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Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves. But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him. 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. So He began to teach them many things. When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late. Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat." But He answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat." And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?" But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see." And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish." Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties. And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all. So they all ate and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish. Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.
Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.
- Mark 6:30-46
In yesterday's reading, we read that King Herod heard of Jesus, for His name had become well known. And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him." Others said, "It is Elijah." And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets." But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!" For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, for he had married her. Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you." He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom." So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?" And she said, "The head of John the Baptist!" Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.
Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. The apostles have returned from their first mission. My study bible points out that the word apostle, which means "one who is sent," a messenger, "is used frequently in the epistles but is rare in the gospels. It designates an official representative authorized to carry out a specific mission." It adds, "Jesus gives the disciples time to rest a while. They have just returned from a demanding assignment -- preaching, healing and casting out demons -- and it is time for solitude." Mark's Gospel continues to give us a picture of a very busy ministry: they did not even have time to eat.
So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves. But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him. 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. So He began to teach them many things. Solitude does not seem possible. Jesus' fame is so great that now people run in anticipation to where they believe He's going; they recognize Him wherever He is. But the Gospel again tells us details: here, we're given to understand this behavior. The multitude is like sheep not having a shepherd. They need Christ and what He has to teach them, what He offers.
When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late. Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat." But He answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat." Jesus takes His apostles one step further in their missionary journey. His is a challenge in their ministry: "you give them something to eat."
And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?" But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see." And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish." Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties. And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all. So they all ate and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish. Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men. My study bible says, "The disciples learn a great lesson here: whatever they have is enough to feed the people, whether physically or spiritually. God can multiply our resources so that everyone can be filled. But we must participate in His grace. Christ, along with the Father, blesses the loaves, but the disciples distribute them." The twelve baskets left over is symbolic for each apostle: they will continue to feed those who come and need shepherding. The numbering of five thousand men is a cultural custom: there were more women and children present (Matt. 14:21).
Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. It's a momentous time, a turning point, and we know so by the fact that Jesus went away by Himself to pray. The disciples return to their familiar ground of Bethsaida, home to Peter and Andrew.
It is a great turning point in Jesus' ministry. In some sense, He's testing out the disciples. As apostles, they've been "sent out" on their first mission. He's heard about it, but the crowds intervene. There are masses of people who need Christ's help. The demand is so great that the apostles themselves "don't even have time to eat." There is a whole world that is clamoring for what Jesus has to offer, and the crowds are like sheep without a shepherd. The demand is great. There is clearly a call here for mission, for the mission of the apostles into the world. Even in this deserted place, a crowd gathers, even in anticipation of Jesus, and He offers His teaching. But the food in the wilderness is something more. When tempted Himself in the wilderness, Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 8:3: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” We are given to understand that the teachings of Christ, His word, is food for us. We remember that when Jesus called these disciples from the fishing town of Bethsaida, He told them that He would make them fishers of men. Here in the wilderness is bread and fish, meant to feed a multitude, and coming from Christ through the hands of His disciples. His ministry works through human beings and what they have as resources. The turning point here is an understanding of the need for self-reliance in the future, or rather, the need for Church, and reliance on Father, Son and Spirit, working through the Church, in the future. In this light, my study bible's note is important, when it tells us that the disciples learn an important lesson: whatever they have is enough to feed the people, whether physically or spiritually. There will be a time when He's not present in the flesh with them, and they must learn now to trust to God, and use what resources they have, to spread this ministry, to feed the people who are all like sheep without a shepherd. In the parable of the Talents, Jesus will teach what we are to be about when He is gone. Here, in the feeding with bread and fish in the wilderness, we learn about the use of our talents and what is at hand: fishermen distribute the gifts of fish, multiplied by the Spirit, and the bread which symbolizes the word of God by which we truly live and are given life in abundance. These twelve baskets left over of fish and fragments of bread teach us about our lives here and now -- that whatever we have is where we start, and with God's help, we, too, can distribute, and feed and multiply. Bread in the wilderness teaches us about Church: we start where we are and with what we have, we live by God's word, and the Spirit teaches and multiplies. Wherever we are, whatever we have at hand, whatever need arises, let us remember this sense of mission and ministry. In this context, all of life becomes ministry, in whatever wilderness we find ourselves, with His help.
