The Miracle Told in All Four Gospels
A Meditation on Mark 6:30-46
BETH-lehem: In Hebrew, it means House-of-Bread (or
Sustenance). This is its literal translation.
I named my daughter, Margaret Elizabeth Lee, BETH, her nickname, for “house,”
and the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Beth, (pronounced “Bait”), and
she is my second child.
This
miracle, the Multiplication of the Loaves, as it is known, is the ONLY miracle
told in all four Gospels. Not only that, here, in Mark, it is recounted
twice. Now why is that? And how many
women and children were included to the numbers of men counted (5,000 and
4,000, respectively)?
Since
I returned from the Holy Land in June of ’99, I have often meditated on a tile
I bought there to display in my kitchen. It is of one of the most famous
ancient mosaics of Jerusalem, artistically balancing some bread loaves and some
fish in circular baskets. It is a beautiful depiction.
When
Jesus was asked by his disciples, “What are we supposed to feed the people
here?” he made it so everyone could eat—and also have leftovers.
How
and why did he do this? Perhaps he was more concerned that his listeners would
not be famished while they listened. Or perhaps he wanted us to know that if we
listen to him, his grace will always be abundantly supplied. He came so that we
might have life, and not just life. Life
MORE ABUNDANT.
Soften
our hearts, O Lord, do not let our hearts grow hard for any reason. Help us
know that you will provide at all times for us, your servants. Help us to
multiply our faith in exponential numbers, as you did “(in that) deserted
place. . . .”
— Margaret
V. Lee
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