Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
(Genesis
5:5-8.7:1-5.10; Mark 8:14-21)
On top of St.
Peter’s Basilica in Rome, stone statues overlook the city. They represent the twelve apostles who struggled
to win the world for Christ. Each member
of the band appears magnificent in wisdom and strength. We are challenged to reconcile these figures with
the fumbling disciples in today’s gospel.
The twelve have
twice witnessed Jesus distribute hundreds of times more bread than was on
hand. Yet they worry about not having food
with them in the boat. They overlook the
one loaf that is with them. That is the
Lord himself! Like many people, the
twelve cannot see beyond their condition of scarcity. They cannot see that in Christ’s company they
will always have more than enough.
Bumpkins as
they are at this point, Jesus still has to warn the disciples about vanity! It is the leaven of the Pharisees. Like leaven in dough, vanity makes the
Pharisees refuse to accept Jesus as a legitimate teacher. They demand a sign from God for them to
believe. Vanity, in this sense, puffs
one’s face so that the person cannot notice the presence of God. Jesus is indicating to his disciples that
they must trust him. They and we are neither
to obsess about what is lacking nor to overlook Jesus’ power. Rather, we must put our faith in Jesus.