Seven Baskets Left Over

~~~ 1 Kings 12:26-32; 13:33-34 ~~~ Psalm 106 ~~~ Mark 8:1-10 ~~~

“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
because they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.

Jesus is now hanging out with the Gentiles.
What has he been doing for three days?
How has he kept them wanting to remain,
ignoring their hunger pains?
Was he healing people of common afflictions?
Was he speaking words so touching
that they dare not want to miss a single one?

All we do know is that they remained
with him night and day without food for three days.

Jesus is concerned about the people as they journey back to their homes.
It does not matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile;
everyone has the same need for food.

The disciples give him the seven loaves of bread
they have carried with them.
They also had a few fish which would hardly be enough
 to feed such a large group.

Jesus stands before this crowd of Gentiles and does what any good Jewish host
would do he gives thanks to God for providing the bread,
breaks it, and distributes it.

He also blesses the fish and has it distributed to the people.

This should remind you of the same ritual he uses during the Last Supper.
The same ritual that has become the central part of our Mass.

Do you think it was the blessing that Jesus prayed
that miraculously multiplied the offerings of bread and fish?
Or was it because of his strong connection with the Father?

They ate and were satisfied.
They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets.

Seven baskets of left over food was collected...seven.
The number representing fullness, wholeness and completeness.
The four thousand left that day
more complete and whole
than they were at the beginning of the first day.

How much does it take to make you feel whole and complete?
Would you be satisfied with the left overs?
God blesses us with his wholeness;
it is he alone who can complete us for all of eternity.
Peace.