Word to the Wise
Tuesday, January 4, 2022 - Tuesday after Epiphany, or Jan. 8
[1 John 4:7-10 and Mark 6:34-44]"This is a deserted place and it is already late. Dismiss them so that they can go to the surrounding farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat." [Jesus] said to them in reply, "Give them some food yourselves." [Mark]
JANUARY 4, 2022 ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON [Tuesday after the Epiphany]
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One does not have to read very far into the Gospel According to Mark to discover that a major "theme" of this gospel portrait of Jesus is that his disciples are clueless as to his identity and remain that way until his death and resurrection. Two possible points of reflection occur to me.
First, on the level of the incident of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, the disciples could learn that they cannot do anything of importance without Jesus' help. Their reaction to his challenge, "Give them some food yourselves!" is a literal one involving 200 days wages, etc.. Jesus has to order them to follow instructions and everybody gets fed. This extraordinary event is followed by Jesus walking on water and calming the storm after which the evangelist says, "They had not understood the incident of the loaves. On the contrary, their hearts were hardened!" Indeed, what does God have to do to get our attention?
Second, the Gospel According to Mark warns us about a faith that admires Jesus without accepting his suffering, death and resurrection. He suffered, died and rose from the dead for us. This is a greater sign than feeding the multitudes and walking on water. If anything, it should get our attention! It ultimately got the disciples' attention and their witness to it is why we have our faith today. AMEN