Only with prayer!

Mark 9:14-29

When Jesus, with Peter, James and John came down from the mountain and rejoined the disciples, they saw a large crowd round them and some scribes arguing with them. The moment they saw him the whole crowd were struck with amazement and ran to greet him. ‘What are you arguing about with them?’ he asked. A man answered him from the crowd, ‘Master, I have brought my son to you; there is a spirit of dumbness in him, and when it takes hold of him it throws him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and goes rigid. And I asked your disciples to cast it out and they were unable to.’

‘You faithless generation’ he said to them in reply. ‘How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me.’ They brought the boy to him, and as soon as the spirit saw Jesus it threw the boy into convulsions, and he fell to the ground and lay writhing there, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ ‘From childhood,’ he replied ‘and it has often thrown him into the fire and into the water, in order to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us.’

‘If you can?’ retorted Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for anyone who has faith.’ Immediately the father of the boy cried out, ‘I do have faith. Help the little faith I have!’ And when Jesus saw how many people were pressing round him, he rebuked the unclean spirit. ‘Deaf and dumb spirit,’ he said ‘I command you: come out of him and never enter him again.’ Then throwing the boy into violent convulsions it came out shouting, and the boy lay there so like a corpse that most of them said, ‘He is dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him up, and he was able to stand.

When he had gone indoors his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why were we unable to cast it out?’ ‘This is the kind’ he answered ‘that can only be driven out by prayer.’

Food for thought!

This is the kind that can only be driven out by prayer!

According to this statement of Jesus, there are some things in life that we cannot do by our efforts. There are things that are just too much for us to accomplish. In other words, there are things that only God can do. Today's gospel is a reminder of this fact.

While Jesus was up in the mountain, down in the valley the disciples were struggling without success. A man had brought to Jesus his son possessed by devil. As Jesus was not around, the man asked the disciples to cast it out, AND THEY WERE UNABLE TO.

Does this sound familiar? Don't you have situations, issues, problems that just don't go away, however much you fight and struggle? Despite going to church every Sunday or to some everyday, despite being a follower of Jesus, Christians are bound to sometimes fail in their endeavors.

After their failure, and when they  went home, away from the crowd and in private with Jesus, the disciples revisited the issue; they took their failure to Jesus; they wanted to know why the kept failing and failing. This is a lesson. We must take our failures to Jesus; we must tell him in private not only about our successes but also our failures. And when they spoke to Jesus about their failure, Jesus told them why they failed.

He said, "This is the kind that can only be driven out by prayer." In other words, there are some kinds of problems, some kind of situations in our lives that can only be conquered with the help from heaven; things that only God can do. This is what Jesus told the father of the possessed son: "Everything is possible for anyone who has faith." Yes, everything, not just some things, are possible with God. This is what St. Paul reminds us in the letter to the Phillipians, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (4:13)

So, as we start this week, let us remember to call upon heaven when and where we often fail. Let us bring our struggles to Jesus, and bring Jesus to our struggles. 

Do not fight against an evil person!

Matthew 5:38-48

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well; if a man takes you to law and would have your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone orders you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to anyone who asks, and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away.

‘You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike. For if you love those who love you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the tax collectors do as much, do they not? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do they not? You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.’

