How is it you do not understand?

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation." 

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So he said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town." 

- Mark 8:11-26

Yesterday we read that, 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.

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."  After the previous confrontation with them, the Pharisees watch Jesus ever more closely.  They begin to demand a sign from heaven.  This is in order to test Him.  It means they demand a spectacular display of power, to prove He is the Messiah.  The time of the Messiah among the Jews, my study bible tells us, was expected to be accompanied by signs.  But these hypocrites, although they watch Jesus' every move to test Him, haven't recognized the signs already being performed because their hearts were hardened; they ignored the works happening all around them. 

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So he said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"  The leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine (Matthew 16:12) and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  My study bible notes that in Scripture, leaven is used both positively (as in Matthew 13:33) and negatively, as Jesus uses it here.  In both cases, leaven (or yeast) symbolizes a force powerful enough -- and frequently subtle enough -- to permeate and affect all that is around it (see 1 Corinthians 5:6-8). 

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."   Jesus leads the blind man out of the town to heal him, my study bible says, because the people of Bethsaida were unbelieving (see Matthew 11:21).  This is so that the people would not scoff at the miracle and bring upon themselves greater condemnation.  We also have other examples of Jesus' healing in which He separated those who needed their faith to heal from those who ridicule, such as the healing of Jairus' daughter (in this reading).  That this blind man is healed in stages shows that he had only a small amount of faith, for healing occurs according to one's faith, a note reads.  But this little faith was enough, and it increased with the touch of Christ.  Jesus' command not to return to the town symbolizes that we must not return back to our sins once forgiven.  It also tells us of the importance of keeping our faith strong, and taking all measures to do so.

Important elements in today's reading all tell us about the nature and essential quality of faith.  Faith will determine all that is revealed by and received from Christ.  We note first of all that the Pharisees seek to test Jesus; their motives are to deny His divinity.  They demand a sign in order to test Him or to make Him prove His identity.  But this isn't going to work; they can't see what He is already doing, has already done.  They don't recognize the signs that accompany His ministry.  The disciples, too, have an issue with a lack of faith.  They apparently can't see the feeding miracles as the great signs that they are.  The text tells us that they fail to understand Jesus when He warns them about the "leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod," referring to a kind of determined blind skepticism that continually demands proofs of God's presence, when holy power has clearly been at work in their midst.  Instead, their minds are elsewhere; they think He's chastising them for forgetting to bring bread for their journey.  Jesus Himself seems to be stunned that they can't understand what He's just said to them.  Don't they remember when He fed 5,000 in the wilderness?  Or that second occasion on which He fed 4,000 from a few loaves?  How can they possibly think He's upset that they didn't bring enough bread with them?  "How is it you do not understand?" Jesus asks.   Finally, we come to the blind man, who must be taken out of his environment for this healing to work.  Even so, sight comes in stages.  And when his sight is returned, Jesus warns him neither to go back to the town nor tell anyone there of this great healing and blessing.  So important is the influence we allow ourselves that Christ warns him so that he may keep his sight.  What we read throughout each episode contained in today's reading is Jesus' admonition that faith isn't something to take lightly, nor is it something to test.  We take it seriously, and we need to be awake and alert to that which may threaten the state of our faith.  We don't seek out clashes and testing and confrontation in terms of proving or testing our faith.  Instead, we're to be sober in our approach, awake and alert to the importance of our state of being and our state of mind.  Humility is the key here, because it is in humility that we remember the power of God in our lives.  It is in humility that we accept our own weakness, and our need for support and strength in our faith.  It is in humility that we accept that we are vulnerable to be misled.  It is in humility that we accept that we always need enlightenment, the sight that Christ offers us.  It is in humility that we accept that there are times when we simply need to move on to an environment that better suits our healing and wholeness rather than remain in what is familiar to us.  All of these elements combine in today's reading.  Lent is a time when we withdraw a little and cut back on the usual things that occupy us, entertain us, consume us.  We let go of our surroundings a little and seek to detach, to refocus on what's important.  The idea is that rather than lose ourselves in what we normally enjoy or pursue, we take time out for a little clear-eyed assessment, sober living, a look at our own reality.  Even the apostles teach us what preoccupation with worldly life and daily cares can cause us to miss; their minds are far away from the things Jesus wants them to understand.  To become totally immersed in the daily struggles of life, the things everybody else might think or talk about, the seemingly urgent issues of the day, is likened to a kind of drunkenness or stupor, a forgetfulness of the things we need to be alert to.  Like the blind man, we need to allow Christ to direct our thoughts and concerns at times, so that we can see as He desires us to see -- and detach ourselves from what misleads us away from health and wholeness.  Our true well-being depends upon it.