Tuesday after Epiphany, January 7, 2025

Mark 6, 34-44

When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already very late. Dismiss them so that they can go to the surrounding farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” He said to them in reply, “Give them some food yourselves.” But they said to him, “Are we to buy two hundred days’ wages worth of food and give it to them to eat?” He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out they said, “Five loaves and two fish.” So he gave orders to have them sit down in groups on the green grass. The people took their places in rows by hundreds and by fifties. Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; he also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied. And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments and what was left of the fish. Those who ate of the loaves were five thousand men.

“When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them.” The latter part of the translation of this verse stands in contrast with a literal translation from the Greek text: “He pitied them.” Mark avoids sentimentality by writing in this direct way, but his style also reflects the urgency of his text. He does not waste words but describes things very sharply so that he can move on with what happens next. His pace is breathless. We might think of a student making rapid notes of everything his teacher says, so as to lose nothing, during a lecture.  This results in a rugged text that conveys the hard-nosed personality of a fisherman who goes right to the facts.

So: When Jesus saw the great (not “vast”) crowd, he pitied them “for they were like sheep without a shepherd.” That is, wandering about the countryside, scattered, and in danger from wolves. They have been abandoned. They do not have the ability to help or defend themselves. Jesus sees all these people who have heard of his coming and who had rushed out of their towns and villages in order to see him. They are spread out across the landscape not knowing exactly where his boat will land, and then hurry towards him when he disembarks. Their rabbis, Pharisees, and priests see them as creatures to be sheared for their own profit and otherwise have no real interest in them. They come to Jesus even without knowing what they want from him. But Jesus knows their hearts and how they yearn to learn the truth about God and his kingdom. And so, “he teaches them many things.” Before coming here, he had said to his exhausted Apostles, “Come apart into a deserted place, and rest a little.” But love works even when it is resting.

The Lord Jesus does not only teach them out of his compassion, but he cares for their physical health. He determines to feed them, and he means to put his Apostles to work in this task. He first has them come to the knowledge that they themselves have almost nothing, and then he takes what they have and multiplies it so that a super-abundance of food results. And this he bids his Apostles feed the people. Later, the Lord will remind them, “Without me, you can do nothing” (John 15, 5), and their minds will go back to this moment.

“And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments and what was left of the fish.” This is enough to satisfy another crowd. The Lord here shows that he does not give what is merely sufficient but always gives far more than what is strictly necessary. He does this to that his power serves his boundless compassion.