And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them

 

 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

 

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him. 

And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.  When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.

 

- Luke 9:1-17 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus and the disciples returned from the country of the Gadarenes (back across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum), the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.  And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue.  And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.  But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.  Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  And immediately her flow of blood stopped.  And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?"  When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."  Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.  And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.  Go in peace."  While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead.  Do not trouble the Teacher."  But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.  But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."  Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.  And He commanded that she be given something to eat.  And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.  

 

  Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.  Here the twelve disciples are called to become apostles.  "Apostle" is from a Greek word (ἀπόστολος/apostolos) which means "one sent out."   Disciples and apostles are titles used interchangeably for the twelve.  Disciple (Greek μαθητής/mathetes) means "learner," or "student."  My study Bible asks us to note that Jesus gave them power and authority to cast out demons and to cure diseases, while He does the same by His own power.  Note His instructions and how they emphasize a humility that contrasts with the power and authority He gives to them:  they are to take very little with them, their clothing must be humble and simple, they are not to "trade up" for better accommodations once they are welcomed in one place.  A place that will not receive them receives this response directed by Christ:  "Shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."

 

 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him.  This is the same Herod to whom Pilate would send Jesus during His trial (Luke 23:7).  He is Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee.  He is the son of Herod the Great, the one who slew the innocent infants in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16).  For an account of the beheading of St. John the Baptist, see Mark 6:14-28.

And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.  When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat." This commission ("You give them something to eat") is a type of preparation for the apostolic ministry which the disciples will perform after the Resurrection, my study Bible comments.   It notes that they will feed the world with the word of God and with the Eucharist.

 

And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.  Of the five loaves and two fish, my study Bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, who says that Christ is the same Creator "of both the earth and the sea, who in the beginning brought fruit from the earth and life out of the water."  Moreover, Christ looked up to heaven "not as receiving power from elsewhere, but as honoring the Father who begot Him."  That Christ blessed and broke the bread teaches us "not to touch any meal until we have given thanks to Him who gives us food."  My study Bible comments further that this blessing also presents a clear eucharistic image and directs us to pursue spiritual food greater than that which is earthly (see John 6:26-27).

 

When Jesus sends out the disciples on their first apostolic mission, He tells them, "And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  To our minds at the present time, this might not sound so much like the Jesus of popular imagination.  He is the same one who told us, "Love your enemies" (see Matthew 5:43-48).  How do we reconcile the Jesus who preached those words with the Jesus who teaches His apostles to "shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them?"  Apparently, to love your enemies, then, doesn't mean it is simply fine for the gospel message to be rejected.  We observe that there is no type of retribution or punishment involved here, at least not in a conventional sense.  There is only their testimony which is made against those who don't wish to receive them (symbolically made in shaking the very dust from their feet).  We may observe that, in the Acts of the Apostles, when Paul and Barnabas were persecuted and expelled from one region, they did this very thing -- and "the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit" (see Acts 13:50-52).  We might wonder, why testimony?  In St. Matthew's version of this event there is far more talk in Christ's instructions to indicate consequences to rejection of Christ's Kingdom.  He says to them:  "Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. And when you go into a household, greet it. If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!" (Matthew 10:11-15).  An unworthy household will not retain the peace with which its greeted, and rejection results in the terrible consequences in the day of judgment.  So testimony, as inconsequential on worldly terms as shaking the dust off one's feet seems to be, has an effect.  It will have an effect on the day of judgment; and unworthiness has a spiritual consequence regarding the blessing of Christ's peace. In Deuteronomy 32, we read the song of Moses.  God says, "Vengeance is Mine" (Deuteronomy 32).  St. Paul reminds us of the same, in the Letter to the Hebrews, when he also speaks of the consequences to the rejection of grace (see Hebrews 10:26-31).  A rejection, rebuke, and testimony -- all while remembering the gospel message and carrying it to all, even the command to love our enemies.  For love does not dismiss truth or reality; quite the contrary.  Just as Jesus teaches the disciples as they go out on their first mission, these instructions for their conduct convey the qualities of love:  "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (see 1 Corinthians 13).  They are to be humble; they offer peace; and they also rejoice in the truth, including that of testimony.  Jesus' powerful love is a strength that comes from confidence in God, and we are to bear that into the world.  A rebuke, a testimony, remains an act of love, for lies have no place in love.  In that love, Christ's strength is on display, and we are to take confidence in all that He teaches, even when others do not receive nor believe.  Our job is to witness, and to live as He teaches.