Food for thought!
Since last week, Jesus has been setting up new standards for us; a Christian lives by different standards. Chapters five to seven of the gospel of Matthew are about this new standard. «When Jesus concluded his address, the crowd burst into applause. They had never heard teaching like this. It was apparent that he was living everything he was saying—quite a contrast to their religion teachers! This was the best teaching they had ever heard.» (Mt 7:29)
Today, Jesus is redefining resistance. He says, «Do not fight against an evil person.» Why? When we resist we make a mental image of the thing we are fighting, and that tends to have it created for us. When we fight our enemies we make them into heroes. When we learn to look only at what we want and never at what we do not want, we will no longer resist anything.
What Jesus is teaching us today is that whatever man thinks, he gets and becomes. If we wish to transcend old thoughts and bad feelings we must just think of something good. Remember Philippians 4:8-9 «Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.»
Jesus abolished tit for tats because retaliation has no place in the Christian life. He gives examples. He says that if anyone smites us on the right cheek we must turn to him the other cheek also. There is far more here than meets the eye, far more than a mere matter of blows on the face. Suppose a right-handed man is standing in front of another man, and suppose he wants to slap the other man on the right cheek (note that Jesus said «right» cheek), how must he do it? Unless he goes through the most complicated contortions, and unless he empties the blow of all force, he can hit the other man's cheek only in one way--with the back of his hand. Now according to Jews (Jesus' people)) to hit a man with the back of the hand was twice as insulting as to hit him with the flat of the hand. So, then, what Jesus is saying is this: "Even if a man should direct at you the most deadly and calculated insult, you must on no account retaliate, and you must on no account resent it."
It will not happen very often, if at all, that anyone will slap us on the face, but time and time again life brings to us insults either great or small; and Jesus is here saying that the true Christian has learned to resent no insult and to seek retaliation for no slight. Jesus himself was called a gluttonous man and a winer. He was called the friend of tax gatherers and harlots, with the implication that he was like the company he kept.

The true Christian has forgotten what it is to be insulted; he has learned from his Master to accept any insult and never to resent it, and never to seek to retaliate. Now you may ask: are our enemies going to get away with it? No. Remember what the Lord says in Deuteronomy 32:35, «Vengeance is mine. I will repay.» So let us not take vengeance into our hands; it is the God's right and duty. God knows when and how to repay those who hurt us.

To know yourself you must know Jesus!

Matthew 16:13-19

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said ‘the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’

Food for thought

He did not ask the question directly; he led up to it. He began by asking what people were saying about him, and who they took him to be. Some said that he was John the Baptist. Others said that he was Elijah. In doing so, they were saying two things about Jesus. They were saying that he was as great as the greatest of the prophets, for Elijah had always been looked on as the summit and the prince of the prophetic line.

When the people identified Jesus with Elijah and with Jeremiah and with John the Baptist they were paying him a great compliment and setting him in a high place, for Jeremiah and Elijah and John the Baptist were none other than the expected forerunners of the Anointed One of God. In other words, Jesus was good but not good enough, was great but not great enough.

When Jesus had heard the verdicts of the crowd, he asked the all-important question: "But you, who do you say I am?" At that question there may well have been a moment of silence, during which into the minds of Peter came thought from heaven about both Jesus and himself.

Like Jesus, we all want to know who we are. We want to know what others think of us. One thing is certain, NO ONE KNOWS WHO WE ARE, EXCEPT JESUS. All the others call us many things, many names; I am many things for many people, you're many things to many people. If you asked your friends who you're, like Jesus did, you would here all kinds of answers, good and not so good; it is all guesswork because no one can tell you who you are except the Lord.

But to know who you are, you have to know who Jesus is. This is what happened. When Peter came to know who Jesus is, when Peter told Jesus, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," Jesus told Peter who he is: "I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church."

This means that the road to ourselves goes through Jesus; he is the key that opens us. Peter never knew himself nor his career until Jesus told him in all details. And Jesus never told Peter who he is until Peter knew who Jesus is. So, you too, to know yourself, you will have to know who Jesus is. The more you know Jesus the better you know yourself, the less you know Jesus the less you know yourself.

If you don't know yourself well, it is because you don't know quite well who Jesus is. Ignorance of Jesus is ignorance of ourselves.

Are you saving or serving your life?

Mark 8:34-9:1

Jesus called the people and his disciples to him and said, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. What gain, then, is it for a man to win the whole world and ruin his life? And indeed what can a man offer in exchange for his life? For if anyone in this adulterous and sinful generation is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’ And he said to them, ‘I tell you solemnly, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.’

Food for thought!

Jesus said (and says) to his disciples that things get worse before they get better; suffering comes before victory; victory comes after a fight; crown comes after a cross; Easter Sunday comes after Good Friday; daytime comes after night. He knows that this law applies to him as well; he is no exception: he will suffer grievously, be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be put to death, before we he is raised up on the third day. Jesus is talking of himself, yes, but also he is talking of every human, like you and me.

