David Bahn – Reflections

Mark 6:41-44

And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² And they all ate and were satisfied. ⁴³ And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. ⁴⁴ And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

Several years ago my wife had occasion to talk with a staff person from another church that I and my Pastoral Leadership Institute (PLI) collegial group had visited. Somehow the fact that I had been there got connected to the fact that I had wanted to see behind the scenes: the secret passageways, closets, and infrastructure of the building. That kind of stuff interests me. I was a bit embarrassed by the fact that I was somewhat known by that interest and pursuit. Reality is, however, I am a curious fellow; I like to go behind the scenes to see what’s really going on.

This miracle of Jesus intrigues me to that end. I wonder just what happened and how. I’m talking about behind the scenes, in the mystery of the miraculous. So did the fish just start multiplying – as the History Channel’s TV miniseries the Bible shows it? Or did the fish simply prove to be inexhaustible – with each bite of fish being broken off somehow not depleting each of the two the fish? I can at least imagine Jesus walking on water. I can fathom the reality of water changing into wine. But I just can’t get my head around this miracle of Jesus.

Perhaps, however, that’s the real danger of being a curious fellow: there are important things that we do know about this event and the miracle of Jesus on this occasion. We know Jesus was taking his disciples for some down-time following their recent mission trip. We know that they were in a desolate place, and that the disciples wanted to have Jesus to themselves (that’s why they had come to this desolate place). We know that there were two fish, five loaves of bread and 5000 men, and that somehow that turned into a sated multitude and twelve baskets of leftovers.

In fact the nature of this miracle is awe-inspiring. We could get distracted by what we don’t know (and even as I write this, I am nearly there). Or we could simply embrace the mystery of this miracle and rejoice in the Jesus’ compassion and provision. That response is a worthy one, for the mystery of God’s dealings is the stuff of faith while the pursuit of knowledge and understanding can be a substitute for faith. Faith is far better.

Mark 6:30-44

The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. ³¹ And he said to them,“Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. ³² And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. ³³ Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴ When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. ³⁵ And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. ³⁶ Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” ³⁷ But he answered 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 it to them to eat?” ³⁸ And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” ³⁹ Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. ⁴¹ And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² And they all ate and were satisfied. ⁴³ And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. ⁴⁴ And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.