 

 

 

You give them something to eat

 

 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.  

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him. 

And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.   When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them. 

 

- Luke 9:1–17 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus returned to Capernaum (after healing a demoniac across the Sea of Galilee), that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.  And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue.  And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.  But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.  Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  And immediately her flow of blood stopped.  And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?"  When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."  Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.  And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.  Go in peace."   While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead.  Do not trouble the Teacher."  But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.  But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."  Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.  And He commanded that she be given something to eat.  And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

 

  Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.  Here Jesus calls His twelve disciples together, giving them power over demons and to cure diseases, and sends them out to preach the kingdom of God and heal the sick, making them apostles.  The Greek word for disciple means "learner" and the word apostle comes from the Greek word αποστολος/apostolos, which means "one sent out."   In so doing, my study Bible emphasizes that Jesus gave them power and authority, while He performed healings and cast out demons through His own power and authority.  Their mission is like Christ's, they are to preach and to heal.  Their demeanor is to be humble and reliant upon God, not ostentatious, and not "trading up" for a better place to stay.  The response to those who reject them is also humble, not vengeful but to shake the dust off their feet as a testimony against them.  

 

 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him.   My study Bible comments that this is the same Herod to whom Pilate would send Jesus during His trial (Luke 23:7).  He is the son of Herod the Great who slew the innocent infants in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16).  The story of the beheading of St. John at the court of Herod Antipas is found in Mark 6:14-28.  

And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.   When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.  My study Bible cites the commentary of Theophylact, who sees a liturgical parallel with the feeding of the five thousand.  He notes that Christ first healed and spoke of the gospel, and then He fed the multitude with the miraculous bread by the hands of the disciples.  In the Church, he says, a person is first healed through baptism; then at the Liturgy, the gospel is preached and the bread of life and the cup are received from the hands of the ordained clergy.  Jesus charges the disciples with the command, "You give them something to eat."  My study Bible says that this commission is  a type and preparation for the apostolic ministry the disciples will perform after His Resurrection.  They will be feeding the world with the word of God, and with the Eucharist.  St. John Chrysostom is also cited in his understanding of today's passage.  He says of the five loaves and two fish that Christ is the same Creator "of both the earth and the sea, who in the beginning brought fruit from the earth and life out of the water."  The Gospel tells us that Christ looked up to heaven before blessing and breaking the bread.  St. Chrysostom says that He does so "not as receiving power from elsewhere, but as honoring the Father who begot Him."  Moreover, St. Chrysostom comments, that Christ blessed and broke the bread teaches us "not to touch any meal until we have given thanks to Him who gives us food."  This blessing also gives us a clear image of the Eucharist, and directs us to pursue spiritual food greater than that which is earthly (see John 6:26-27).  

