More than enough, if we ask

 

REFLECTION

August 18, 2021

 

Mark 8:14-21 (CEB)

¹⁴ Jesus’ disciples had forgotten to bring any bread, so they had only one loaf with them in the boat. ¹⁵ He gave them strict orders: “Watch out and be on your guard for the yeast of the Pharisees as well as the yeast of Herod.”

¹⁶ The disciples discussed this among themselves, “He said this because we have no bread.”

¹⁷ Jesus knew what they were discussing and said, “Why are you talking about the fact that you don’t have any bread? Don’t you grasp what has happened? Don’t you understand? Are your hearts so resistant to what God is doing? ¹⁸ Don’t you have eyes? Why can’t you see? Don’t you have ears? Why can’t you hear? Don’t you remember? ¹⁹ When I broke five loaves of bread for those five thousand people, how many baskets full of leftovers did you gather?”

They answered, “Twelve.”

²⁰ “And when I broke seven loaves of bread for those four thousand people, how many baskets full of leftovers did you gather?”

They answered, “Seven.”

²¹ Jesus said to them, “And you still don’t understand?”

 

The Reflection

When we resume midweek Evening Prayer in September, we will use Lectio Divina (Holy Reading) and Visio Divina (Holy Seeing) to explore the texts. I am going to use Lectio Divina to approach this text today so you can see how it works. We read the text several times, and each time ask ourselves to look more deeply into it.  There are usually 4 steps to Lectio Divina.

1.   What catches your attention? On the first reading …

what jumps out for me is that Jesus doesn’t understand why the disciples complain about not having any bread.

2.   Why does this catch your attention? On the second reading …

I notice that Jesus gives the disciples lots of examples of times when he has provided bread when there wasn’t enough. There were even leftovers! He is reasoning with them. I find myself siding with the disciples. It’s not every day that they need Jesus to multiply bread for them. Why should they expect Jesus to do it for just the few of them? Even though they (and I) know Jesus can multiply bread, don’t they (and I) have the responsibility to bring enough food for everyone? Shouldn’t I plan ahead and be prepared?

 3.   What is God saying to you through this? On the third reading …

I realize I am just like the disciples. I count on my own human resources to provide enough. It actually never occurs to me to ask God to multiply what I have.

4.   Rest with the text. Let God speak to you in silence for a short time.

What if I ask God to multiply my offering so it goes even farther, not so I can give less, but so I have the satisfaction of giving even more? Amen! 

Lectio Divina 

What do you discover when you read this text? Here are the prompts to try it on your own.

Before each step, read the passage. Try reading with a different Bible version each time.

1.   What catches your attention?

2.   Why does this catch your attention?

3.   What is God saying to you through this?

4.   Rest with the text.