Wednesday, January 8, 2003

After Epiphany
1st Reading: 1 Jn 4:11-18

Gospel: Mk 6:45-52

After the five thousand men were satiated, Jesus obliged his disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, towards Bethsaida, while he himself sent the crowd away. And having sent the people off, he went by himself to the hillside to pray.

When evening came, the boat was far out on the lake while he was alone on the land. Jesus saw his disciples straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, and before daybreak he came to them walking on the lake; and he was going to pass them by.

When they saw him walking on the lake, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they all saw him and were terrified. But at once he called to them, "Courage! It's me; don't be afraid." Then Jesus got into the boat with them and the wind died down. They were completely astonished, for they had not really grasped the fact of the loaves; their minds were dull.

Gospel Commentary

The disciples in the Gospel of Mark are an unbelievably dense group of men. We see a sample of this in today's reading. They had witnessed the miracle of the loaves and the fish the day before. They had just seen this great marvel of Jesus, walking on the stormy waters. And yet, at the end, Mark tells us that their astonishment was due to the fact that, even after all that, "they had not really grasped the fact of the loaves; their minds were dull." This is neither the first nor the last time the disciples will not get the point. Their slowness to understand, their severely limited faith and love will recur over and over again in this gospel. What is most amazing, though, is Jesus' response to all this. He could have changed this sorry lot and started over with a new, more responsive set of followers. But he never does. He sticks to these flawed human beings, with much patience (with some impatience too!), and with enduring fidelity. There is much comfort here for the fumbling, uncomprehending disciples of today!

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