So, what does it mean to be fed?  How do we wish to be fed by Jesus Christ?   In John's Gospel. this miraculous feeding will lead to the people pursuing Jesus across the Sea of Galilee, even running to anticipate His arrival, because as a result of this feeding, they seek to make Him king by force.  Hence, Jesus' response, cited by my study Bible (see above) found in John 6:26-27:  "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."  As we can see, these multitudes who followed Jesus into the wilderness are first fed with Christ's preaching and teaching about the kingdom of God.  Also, He performs healings as well.  In this context, let's ponder that in today's reading we're told that the disciples have been sent out as apostles by Jesus, on their first missionary journey.  In so doing, He shares His power with them, and they are to take it through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.   This is a kind of expansion of Jesus' ministry that marks a milestone.  Jesus' power has the capability of being shared with others, even with human beings who serve Christ.  This must surely be linked with faith, and we can see the connection of faith established through the apostles as they go through the towns -- only those who reject them and are faithless are subject to the testimony against them, the shaking of the dust from the feet of the apostles.  So when we think of what food we need, how can we leave out the importance and singular essential quality of needing food that feeds our faith?  In the perspective of the Gospels we see that this is the primary need we have, for faith leads in some way to everything else -- and to this miraculous feeding in the wilderness.  So let us think about feeding, and our impulse -- our needs -- to eat and to be fed.  We know when our bodies are hungry.  Recently experiencing surgery, during the healing process I found myself needing more food than usual, and of a certain type.  But our faith, or lack of it, must work a certain way.  While we're growing as children (or healing from an injury of some sort) we truly need food to feed the growth we're experiencing, the necessary nourishment for that process.  But faith must work the same way.  In fact, it would seem that in some sense the more we grow in our faith, the more we need to nurture it, and the more need we experience to shore it up, to find it and deepen it.  This goes hand in hand with the joy we experience in the faith, and perhaps even the challenges we face in its growth.  In the experience of the Church and her saints, it's perhaps safe to say that the more one's faith grows, so grows one's need for it and for its nurturing.  In Luke's chapter 17, the apostles demand of the Lord, "Increase our faith!"  This demand is sandwiched between Jesus' teaching on the need to forgive at each repentance of a brother, and His teaching that, "If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you."  It leads also to His teaching on what it means to be a good servant.  See Luke 17:1-10.  So Christ's way is to feed the multitudes with what they need, and to teach us what we need.  He sends out the disciples, now become apostles, to feed this need in others, and to seek and to find those who will respond to it positively, grasping it with all their capacity.  For our love of God doesn't stop but expands to hold all that God can give, until we ourselves must share with others the good things we have been given, too.  Like the disciples, our faith may be nurtured when we share it with others.  There are those who teach that all the things of which we partake become a part of us, so we need to think hard, as human beings, about what we take in, and the things in which we participate -- for these things feed us too.  King Herod Antipas seeks to be fed, in some sense, by Christ, but to what end?  Not to faith.  Let us consider carefully what we really need, and what it feeds in us, where we need nourishment day by day, and the daily bread of the kingdom of God.  

 

 

 

Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude

 

 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And he said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, say there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.  

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him.  

And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.  When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provision; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.

 

- Luke 9:1–17 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus returned from across the Sea of Galilee, the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.  And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was ruler of the synagogue.  And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.  But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.   Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  And immediately her flow of blood stopped.  And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?"  When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."  Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.  And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.  Go in peace."   While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead.  Do not trouble the Teacher."  But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.  But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."  Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.  And He commanded that she be given something to eat.  And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

 

  Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And he said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, say there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.   We note Luke's emphasis for this first missionary or apostolic journey by the disciples.  They are to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.   And in their personal conduct they are to be modest and humble, reflecting a deep dependence upon God.  They're not to "trade up" for better lodgings, but honor those who welcome them -- and shake off the very dust from their feet as testimony against those who do not.

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him.   This is Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, who is the same Herod to whom Pilate will send Jesus during His trial (23:7).  He is the son of Herod the Great, who slew the innocent infants in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16).  Of the beheading of John the Baptist, one may read the account in Mark 6:14-28.

And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.  When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provision; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.  My study bible cites Theophylact's commentary, in which he sees a liturgical parallel to the feeding of the five thousand.  Christ received them and spoke of the gospel and healed, and then He fed the multitude with the miraculous bread by the hands of His disciples.  People are healed by baptism, and received into the Church; then in the Liturgy the gospel is preached and the bread of life and the cup are received from the hands  the ordained clergy. My study bible remarks also on the command from Christ, "You give them something to eat."  This commission, it says, is a type and preparation for the eventual apostolic ministry which the disciples will perform after Christ's Resurrection.  They will feed the world with the word of God an with the Eucharist.  Concerning the five loaves and two fish, my study bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, who tells us that Christ is the same Creator "of both the earth and the sea, who in the beginning brought fruit from the earth and life out of the water."  St. John Chrysostom also says that Christ looked up to heaven "not as receiving power from elsewhere, but as honoring the Father who begot Him."  That Christ blessed and broke the bread teaches us "not to touch any meal until we have given thanks to Him who gives us food."  My study bible calls this blessing a clear eucharistic image, directing us to pursue spiritual food greater than that which is earthly (see John 6:26-27). 

