Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while

 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

Yesterday 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.  So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.   Christ teaches the need for rest, and this is particularly of note here for those who labor for the Kingdom.

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.  Mark's Gospel has consistently shown us a build up of the power and draw of Jesus' ministry upon the populations.  We note that Jesus, in His compassion for them,  first "feeds" the needs of the people by beginning to teach them many things, as they are like sheep not having a shepherd.

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."   It's quite interesting that it is Jesus who has been teaching them, out of His compassion, until this late hour.  Perhaps, after the apostles have returned from their first mission, in which Jesus' power was shared with them, it is the time for this new expression of His power for their understanding.

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."  They begin with the instruction that they are to see what is at hand, what resources they may begin with.  One traditional spiritual interpretation of this passage suggests that five loaves indicate the five books of the Law (Genesis through Deuteronomy), which as broken open in Christ and thus feed the universe.  The two fish then represent the Gospel Book and the Epistle Book, the teaching of the fishermen.  In this same interpretation, the gathering of the leftovers by the apostles (after the feeding) shows that the teachings the faithful are unable to grasp are nevertheless held in the consciousness of the Church, says my study bible.  Altogether, interpreted spiritually, this food is still "teaching" for those who are like sheep without a shepherd, which was the need originally discerned in the crowd through the compassion of Christ.   As we take on the eucharistic images in the rest of the passage, how Christ teaches and feeds us becomes even more profoundly substantial.

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.  The image of the Eucharist is clear.  Jesus looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, then gave them to the disciples to set before the people.   The division and distribution in the image is unmistakable.  The twelve baskets that remain suggest all the fragments taken to the world by the twelve apostles, which will be continually broken and distributed for all.  The imagery and terminology also reflects that of the Last Supper.  My study bible says that just as the disciples distribute bread to the multitudes, so also Christ feeds the Eucharist to His flock through the hands of His bishops and presbyters.   The number of those who had eaten the loaves reflects a traditional way of counting only the men; in addition to five thousand men, there were no doubt additional women and children.

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.  Our "scene" ends with Jesus departing to the mountain to pray, seeming to go to the rest He had tried to set aside for the disciples in the beginning of story.  Prayer is also a kind of food for Him from which He takes nourishment and direction for His ministry.

It's almost kind of remarkable to consider how it is or why it is that Jesus so often goes by Himself to pray.  After all, He is the Son of God.  Does He need to pray?  Is He not in constant communion with the Father?  These are mysteries we don't know the answer to.  One possible answer is that, of course, while He is divine and the Son, He is also fully human, and the human Jesus is clearly aligned with His spiritual purpose, this mission for which the Son has been sent into the world.  But none of these explanations does Jesus' constant example of prayer real justice.  There is a deeper and more powerful message in these repeated instances of prayer for which Jesus goes aside by Himself to pray.  There are instances, of course, from the Old Testament, of those who commit heroic deeds in the service of the people of God, their devotion to prayer in a deserted place and in the early hours, especially before a great challenge will require strength and courage.  There are the prophets, as in the tradition of Elijah and John the Baptist, who live on the "outside" of the society, in places of wilderness, in order always to pray and be closely dedicated to God.  But why does Jesus need to do this?  From the beginning of His ministry, it has been so.  We have been told first about the temptation in the wilderness, when after His baptism, the Holy Spirit "threw" Him into the wilderness for forty days (Mark 1:12).  There are important turning points when we're told Jesus goes apart by Himself, again often in the very early hours of the morning, to pray.  One thing we must certainly think for ourselves is that if it was this essential to Christ, then how essential must it be for each one of us to make such regular times in our lives for prayer -- and preferably set apart somehow and alone.   This prayer not only seems aligned in the structure of the text with rest, but also with feeding, nourishing, taking strength.   The prayer is inseparable from the source of the abundance He shares with others:  the power that is distributed to His disciples so that they may heal and cast out demons, the power that creates endless food from five loaves and two fishes, and the great compassionate heart that knows what each and ever person needs, that discerns the sheep that need a Shepherd and gives them the true food for their lives.  How are we ever to discern our own true needs without prayer and communion?  Or how can we receive true rest if we don't participate in this deep and full sort of prayer?  Prayer and rest frame our reading today -- it is connected with the food given by Christ and with the Eucharist, inseparable from His teaching and the distribution of the word of the presence of the Kingdom.  How else can we truly, fully, and deeply experience the Kingdom without such personal prayer?   In Him, He tells us, we must abide (see John 15:4-17).  Everything in our faith tradition gives us such means of abiding in Him:  the Eucharist, our worship services, even to the decor and beauty of the Church, its hymns, and all its practices.  But we mustn't leave out the need for personal prayer, and that of especially the example He sets for us.   Without this, where and how do we truly abide even to the depths He seeks in us?