Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
“They have nothing to eat”
Today, in our times of inclemency and anxiety, Jesus also calls us to tell us he feels “pity for the crowd” (Mk 8:2). Today, with the peace process in crisis, fear, apathy, banality and evasion may abound: “and have nothing to eat.”
Whom is the Lord calling to? The text says: “he summoned the disciples” (Mk 8:1), that is, He calls me, not to send them home hungry, to give them something to eat. Jesus sympathizes with them —this time in heathen land— because they are hungry.
But, alas! Sheltered in our little world, we say we can do nothing about it. “Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?” (Mk 8:4). Where shall we find a true and firm word of hope while knowing the Lord will be with us every day till the end of time? How can we tell the believers and the non-believers that violence and death are no solution?
Today, the Lord simply asks us how many loaves have we. Whatever we have, this is what He needs. The text says “seven”, a symbol for the heathen, just as twelve was a symbol for the Jewish people. The Lord wants to reach us all —this is why the Church, from its Catholicism, wants to recognize itself— and is asking for your help. Give Him your prayer: it is a loaf of bread! Give Him the Eucharist you have celebrated: it is another loaf of bread! Give Him your decision to reconcile with those you love, with those that have offended you: still another loaf of bread! Give Him your sacramental reconciliation with the Church: another loaf! Give Him your little sacrifice, your fasting, your solidarity: and still another loaf! Give Him your love for his Word that soothes and gives you strength: more bread! Anyway, give Him whatever He asks from you, though you may believe it is not worthwhile.
As St. Gregory of Nyssa says: “He who splits his bread with the poor becomes a part of He who, for us, wanted to be poor. The Lord was poor; do not be afraid of poverty.”