Possibly the most important thing we can take from today's reading is to ask ourselves where our spiritual nourishment comes from.  The whole focus on feeding is not simply a sign of God's abundance and grace for God's creatures, but of the real gift of spiritual nourishment -- and that nourishment is Christ Himself, as evidenced in the Eucharist.  What we need to think about, then, really, is what kind of nourishment we need from our spiritual life -- from Christ.  Do we need truth?  Do we need love?  Do we need a transcendent, enlarged view of life and of the world?  Do we need to understand the spiritual depth of God's life present and with us in the world -- or behind all things which we can't see? Do we need to know about God's love and concern, which is shown so clearly in Christ as Son Incarnate in our world to come to us and to feed us in so many ways?  What about the holy power of the blessing He gives to the bread?  Do we need our lives to be blessed in such a way that they proceed to grant us spiritual fruit using the earthly materials we have at hand?  If we ask for God's blessing on our own lives and endeavors, does that mean that we also seek God's ends and goals, and seek to grow in understanding that service to God which our lives can be a part of?   What does nourishment really mean?  Our world is filled with goods and services we can all strain after and work hard to attain.  But at the end of the day, with what is it that we need to be fed to make it meaningful, productive, filled with a higher and better purpose that invigorates our souls?  Does wealth really and truly make people happy in and of itself?  Or do we all have a basic and powerful need for something else?  God's nourishment feeds every part, and enlivens the food we eat with what reaches down deep into the soul, which vitamins and minerals can't do.  Let's consider the grace we need -- and the particular places that grace will ask us to "look up" to as learn to recognize real blessings.

There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?

 

 After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.  Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.  And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.  Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.  Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?"  But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.  Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little."  One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?"  Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down."  Now there was much grass in the place.  So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.  And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.  So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost."  Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.  And those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."  Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.

 

- John 6:1–15 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus replied to the leaders:   "I can of Myself do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.  If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.  There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.  You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.  Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.  He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.  But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.  And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me.  You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.  But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.  You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.  But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.  I do not receive honor from men.  But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.  I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.  How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?  Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust.  For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"

 

 After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.  Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.  And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.  Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.   My study bible comments that this next chapter which begins here is a parallel to the story of the Passover and Exodus of Israel from Egypt in many important ways.  Perhaps the first place we should start is here, where we're told that the Passover was near.  That means that at this point Jesus' ministry has continued for at least one full year, since we've already been given details of what happened at a previous Passover festival (in this reading).  In the Exodus account (Exodus 11-17), God first performed His signs against Pharaoh, and then gave instructions on how to be saved at the time of the Passover (Exodus 11:1-12:14).  In today's passage, my study bible notes, the multitudes follow Christ because of His signs, and it also takes place at Passover.  

Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?"  But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.  Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little."  One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?"   My study bible comments here that Christ tests Philip in order to increase his faith, for Philip needed help to understand Him (14:8-10).   Two hundred denarii corresponds to over six months wages for a laborer, something quite meaningful to these disciples.  Andrew, my study bible points out, has greater faith than Philip:  knowing that the prophet Elisha had multiplied bread for 100 men (2 Kings 4:42-44), he offers the food which has been broad by a lad.  Andrew, however, is still weak in faith, and questions what a mere five loaves could do for the number of people present.

Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down."  Now there was much grass in the place.  So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.  And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.  So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost."  Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.  This feeding of the multitude the fourth sign of seven which are given to us in John's Gospel.  It is of such significance that it plays an important role in each of the four Gospels.  Here in John's Gospel, as noted above, it plays a role paralleling the story of the Exodus of Israel.  At the Exodus, my study bible reminds us, the Jews were said to eat unleavened bread because they were quickly driven out of Egypt, and they had brought no provisions for themselves (Exodus 12:39).  Here, Jesus feeds the multitudes with earthly bread as they had brought no provisions, because they had rushed out to see Him.  In the ancient numbering system, it's the number of men who are given here (about five thousand).  But many more women and children were also present.  The description of Jesus as He took the loaves, gave thanks (in Greek, eucharisto/ευχαριστω), and distributed them prefigures the celebration of the Eucharist.

And those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."  Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.  My study bible comments here that although Jesus had performed greater signs than this, these crowds so desired an earthly Messiah that they declared Jesus to be the expected Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15-19) only when they were filled with earthly things (which Jesus will remark upon in verse 26).  Because of this misunderstanding, Jesus departed from them, going to the mountain by Himself alone.