This is why Jesus exhorts us to take our cross, our struggle, our fight and our challenges every day and  move on, because this is the way we can ever make a difference in the world. Here Jesus lays down the laws of life. “Life is a place of service and in that service one has to suffer a great deal that is hard to bear, but more often to experience a great deal of joy. But that joy can be real only if people look upon their life as a service, and have a definite object in life outside themselves and their personal happiness.” — Leo Tolstoy

He says that we must deny ourselves. What does that mean? A great scholar comes at the meaning in this way. Peter once denied his Lord. That is to say, he said of Jesus, "I do not know the man." To deny ourselves is therefore to say, "I do not know myself." It is to go beyond the self, to go beyond the immediate; it is to reach out to others; is to forget about self, and put our whole heart into someone or something greater.

Jesus says that we must take up our cross. What does that mean? To take up our cross means to be prepared to face things; it means to be ready to endure the worst that man can do to us for the sake of being true to a cause. Do you have any worthy cause you live for? Do you find life worth living? And what, at the end of the day, can make life really worth living unless there is something— a cause, a love, a person— worth dying for? Remember Viktor E. Frankl's lament, "people have enough to live by but nothing to live for; they have the means but no meaning."

Jesus says that we must spend our life, not hoard it. The whole gamut of the world's standards must be changed. The questions are not, "How much can I get out of life?" but, "How much can I give to life?" Not, "What is the safe thing to do?" but, "What is the right thing to do?" Not, "What is the minimum permissible I must do?" but, "What is the maximum possible contribution that I must make in life?" The Christian must realize that meaning is found beyond and not within oneself. What we need is to discover the meaning in our life, to find someone or something to live for. "He who has a why to live can endure almost any how." (Nietzsche)

"And You, Who Do You Say I Am?"

Mark 8:27-33

27 Jesus and his disciples headed out for the villages around Caesarea Philippi. As they walked, he asked, "Who do the people say I am?" 28 "Some say 'John the Baptizer,'" they said. "Others say 'Elijah.' Still others say 'one of the prophets.'" 29 He then asked, "And you-- what are you saying about me? Who am I?" Peter gave the answer: "You are the Christ, the Messiah." 30 Jesus warned them to keep it quiet, not to breathe a word of it to anyone. 31 He then began explaining things to them: "It is necessary that the Son of Man proceed to an ordeal of suffering, be tried and found guilty by the elders, high priests, and religion scholars, be killed, and after three days rise up alive." 32 He said this simply and clearly so they couldn't miss it. But Peter grabbed him in protest. 33 Turning and seeing his disciples wavering, wondering what to believe, Jesus confronted Peter. "Peter, get out of my way! Satan, get lost! You have no idea how God works."

Food for thought

Our lives are filled with questions. Some of the questions we are faced with are very mundane and routine. For instance, “What shall I wear today?”, “Where do you want to eat dinner?”, and “What do you want to watch on television?”, are not questions that have long term implications in our lives. Some of life’s questions are just plain unanswerable. For instance, “Why do women open their mouths when they put on eye makeup?”, “Why do men refuse to stop and ask for directions?” But, some of life’s questions are terribly important. Consider the following questions for instance, “When, how, where will I die?"

In this passage, Jesus asks two questions that are eternal in nature. The first question has to do with what others say about Jesus. The second has to do with our personal opinion of Who Jesus is. Let us dwell on the second. It comes after hearing His disciples tell Him what others say, Jesus asks them for their opinion. He has heard public opinion, now He wants to hear their personal opinion.

"And you-- what are you saying about me? Who am I?"

This is the moment of truth! Everything Jesus has taught them and shown them has been leading up to this moment in time. Every miracle was leading to this one moment in time. Every word of truth Jesus spoke was leading His men to this great spiritual crossroad. Their response to this question would let Jesus know how effective His personal ministry to these men had been. It is a simple question, but it is filled with eternal implications.

As you read this, know that Jesus is once again making that same question to you and me. Many of us call Jesus what others call him; this is not enough. We have to come up with our, your and my, answer; an answer that is personal. We have to make Jesus a personal discovery, a personal friend, a personal Lord.

So, who is Jesus to you? See below who the Bible says He is.

