall theme is that Jesus cannot be understood apart from his death and resurrection. This explains the criticism he levels at the disciples throughout the gospel about their lack of faith. The story of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes in today's gospel scripture is an example of all of this.
Today's account is the second time this event is mentioned in the Gospel According to Mark. Scripture scholars (at least in the commentaries I consult) believe it is the same event, but simply coming from a different source. The evangelist mentions it twice to illustrate the inability of the disciples to understand Jesus. Otherwise, why would they be wondering what to do if Jesus had already performed this same action earlier?
There are a few symbolic motifs in this story that are worth mentioning. Jesus feeds the crowd with bread in the desert, which evokes the memory of Moses and the manna. Jesus blesses the bread, breaks it and distributes it, which evokes memories of the Last Supper. Some scholars have speculated that one feeding refers to Jews and the other to Gentiles, but there is no certitude about this.
The messianic deliverance and eucharistic motifs remain for our contemplation since we experience these regularly at the celebration of the Eucharist. Jesus' passion, death and resurrection provide, in the Gospel According to Mark, the "light" in which we are to understand those motifs. AMEN
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