Mark 8:1-10
Does
it seem as though you spend all your time traveling? Maybe it is stuck behind
the wheel as you shuttle the kids to their various activities, multiple
shopping trips, repair errands, social calls. Or maybe your work takes you to
different places, security checkpoints, lost luggage, hotel lobbies, and boring
cable. I don’t know about you but all the travel can get old. It is fun and
exciting at first, but then the excitement wears thin.
I
don’t travel enough to get frequent flyer miles. If I did, I know where I would
go. I would take about three weeks and travel __________, and take it very
slow. What would you put in that blank? Where would you like to travel? Where
would you use your frequent flyer miles if you could?
It
seems as though Jesus is always traveling. He has been in a boat crossing the
Sea of Galilee so many times. He has been to the seashore and back. As a good
Jew, He has been to Jerusalem for the annual feasts. Even from the beginning of
His life, traveling was a big component. His birth happened while Mary was on a
trip!
Our
itinerary takes us today with Jesus on one of His speaking stops. He has been
there three days, teaching, preaching, healing, and basically, transforming
lives. People don’t seem to get enough of Him. They want to spend more time,
but practical things seem to get in the way. Food! Their pesky stomachs need
it.
You
can only carry a pack lunch for so many days. Bread gets old and hard to eat
after a couple of days. And bread was a staple of their diet. We label this
food group ‘carbs’ to obscure our understanding. Most cultures have carbs as
the main part of what they eat. Grains or rice seem to be the preferences. I
think we have perfected carbs, molding them into so many delicious and fattening
forms. Yum!
My
wife was reading an article the other day that said many restaurant portion
sizes are eight times larger than recommended. No wonder we have trouble with
our weight. It is time to routinely use takeout boxes, time to share a meal,
rather than each getting my own.
So
4000 people have gathered and used up the food they had brought with them and
the meeting is breaking up. Jesus is getting ready to go on to His next place,
but some of the people have a long journey. They need some food to ensure they
make it home.
So
Jesus challenges His disciples to provide some food. He presents the dilemma to
them and sees if they have learned anything about the power of God at work in
His life. They haven’t. But Jesus still provides.
Have
you learned the lessons you need for this journey we call life?