In the Old Testament we have the image of a nation wandering in the wilderness. They had been led out of slavery, they had witnessed many wonderful miracles of God, and yet, we are told that in the wilderness they acted rebelliously. Even at the foot of Mount Sinai, when Moses was speaking to God and making the covenant on behalf of the Hebrew people, they were melting down their golden jewelry to make a molten calf to worship.
But, when you look closely at the Old Testament story, the one thing that really strikes me is the continual presence of God in their lives. God is present in the pillar of clouds by day, and the pillar of fire by night. They were given water and they were fed with manna. Maybe they didn’t live in nice expensive condos but they lived. God was with them.
The wilderness is a hard and demanding place. It is a place of uncertainties and loneliness. Sometimes we find ourselves thrust into the wilderness unprepared, not knowing what to do. The assurance of the Old Testament story is that even in the wilderness, God is with us.
Sometimes we choose to be in the wilderness. Sometimes we find its isolation a relief. Sometimes we are driven into the wilderness. John the Baptist lived in the wilderness preaching his message of repentance and baptism. Elijah fled to the wilderness for safety. The Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness for 40 days to be tempted by the devil. Although the wilderness presents its hardships and demands, whether we choose the wilderness or are thrust into it, one thing is clear-we find there an opportunity to be with God.
Do you know what it’s like to feel loss? Have you ever felt the pain of losing someone you love? Have you ever felt so bad that all you wanted to do was to withdraw from the world, to hide from the pain it sometimes hurls into our lives? In our Gospel lesson today, Mark tells us that this is what happened when Jesus learned of the horrid death of his cousin, John the Baptist. He wanted to be alone. He wanted to just escape all of the demands that people were placing on him-just for a little while.
It must be tough being Jesus. It was as though he had won a million dollar lottery and people would just keep coming to him saying-if only I had a few thousand dollars I could. . . Well, you know what I mean. Jesus, heal us. Jesus, feed us. Jesus, teach us. Jesus, liberate us. People were interested in Jesus for what he could do for them. Ooh, talk about stepping on a few toes. With what motivation do we approach Jesus? Of course he wanted to be alone for a while.
But this isn’t the story that Mark gives us. No, as the drama unfolds we see other players coming on stage: the multitudes – the crowds. When they heard that Jesus went away, they went after him. Many in their number were sick, and they were seeking to be healed. Many just wanted to catch a glimpse of this person they heard so much about. Some had heard that he was an inspirational speaker and they hadn’t been inspired for a long time. There they were the masses, dirty and common. They were crude and vulgar. They lacked the refinements of the Hebrew middle class. They lack the education of the scribes and the Pharisees. They were the masses that you see at the Malls-elbowing people to make breaks in the crowds to squeeze through to that table of sale items. They were the masses that you see at the stock car races-guzzling their drinks, on the edge of excitement, longing for the next collision of cars. They were the masses that you see everyday. And like masses of people everywhere they were probably obnoxious and rude. Here was Jesus, mourning the death of his cousin, tired from a week of preaching and healing, just wanting to be alone, but they wouldn’t go.
Mark tells us that when Jesus looked out at them his heart went out to them. In their confusion, their wantonness, he saw them as sheep without a shepherd. They wanted something from him, okay, he would give them something. But evening was approaching. It was late and he was tired. When he quit, the disciples were hoping that they would disperse. Now I don’t know why-maybe because they didn’t get there until it was so late. Maybe Jesus didn’t relent until it was late, but they wouldn’t go away. The disciples were anxious.
Now, this is one more thing to remember about the wilderness. Even when you are in the wilderness and seek to be alone, more often than not you won’t be be. Even as Jesus and his disciples sought to be alone in the wilderness a crowd followed him. Heal me. Teach me. And now, feed me. Oh, they were hungry. Jesus told the disciples to feed the crowd. They were aghast! Feed them! How could they feed this great crowd? They didn’t have the food to do it, nor the money to buy it. But then Jesus
took what they did have, a few loaves and some fish, and he blessed it, and broke it, and he shared it with the many people.
Remember Dorothy, in The Wizard of Oz? All throughout the movie she faced peril-great danger. Throughout the movie, her desire to return home grows and grows until finally the good witch, Glenda, reveals to her that she had the means to do so all along-the ruby red shoes that she had on her feet. She just didn’t realize it.
The miracle of the feeding of the multitude was not that so many people were fed on so little. This was only a sign of the real miracle. The real miracle was the way that Jesus gave of himself. Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life; those who come to me shall not hunger, and those who believe in me shall never thirst,... I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if you eat of this bread, you will live forever.” (John 6:35,51)
The disciples were setting limits. They were withdrawing into a tight little circle. They saw the dirty crowd for what it was. They were selfish, wanton people who said gemme, gemme, gemme, all the time. They wanted to just keep them out. Isn’t this why they withdrew to the wilderness-to get away from these people? But Jesus broke through that tightly drawn circle and pushed through the limits. He broke through the limit that says there are some people you do not have to care for. He broke through the limit that says there are some needs that do not need to be met. He broke through the limit that says, “I just don’t care any more.”
He then took what seemed so inadequate-he took what seemed so insignificant-a few loaves and fishes, the products of simple human labor-and he then provided what was needed for all. He took simple things in life, like bread and fish, and made them a blessing from God.
Do you see the simple things in life around you? A moment shared together, a hymn that we sing, simple bread, simple wine-and through them we know the presence of Christ and receive his blessing.
Such simple things!
Originally written July 21, 1991
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