So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that, following a dispute with the Pharisees and scribes, Jesus went to the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon.  And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden.  For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet.  The woman was Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.  But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."  And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs."  Then He said to her, "For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter."  And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.  Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee.  Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him.  And He took him aside from the multitude, and put is fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue.  Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."  Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly.  Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it.  And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well.  He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."

 

  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.  This is a second feeding of the multitude, and should not be confused with the first (see this reading).  They are two distinct miracles.  There's a significant variation in the number of loaves, for example.  My study Bible notes that in the first, there were five loaves, which symbolize the Law.  Here, there are seven.  Seven is a number which mystically symbolizes completeness; here my study Bible says it indicates spiritual perfection.  So, in the first instance (the feeding of five thousand men, and more women and children), Christ reveals Himself as fulfilling the Law.  But here He shows that it is He who grants spiritual perfection.  It's also noteworthy that the crowds had been with Christ for three days, the same number of days He would rest in the tomb.  Participation in Christ's perfection only comes through being united to His death (see Romans 6:3-5).

 

 My study Bible comments on the differences in the numbers given in the readings of the two separate feedings of a multitude in the wilderness.  There is another number that's significant, and that is the number of people.  In the first instance, it was five thousand, a magnification in some sense of the number of the loaves, which, according to traditional commentary, symbolized the Law.  Here this multitude comprises four thousand.  Four is a very significant number in terms of symbolizing the world and even creation.  Four plays a role in terms of the directions on a compass, the directions and dimensions of the world divided into North, South, East, and West.  Of course these also correspond to winds.  Moreover, they correspond to the four points of the Cross.  Christ's life, death, and Resurrection is forever known by the Cross, which leaves its mark on our world, continuing in its effects and ongoing.  This ties in with a pattern we have taken notice of in recent readings, in which Jesus' work has continued -- seemingly unplanned by Him -- in Gentile regions.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus healed the daughter of a Gentile, a Syro-Phoenician woman, after she persisted in making this request, showing herself not only persevering in faith with Him, but also humble but engaging Him with her heart, soul, mind, and strength.  He had gone into a house wanting to be hidden in this place away from the eyes of the Pharisees and scribes that came with public scrutiny among the Jews, but even in Tyre and Sidon "could not be hidden."  So His healing power, perhaps surprisingly to His disciples, has now gone to believing Gentiles, although He Himself said that He was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:6; 15:24).  Perhaps the numbers of people in these feedings give us another indication of the shape of Christ's ministry and its own continuing growth and development.  He is not only the fulfillment of the Law, but also the Giver of spiritual perfection, the One to whom every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess (Isaiah 45:23; Romans 14:11).  These are perhaps hints that this ministry is to go out to all the world, both Jews and Gentiles in its fullness, an activity which is ever-renewing and ongoing, for which we have not yet seen its fullness, a mystery we do not yet know.  Those seven large baskets of leftover fragments symbolize that food for spiritual perfection (especially in the Eucharist) that will continue to go out to the world.  Let us keep in mind this mystical reality, that works seemingly even beyond the immediate plans of Jesus when He marvels at developments, or cannot keep Himself hidden, nor prevent people from speaking about Him (see yesterday's reading, above).  For it continues today and is ongoing beyond where we know as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples went to the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon.  And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden.  For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet.  The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.  But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."  And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs."  Then He said to her, "For this saying to your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter."  And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.  Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee.  Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him.  And he took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue.  Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed,  and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."  Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly.  Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it.  And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well.  He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."

 

 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.  Here is a second feeding of the multitude, which should not be confused with the first (see this reading from Tuesday).   These are two distinct miracles, which Jesus affirms later (Mark 8:19-20).  My study Bible cites the variance in the number of loaves as significant.  In the first instance (see Tuesday's reading), there were five loaves, which symbolize the Law.  Here, however, there are seven loaves.  Seven is a number that symbolizes completeness.  Here, my study Bible says, it indicates spiritual perfection.  So, therefore, in the first feeding in the wilderness, Christ reveals Himself as fulfilling the Law, but here He shows that it is He who grants spiritual perfection.  My study Bible asks us to note also that these crowds had been with Christ for three days, the same number of days Christ would rest in the tomb.  It says that participation in Christ's perfection can only come through being united to His death (see Romans 6:3-5).  