1. Adam, Advocate, Anointed, Apostle, Author, Amen, Alpha, Ancient of Days.
2. The Beginning, the Begotten, Beloved, Branch, Bread, Bridegroom, Bright and Morning Star, Bishop of our souls, Brightness of the Father’s glory.
3. Captain of our Salvation, Consolation, Chief Cornerstone, Counselor, Covenant, Chosen of God, Christ.
4. The Daysman, Deliverer, Dayspring, Daystar, Door, Desire of all nations.
5. The Elect, Ensign, Emmanuel, Everlasting Father.
6. Finisher of our faith, Friend, Forerunner, First Fruits, Faithful Witness, Fountain of life issuing from the cave of death.
7. God, Gift of God, Governor, Guide, Glorious Lord.
8. Help, Hope, Husband, Horn of Salvation, Hearer, Head of the Church, Heir of all things, High Priest, Hell’s dread, Heaven’s wonder - the Holy One.
9. I Am, Inheritance, Image of God’s Person, Immortal and Invisible.
10. Judah, Just, Judge, Jesus.
11. King of Israel, King of Kings, King of Glory, King Everlasting.
12. The Life, the Light, Love, Lily, Lion, Lamb, Lawgiver, Living Stone, the Lord of glory.
13. Messenger, Mediator, Master, Messiah, Mighty God, Mercy’s Paradox.
14. The Nazarene.
15. Offspring of David, Omega, Only Begotten of God, Offering and Offerer.
16. Priest, Passover, Potentate, Prophet, Propitiation, Prince of Life, Prince of Peace, Physician.
17. Righteousness, Rabbi, Ransom, Rest, Root of Jesse, Root of David, Refiner, Refuge, Resurrection, Rose of Sharon, Ruler, Rock of Ages, Regenerate Breath.
18. Stone, Shepherd, Son of God, Son of Man, Shield, Servant, Surety, Sufferer, Saviour, Sinless Sacrifice, the Same Yesterday, Today and Forever.
19. Teacher, Truth, Tabernacle, Testator, Treasure, Tree of Life.
20. Witness, Word, Way, Wisdom of God, Wonderful.

..... (this is for you to fill). God bless you! 

He leads him as he leads us!

Mark 8:22-26

Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethsaida. Some people brought a sightless man and begged Jesus to give him a healing touch. 23 Taking him by the hand, he led him out of the village. He put spit in the man's eyes, laid hands on him, and asked, "Do you see anything?" 24 He looked up. "I see men. They look like walking trees." 25 So Jesus laid hands on his eyes again. The man looked hard and realized that he had recovered perfect sight, saw everything in bright, twenty- twenty focus. 26 Jesus sent him straight home, telling him, "Don't enter the village."

Food for thought!

This is a very special miracle, not only because of what the Lord did but of what he does every day. But first, since the beginning of this week, Jesus has been trying to teach His men that He is the Messiah; that He is God in the flesh; that He is actually present in our ordinary experiences, our ups and downs. Unfortunately, the people have failed to get the message! In spite of seeing Him do the amazing and the impossible again and again, they just don’t get it: the Pharisees ask for a miracle, the apostles get worried for not carrying bread with them, inspite of Jesus being right there with them.

To demonstrate that he walks with us, Jesus take this blind man by the hand. He touches him and takes this man by the hand and begins to lead him out of town. Now, try to imagine Jesus walking up to this man and taking him by the hand and beginning to lead him away. Jesus and the man begin their journey in the middle of town. Can you imagine Jesus leading him around the obstacles that were in his path? Can you hear Jesus as He patiently and kindly leads this poor blind man along one step at a time, all the while holding his hand. Can you see this in your mind’s eye?

No you don't. Because this is what Jesus does to all of us. We're like the blind man; he does not see Jesus but he both believes in and lets Jesus lead him. You too don't have to see Jesus but you should believe that you're not alone; there's a a helping hand that has lead you up to where you're now. Your life is not meaningless; it is meaningful, because an invisible hand is leading you. Like the blind man, believe and let Jesus lead you. HE IS THE WAY, the truth and the life; no one goes to the Father unless by his hand.

Holding someone’s hand for a long period of time is a very intimate experience. Remember how thrilling it was to hold your girlfriend or boyfriend’s hand when you were dating? Think about how special it is just to hold the hand of your spouse as you walk from place to place.

