In the past few weeks in Mark’s Gospel we have heard of Jesus’ rejection by his hometown and then the formation of a new family of those who hear his word and act on it.  These are to be his brothers and sisters (his disciples).  He sends them out on ‘mission’ and forms them for ‘ministry’.  They are to perform the same acts as him, curing the sick and teaching.  Mark tells us of the compassion of Jesus as he gazed on the crowds who were like sheep without a shepherd.  And so what immediately follows is the feeding of the five thousand.  This is the great act of providence that culminates the sixth chapter of Mark’s Gospel (although today we read John’s version of the story).

What is going on here?  The feeding of the five thousand is coupled with the reading from the Book of Kings.  The writer relates the story of the prophet Elisha.  Elisha is a prophet of the ninth century BC.  He is a prophet who is preaching a return to the following of the covenant of God to a ruling class of money hungry and heartless leaders.  He is calling them to justice and to have a heart for the poor.  In this context we get the story of a nameless man from Baal-shalishah (meaning the God who multiplies).  He brings Elisha, the prophet, twenty barley loaves and fresh grain.  These gifts are referred to as the ‘first fruits’.  This tradition of separating out the first fruit and offering them to God goes right back to the beginning of the Old Testament (the tragedy of Cain and Abel begins in part because of Cain’s jealousy of Abel’s first fruits and thinking that God might approve of Abel over Cain).  Offering of the first fruits is a way of acknowledging that we only have anything at all because it is first given to us by the creator, God.  We bring to God the first lamb of the flock, the first crop of the harvest to acknowledge that we cannot keep ourselves alive.  So, an anonymous man brings Elisha, twenty barley loaves and some grain.  The fact that he brings them to Elisha indicates the position that Elisha has as God’s representative.  The first fruit (ritually) belonged to God.  So, Elisha represents God and Elisha’s action will tell us something about who God is.  “Give them to the people to eat,” he says.  These were poor people with whom Elisha is associating.  The man is astonished that with twenty barley loaves and some grain he is expected to feed them.  Yet, they ate and had some over.

A miracle occurs in this story: a sack of grain and twenty barley loaves feed one hundred people, with food remaining.  Theologian Elna Solvang^[1]  reflects on this text and tells us this is a miracle:

• made possible by God’s abundant providing
• initiated by the generosity of an anonymous giver.
• shared with others because of the recipient’s generosity.
• in which all are included because of an administrator’s/prophet’s concern for equity.
• through which the community shares in what is holy.

The passage depicts the miracle of daily existence: human community and holy living are dependent upon the abundant providing of God, human generosity, a willingness to share, and attention to equity.

This theme from the Old Testament is picked up by Jesus and by the evangelists – they must have known this story from the Book of Kings as they wrote the gospels.  Again, in the gospel we are presented with an anonymous person (a young boy) who has the gifts.  Jesus sees the boy and his loaves of bread and instructs the disciples to give them to the people.  Again we see “human community” and “holy living” are dependent upon the abundant providing of God, human generosity and willingness to share and attention to equity.  This time Jesus will do even more with less: five barley loaves and two fish will feed five thousand!

Both these stories prefigure the Eucharist.  In the Eucharist we bring forward bread and wine – gifts of the earth.  We claim that these are God’s gifts.  When we share them we share them in solidarity with all human life.  More than this, Jesus so identified himself with that bread and wine that he called them his body and blood.  When we share in this meal we share in everything that he stands for.  We take his very life into our lives.

As his followers today we are called to live as if everything depends on the God of life.  And we are called to act in a way that demonstrates to all humanity that each and every person is made in the image and likeness of God.  We are called to be generous with our gifts and talents, for in using them we give glory to the God of all.

By Fr Brendan Reed

^[1] Elna K Solvang, Commentary on 2 Kings 4:42-44

Published: 26 July 2024