 

Why two feedings in the wilderness?  As my study Bible pointed out, the differences are important, and distinguish the two from one another.  We do know that the prior event in St. Mark's Gospel is the casting out of a demon from the daughter of a Gentile, a Syro-Phoenician woman, who continued to make this request of Christ although at first He refused (see yesterday's reading, above).  In yesterday's reading, Jesus interestingly spoke of food and feeding, as a way to refer to His ministry and what He offers.  In a reference to "the children" of Israel, He said, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."  And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs."   For this answer, Jesus healed her daughter.  As St. Mark's Gospel then immediately takes us to the feeding of the four thousand, with its images of fullness and perfection, we might assume this is a kind of symbolic reference to the Christ's message being carried to the Gentiles.  We see in this second feeding a kind of expansion and evolution of Christ's ministry, just as the early Church itself would continue to expand.  Feeding is also, of course, symbolic of the Eucharist, in which Christ Himself becomes our food.  The four thousand would seem to symbolize an expansion of notions of the number four; these would include the Cross with its four arms, the four points on the compass symbolizing the world, and perhaps God the Trinity and humankind.  Again, the symbolic understanding here is of Christ and the world, not only the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24).  In St. John's Gospel, Jesus says, "For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world" (John 6:33), and, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world" (John 6:51).  Perhaps the key to the fullness and perfection symbolized in today's reading is here, in the bread of God given for the life of the whole world, meaning all of the created order, the cosmos.  St. Paul writes, "Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all" (1 Corinthians 15:28).  "All in all" begins with a few disciples, but continues to expand, with no discernible limit in terms of the creation itself.  Let us be grateful for this food which we receive from Him for the life of the world.  When we find ourselves in the wilderness, so to speak, we should remember this ever-expansive, creative gift.  For it is given to us freely, and it is the gift of life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that, after a disagreement with the Pharisees, Jesus arose and went to the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon.  And He entered into a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden.  For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet.  The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.  But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."  And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs."  Then He said to her, "For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter."  And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed. Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee.  Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him.  And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue.  Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."  Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly.  Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it.  And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well.  He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak." 

 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.  This is the second feeding of a multitude in the Gospels.  My study Bible says it should not be confused with the first (see this reading), for they are two distinct miracles.  There is a significance in the variance of the number of loaves, it says.  In the first feeding miracle, there were five loaves, which symbolizes the Law.  But here there are seven.  Seven is a symbol of completeness, and here it indicates spiritual perfection.  So, in the first feeding miracle of the five thousand, Jesus reveals Himself as fulfilling the Law.  But here is, in some sense, the New Covenant, as Christ is shown to be the One who grants spiritual perfection.  We must note also that the crowds have continued with Him for three days; this number is clearly significant as the number of days Christ would rest in the tomb prior to the Resurrection.  My study Bible comments that participation in Christ's perfection can only come through being united to His death (see Romans 6:3-5). 

Why two feeding miracles in the wilderness?  As my study Bible explains, these are clearly two distinct miracles, meant to be included in the Gospels.  One clear explanation seems to be in the symbolism noted by my study Bible.  In the first miracle, there was the exposition of the fulfillment of the Law in Christ.  Perhaps we should note that just as He distributes fish and bread, He is also the Lord, the giver of the Law of the Old Testament.  In today's reading, He repeats this giving and distribution, but of something new.  Four thousand is a number that indicates the whole world, or perhaps the whole universe, as four is a number symbolizing the four directions, and the four points of the Cross.  This is the New Covenant being giving to all, and both Gentile and Jew, for which Christ will lay in the tomb three days before His Resurrection.  The number seven, as my study Bible points out, is an indication of completeness.  This is the spiritual perfection, the granting of that eternal life of the Resurrection in which we may participate also, through the life, death, and Resurrection of Christ.  It is He who makes this possible for us, and we take life from His hand, so to speak, in the distribution of the Eucharist, the memorial of His sacrifice to make this abundant life possible for us.  So while the first feeding miracle reminds us of the Covenant given to the Jews, and the feeding in the wilderness as they journeyed to the Promised Land, this second miracle is the giving of the New Covenant, as we journey in faith toward a different promised land, and the life of the Kingdom.  We "continue with Him" taking in His teachings, and relying upon Him to provide what we need for the life He offers.  Let us remember to do just that, to continue with Him, to endure in faith, even through the difficulties we encounter in life.  For this is where He asks us to go, and how He asks us to walk with Him and to grow more dependent upon Him.  He is the One who feeds us what we need, and multiplies His blessings, grace, and teachings as we need them.