"I have compassion on the multitude"

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 Mark's gospel, we have two reported incidents of Jesus feeding the multitudes. The first one was in Thursday's reading, when Jesus fed five thousand people. Today marks a second feeding miracle. This time the multitude numbers four thousand.

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." In both feeding miracles, Jesus has "compassion" on the multitude, we are told. In today's case, this crowd has been with Jesus for three days and they have nothing to eat. In Thursday's reading (in which he fed the five thousand) they were in a deserted place, and had followed him there, and we are told that "he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd." They needed his teaching and care. This came first, before the feeding miracle. So, what we understand from these two miracles is Jesus' compassion -- not just for food, but for care. In both cases, the crowds are first of all hungry for Him. In this case, they've been with him for three days; they cannot get enough of what Jesus is offering them, his teaching and preaching and leadership. In Thursday's reading, they pursue him even to the deserted place, as "sheep without a shepherd" they need his guidance and teaching, and this is what they come for, to be fed with spiritual food, His spiritual bread. When we pray, "Give us this day our daily bread," it is this spiritual bread we pray for. The Greek word that has been translated "daily" (epiousion/επιουσιον) is an unusual one; it is not found in any other literature. It is a word made for the gospels. It has been translated both as "supersubstantial" and "needful." But in reality, in my opinion, it is both. It is the bread we need daily for the nourishment of our souls, to paraphrase Origen. And it is this bread that these multitudes have come for and stayed for, this is the food they have pursued him for and why this crowd has been with him for three days already.

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. Again, as in the previous miracle of feeding five thousand men, they are in the wilderness, or the desert, a deserted place far from cities and towns. Clearly, the disciples still don't "get it." We recall that in the reading following the one about the miracle of feeding the five thousand, in which the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water, we were told that the disciples "had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened." Here, again, despite the previous miracle, they ask, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?" In tomorrow's reading, we will have yet another significant occurrence that marks this passage as very special. Jesus will refer back to this miracle and the previous one like it, that his disciples still don't seem to "get" -- a very rare occurrence in the gospels.

As in the previous feeding miracle, the process is very similar to the Eucharist, a mirror of it, in some sense. Jesus takes the bread, gives thanks (euxaristo/ευχαριστω, the Greek word from which the word "Eucharist" derives) and his disciples distribute and set before the multitude. It's important to note that, contrary to the previous feeding, in this case there are many Gentiles in the crowd, given that Jesus is in the Decapolis. So, as with so much of the Gospel of Mark, what takes place amongst "the children" (the Jews) also takes place for Gentiles, in Gentile territory.

My study bible notes that "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)." So, we are to understand that this Messiah is bringing his good things to all people, Jew and Gentile, who are united in him -- in their desire for him.

Today, let's think about food. More specifically, let us think about what it is to have our "supersubstantial" or "needful" bread. With what do we need to be fed? What do we need to take care to feed ourselves daily? Perhaps just as importantly, how do we discern between that "food" that we need and that we'd be better off avoiding and doing without? This is a good topic for Lent, as Lent is the time when we "give things up." But, as we discussed in Saturday's commentary, we need to take care to understand just what are the most important things we want to focus on. It's not just a question of food, or treats or snacks. The food we want to think about has to do with our souls, and what is good for our souls, and what we'd be better off avoiding. Some people suggest we avoid things like gossip, spreading rumors or fear, and even avoiding the people from whom we receive what is harmful to us in some spiritual sense. I think that the practices of Lent involve the learning of discernment as part of our spiritual discipline. We are not just victims of the world, absorbing everything in it and mirroring what is there. We have choices, we make choices. The discipline practices of Lent are there to teach us how to make choices, that we have this ability, and to practice discernment about what's good for us, and what's not. I even have a friend who gave up Facebook for Lent, and she was right to do that; it was a wonderful decision. She has problems in her family, and discussing them with all her friends day in and day out only brought her focus too closely on things she cannot change, people who distress her. So, the people in the stories of the feeding of these multitudes, one in Jewish territory and one in Gentile territory, what are we to understand of them? First of all, they are there for spiritual food: they hunger and thirst for what Jesus is offering them as teacher or rabbi -- or perhaps better yet, what He offers to them in His Person. He offers them himself, all he is, just as we receive via the Eucharist. They have sought first the one thing necessary (as we were told about Mary) - the "needful bread." Let us keep this in mind this Lent, and ask ourselves what constitutes the "needful," "supersubstantial" bread we pray to receive each day. Let us make that discernment, and ask ourselves that our practices in "giving up" go to strengthen that capacity.