There seem to be many lessons contained in today's reading.  First of all, let us note how things unfold.  None of this seems to be planned at all.  Jesus goes up on the mountain with His disciples, but a great multitude follows Him because of all the signs He's done.   But Jesus clearly understands something important, when we're told that He asks Philip about where they would get food to feed all of these people in order to test him.   And then there is the appearance of the five barley loaves and two small fish, which a boy happened to bring with him.  (Interesting to think that none of the men -- or women, for that matter -- who've followed had any thought for food.)   Although Jesus knew what He would do, as the text tells us, it seems also that there is a great message here about making do with what we have at hand.  When we find ourselves in a position of difficulty, we can't forget that we also have help with us all the time.  If it looks like we're not going to be able to cope with a particular circumstance in a way we understand, it's time to stop and pray, and ask for guidance.  It's time to reconsider if perhaps there isn't a way to begin with what we have, and find our way through with God's help.  This is the time when creative solutions, which might just surprise us -- I have found that they often do! -- can come into our hearts and hands and make do.  Often, these solutions that come with God's help turn out to be better than what we'd imagined was the way things should be done but it was impossible under the circumstances.  St. Paul says, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).  The text makes it clear that Jesus had no control over what all of these people would do, that they would follow Him, and so forth, because in the end the men decide to forcefully make Him king, something Jesus does not want.  It seems clear that the message here is all about God's power to multiply and to take what we have at hand, what the world might give us, so to speak, and make do in ways that might completely surprise us.  Even in the way that Jesus first gives thanks for the food, we're reminded to take time for God under all circumstances, and maybe most of all at the time when we're most hard-pressed to work out solutions to immediate problems.  By contrast, we notice Christ's response to the "earthly" ideas of the men, that they wish to forcefully make Him king.  This is not an idea accompanied by faith and prayer, but one made out of the response to being fed with "earthly" things, and it is therefore a "worldly" idea.  If we take these two aspects of today's reading together, it points to something Christ continually emphasized in yesterday's reading, in which He spoke to the leaders in Jerusalem about His relationship to God the Father.   As human beings, we turn to God in all things in the same way that Christ does.  He may be divine as Son, but lives His full life as Jesus the human being so that we may follow Him.  Let us take our time to root ourselves in prayer and faith for where we go and what we seek.  Ours is an imperfect learning curve, but it is His road for us nonetheless.

When the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing

 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him. 

And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing  When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.

- Luke 9:1-17

Yesterday we read that when Jesus returned from the country of the Gadarenes across the Sea of Galilee, the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.  And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue.  And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.  But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.  Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  And immediately her flow of blood stopped.  And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?"  When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."  Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.  And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.  Go in peace."  While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead.  Do not trouble the Teacher."  But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.  But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."  Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.  And He commanded that she be given something to eat.  And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.  The chosen twelve (6:12-16) are sent out on their first mission.  Note that Jesus sends them out by giving them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases; also to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  We note the great emphasis on healing.  Jesus does not send them out empty-handed, but invested with His own power to do these things.  His instructions further enforce their dependence upon the power which He has given to them.  They are to take nothing with them, nor extra clothing; their demeanor is to be humble and grateful for whatever is offered to them first (not to "trade up" for better lodgings after they are known).  Their power is also in testimony -- those who will not receive them receive testimony against them.

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him.  Herod the tetrarch is also known as Herod Antipas; also known as a "king," he was the tetrarch or ruler of Galilee, who ruled for Rome.  During Jesus' time of trial, He will be sent by Pilate to Herod the tetrarch (23:7).  This Herod is the son of the Herod who slew the innocent children in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16).  The story of the beheading of St. John the Baptist can be read at Mark 6:14-28.  The curiosity of Herod Antipas at this stage is one more indication that Jesus is coming to the notice of ruling authorities; the conflict with the kingdom of God becomes inevitable.

And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.  Jesus tries to go away privately with the apostles, those twelve who have been sent out on their first mission.  But the crowds and their constant need, and demand for healing, makes this impossible.  Note that Jesus spoke to them about the kingdom of God; His mission is to spread this word, not simply to respond to demands.

When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.  My study bible cites the commentary of Theophylact, who sees a liturgical parallel with the feeding of the five thousand.  First Christ healed and spoke about the gospel, then fed the multitude with the miraculous bread by the hands of His disciples.  In the Church, it says, a person is first healed through baptism; then at the Liturgy, the gospel is preached and the bread of life and the cup are received from the hands of ordained clergy.  "You give them something to eat" is a command -- a kind of commission that is a preparation for the apostolic ministry to come after the Resurrection.  My study bible says that they will feed the world with the word of God and with the Eucharist.  On the five loaves and two fish, St. John Chrysostom comments that Christ is the same Creator "of both the earth and the sea, who in the beginning brought fruit from the earth and life out of the water."   St. Chrysostom further comments on the image we're given of Christ looking up to heaven, suggesting that He does so "not as receiving power from elsewhere, but as honoring the Father who begot Him."  Moreover, he adds, that Christ blessed and broke the bread teaches us "not to touch any meal until we have given thanks to Him who gives us food." 

