Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? Can He give bread also?

In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar." Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?" He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven." So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them. So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

- Mark 8:1-10

In yesterday's reading, we read of two healings. This is in Gentile territory. The first was in the region of Tyre and Sidon, two cities on the coast of Palestine. A Syro-Phoenician woman, Greek-speaking, has a daughter who has an "unclean spirit," and she persistently pesters Jesus to help her. Jesus tells her that "the children" should be fed first (meaning the children of Israel), but she answers Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs." Then He continues in Gentile territory, in the Decapolis, and there meets a man who is both deaf and mute. The man's friends bring him to Jesus and beg Jesus simply to lay His hand on Him to heal. But Jesus takes the man aside for a private healing, and a sign of extraordinary presence, a messianic act. He forbids them to speak about it, but His fame cannot be concealed.

In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar." We recall the earlier, spectacular feeding miracle in Mark's gospel. In that case, Jesus had tried to take the Apostles aside, for they had just returned from their first mission. They wanted rest and relaxation, and He wanted to speak to them alone. But the crowds had followed Him even into the "deserted place" of solitude and seclusion He seeks. Mark's Gospel told us there, "And Jesus when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd." He began, in that reading, by teaching, but here we are presented with the multitude as they have already followed Jesus for three days.

Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?" He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven." So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them. So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha. The feeding follows a very similar pattern to that of the other reading. Previously there were five loaves and two fish -- this time there are seven loaves and a few small fish. But once again, Jesus does as He did before in the wilderness: He gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to distribute to each person. He also does similarly with the fish: blesses them and has the disciples distribute. The "bread in the wilderness" is once again a sign of a type: the manna in the wilderness as fed to the ancient Israelites on their sojourn from Egypt, out of the land of captivity. But there is one important difference here in the two miracles: the previous one was done among the Jews in Jewish territory, and this one is done in Gentile territory. We are in the region of the Decapolis, and Jesus has found faith -- as we read yesterday -- through the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon and through the Decapolis, with many healing miracles occurring, including the messianic and spectacular. And here, the faith is shared, the "bread in the wilderness" is not only for "the children." This crowd includes many Gentiles. My study bible says, "To feed the hungry in the wilderness is a messianic sign, fulfilling the prophecy, 'Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? . . . Can He give bread also?' (Ps. 78:19,20)." It notes also that this miracle has special significance, as Jesus will later refer back to it as well as the earlier feeding of the five thousand (in our next reading).

Let us consider then the sign of "bread in the wilderness." What does it mean to be fed in this place of solitude, of no town nor civilization? We are in God's kingdom, in this sense, in the world that God made and said was "good." In fact, we are in a place of abundance, because of God's gifts to us, His power, and His grace. It is not just the "manna in the wilderness" to which we turn as a type being once again fulfilled, but we note the abundance of this food, this bread. Jesus has fed five thousand men -- those like sheep without a shepherd -- and now four thousand in a region of the Gentiles. The doubling of the miracles suggests to us a kingdom not only for the "children" (of the house of Israel), but one that will spread to all the world, and is for the Gentiles also. The manna, or in this case, the bread that clearly prefigures the Eucharist, will be for all. Our "daily bread" will be for all who profess the faith. Over and over again, the faithful includes the "outsiders." And this is the great secret and power of the doubling here, the two parallel miracles. Just as Jesus cannot keep His power a secret (see yesterday's reading), so this kingdom must spread and grow beyond the Jews, because its power and majesty is so great. It has the energy of Life itself. It will continually expand, and it still continues to expand. It is a picture of the parable of the mustard seed, that grows into a great shrub that even shelters the birds of the air. And so, this kingdom also grows in us and in our lives. Such is the nature of this great gift. When you feel alone and without resources, like a sheep without a shepherd, in a "deserted place," away from the great achievements of man, perhaps, consider this story, and consider God's gift. Consider what we have, and that it starts in us like a mustard seed, the tiniest of seeds. Consider that the food with which we are fed is even for the "little dogs" or pups under the table. We start where we are, and the Gift does the rest. Accept the gift of faith, His food, and see where it takes you.