My study bible has an additional comment on the feeding of the five thousand, which adds that Jesus' blessing of the bread with which the crowds were fed gives us a clear eucharistic image, and therefore directs us to pursue spiritual food greater than that which is earthly (see also John 26-27).  In our modern age, which has made and continues to make tremendous progress in the realm of the material (such as scientific and technological progress and new advances of all kinds), we tend to think in material terms.  That is, we think that addressing the problems of the world can be done through material gain.  If only we had enough money for research into this or that problem -- for medical research, or research into the production of more food for more people, or for investigation into the abolition of disease, pollution, natural disaster, etc., we could truly solve all the problems of the world.  But the problems of the world do not rest simply in the material.  Christ comes into the world with the fullness of compassion for all of our problems:  our illnesses, our needs and wants, our desire to be fed.  But never in the Gospels is compassion simply a matter of material understanding of material problems.  Compassion is, in the first place, a product of a spiritual life and spiritual understanding.  Grace comes from God -- and through our understanding of a gracious Creator, we may in turn share a communal concern and right-relatedness with others.  In other words, the material doesn't simply come first, but rather the material is fulfilled through the direction and guidance of the spiritual.  As creatures, we are both material and spiritual beings.  We have a body and also possess a soul.  As such, in the cosmology of the Church, human beings occupy a special role in the fullness of Creation, we straddle both the visible and invisible worlds.  But with so much emphasis on the material, right down to the images purveyed through the mass penetration of social media into more and more of our lives, we forget about our own spiritual side.  We tend to discount that it means anything, because we don't see overtly evidence of its impact or a lack of spiritual attention in our lives.  We may simply come to know and understand, after the fact, an emptiness in our lives, a lack of good direction, the overt callousness of the selfishness and self-centeredness propounded through such total emphasis on image.  But still, our own awareness of ourselves as spiritual beings competes with the ever-driving demand for more:   a better house, more money, to look like a social media star or to be one, to have a child as a kind of commodity that makes us okay or part of a group, to have the right amount of friends and do the right things.  All of these, in a self-centered world, focus on one thing:  what is my image in the eyes of others that will feed me what (I think) I need for myself?  The chaos that emerges from the lives of those driven to be stars in such a cosmos tells us something about the social breakdown that occurs in hidden ways within ourselves when we forget that we, too, are made of spirit, and that our lives need spiritual values to be meaningful and fulfilling, and even challenging in the right ways.  That chaos includes the hidden anger and resentment, the constant challenges of competition for its own sake, and the rivalry for things and even for image that go on all the time under the surface of what we consume -- especially and even through a social media-driven world.  Without a real spiritual basis for community, we find easy scapegoats, terrifying punishments for those who fail, obscurity and rejection of images that don't fit the latest thing, whatever that might be today or this moment.  We find inconvenient facts something to ignore; a threat to the illusion that we are swimming in a stream of progress becomes a threat to our own sense of well-being.  But let us note this little verse in the reading today, that when the apostles come back from their mission, Jesus' first desire is to draw them away from the crowds, to come away for a time to rest and also to discuss with Him all the issues of this mission.  And we must take our cue from Jesus:  we need time alone with Creator; away from image, from the thoughts and popular opinions of others, from the desire merely to please the demands of the crowds.  Jesus always takes time for the spiritual, for the word of the gospel.  Healing doesn't come without it, and we can't heal without a perspective that will give us an independent and especially a detached point of view of all the fuss, demands, and chaos that surrounds us -- and especially the impulse that drives a feeling that all there is is the material and nothing more.  To escape alone by ourselves, to retreat into faith and worship, to set aside every worldly care in order to worship in true freedom (as the Cherubic Hymn of the St. Chrysostom liturgy declares in all languages in which it may be heard -- here is a famous version by Tchaikovsky), is to find ourselves in communion with our Source, with the One who loves us better than anything or anyone else, and who can teach us what it truly means to heal.  Let us consider what we lose in a world caught up with its own fantasies about itself, separate from Creator.  And let us return to what has given us so much, and continues to love and to bestow grace, to await our love and hearing in return for what it offers.   We continue to dwell in a Kingdom that lives midst our own world, no matter what the state of our world may be, and for all times and places.   The twelve baskets left over to the twelve apostles for the whole of the world are still left to feed us all with the spiritual food we need.

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?

He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick

 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him.

And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.  When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty.  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.

- Luke 9:1-17

Yesterday, we read that when Jesus returned from the country of the Gadarenes across the Sea of Galilee,  the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.  And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue.  And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.  But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.   Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  And immediately her flow of blood stopped.  And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?"  When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."  Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.  And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.  Go in peace."  While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead.  Do not trouble the Teacher."  But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.  But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."  Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.  And He commanded that she be given something to eat.  And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.  The disciples ("learners") become apostles, those sent out on a mission.  Jesus gives them power:  giving what is His to those who are His disciples, so that they in turn go out into the world to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  What we note about this first mission is Jesus' careful instructions that emphasize humility.  They are not to be at all ostentatious, taking nothing with them but bare necessities of clothing.  Staying in the same house that welcomes them first means they will not "trade up" if offered better lodging.  And here is another side of that power:  when they leave a place that will not receive them, they are simply to shake the very dust from their feet as a testimony against them.  We note the importance of testimony.  The one judgment that counts is not worldly nor temporal.

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him.  Herod the tetrarch is Herod Antipas.  He is the one to whom Pilate will send Jesus during His trial (23:7).   He is the son of Herod the Great, who slew the innocents in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16).   For the beheading of St. John, see Mark 6:14-28.  What we notice here is something that will recur in the Gospels:  Herod's fascination with the holy power of both Christ and John the Baptist.

And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.  When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty.  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.  Here the feeding of the five thousand begins a recurring note in the Gospels, that Jesus and the disciples are meant to go into a deserted place, so that they may rest and discuss their first apostolic mission.  But the people come following Jesus.  He first does what He sent out the twelve to do:  He preaches the kingdom of God, and heals those who need healing.  We note the common themes of this story as it appears in the Gospels; Jesus instructs the disciples to give them something to eat.  When very little is found on hand, Jesus proceeds with that, blessing and giving the food to the disciples to distribute to the crowd.  The five thousand men is a common way of counting; there were more women and children in addition to the them.  It is a mirror to us of the Eucharist; symbolic in the fish and the loaves is the inexhaustible food of Christ, all the forms of God's grace and the depth of communion He will share with us. The twelve baskets of leftover fragments will be the inexhaustible bread taken up by the apostles for all the world, and those who will follow in the Church.

There is a kind of movement in today's reading, as it sweeps across the progress of Christ's ministry.  First the disciples are sent out:  twelve disciples symbolizing perhaps the people of God, the twelve tribes of Israel.  They go out on their first apostolic mission, calling out those who will come in faith -- preaching the kingdom of God and healing.  Those who respond to them are those who receive this word.  Their "people" are those who will first receive them.  This is a mission based on the connection of faith, of those "who have ears to hear," in the words of Isaiah so often quoted by Jesus.  Jesus is distributing His power to the apostles and through them to the world.  And the world does hear about Him, in the person of Herod the tetrarch, a man we could say is fascinated by the holy in perhaps a peculiarly childish way.  As king, what he might understand of such power is a kind of material phenomenon, something like a possession one might marvel at, although it's not completely clear what it is he seeks from both John the Baptist and then Jesus.  In him we could possibly say we see the world of material power separated from faith, and this world has taken notice now of Jesus.  Finally the disciples return, and what occurs afterward is a prefiguring of the Eucharist, the depth of participation in the Body of Christ, and that which will remain so long as the Church remains in the world and for all those to come.  It will spread to all the world, a movement that has not stopped but continues.  What we see in today's reading is the growth of this word of the Kingdom, as well as a deepening sense of what it is to be truly a part of that Kingdom and to share in His grace and blessings, a depth not reached until we know His sacrifice and understand the Eucharist in the ways He will teach.  We can reflect again on the parable of the Sower, which Christ has so recently given in the Gospel; the seeds are sown, the world is given what Christ brings in His mission.  But it is the growth, the struggle, the patience required, and the fruit of an eventual harvest He emphasizes.  We remain in the midst of that process of nurturing, growth, temptation, the essential need for care of the heart, and patience.  Let us be grateful for our part in all of it.