We don’t recognize His touch until our blinded eyes are opened, but throughout our whole lives, Jesus is working and walking by our side, leading us to bring us to the place we are today. Every event, every circumstance, every tragedy and every blessing was the Lord taking your hand and mine in His grip, as He brought us forward. You can believe what you want to, but you can’t get from one day to another on your own.

Are you still without perception?

Mark 8:14-21 

The disciples had forgotten to take any food and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. Then he gave them this warning, ‘Keep your eyes open; be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.’ And they said to one another, ‘It is because we have no bread.’ And Jesus knew it, and he said to them, ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you not yet understand? Have you no perception? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear? Or do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’ They answered, ‘Twelve.’ And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’ And they answered, ‘Seven.’ Then he said to them, ‘Are you still without perception?’

Food for thought!

The incident in this gospel is very revealing of the disciples of Jesus. Although they had witnessed Jesus perform many miracles, they still had doubts about who He really was. The Disciples had seen Jesus perform many miracles - we have seen God work miracles in our own lives, yet we so easily forget them. Jesus says, “Don’t you remember” (Matthew 16: 9)?

And Jesus said to them, ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you not yet understand? Have you no perception? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear? Or do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’ They answered, ‘Twelve.’ And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’ And they answered, ‘Seven.’ Then he said to them, ‘Are you still without perception?’

The Disciples were truly the closest men to the Son of God; yet, we see that even they were slow to learn about who Jesus really was. They saw with their own eyes all of the miracles He performed, but they still could not connect the dots. A little surprising… don’t you think? 

What Jesus teaches here is the failure to learn from experience. The Pharisees were awhile ago demanding a sign from Jesus (as we saw yesterday) because they weren't seeing any sign of God from experience. They weren't learning anything from life; nothing! Why demand a miracle when miracles are all over? 

This is the lesson that the disciples missed, just as we often do. Even after experiencing and witnessing the miracles of Jesus, they could not still connect the dots. They could think of nothing but the fact that they had forgotten to bring loaves, and that, unless something happened, they would go hungry. Jesus saw their preoccupation with bread.

He reminded them that twice he had satisfied the hunger of huge crowds with food enough and to spare. It is as if he said, "Why all the worry? Don't you remember what happened before? Hasn't experience taught you that you don't need to worry about things like that if you are with me?" DO YOU STILL NOT GET IT? 

The odd fact is that we learn only half the lessons of experience. Too often we too fail to learn from experience. Sorrow came--and we came through it still erect. Temptation came--and somehow we did not fall. Illness took us--and somehow we recovered. A problem seemed insoluble--and somehow it was solved. We were at our wits' end--and somehow we went on. We reached the breaking point--and somehow we did not break. We, too, are blind and slow learners. If we would only read the lessons of experience aright, they would teach us not pessimism but optimism; the things each one of us has gone thru, ought to teach us to trust God in the things yet to come; if God has brought us this far in safety, God can bring us through anything that may happen to us. Or you don't still get it?

In him we live and move and have our being!

Mark 8:11-13

The Pharisees came up and started a discussion with Jesus; they demanded of him a sign from heaven, to test him. And with a sigh that came straight from the heart he said, ‘Why does this generation demand a sign? I tell you solemnly, no sign shall be given to this generation.’ And leaving them again and re-embarking, he went away to the opposite shore.

Food for thought

Sometimes we get used to the ordinary, and we begin to take it for granted and to look for the extraordinary, abnormal and the sensational. The same with God. We we're brought up to think of God as SUPERNATURAL, that is, as beyond the natural, as beyond nature, as beyond the ordinary. We forget that God is everywhere and in every event of life: "In him we live and move and have our being." (Acts 17:28)

When the Pharisees came to Jesus, they demanded something extraordinary, something uncommon. They wished to see some ABNORMAL event happen, defying the laws of nature and astonishing them. To Jesus such a demand was not due to the desire to see the hand of God; it was due to the fact that they were blind to God's hand at work in him.

Do you see God's hand at work in your life, or in the life others? Or you see your life as a mess without meaning, without sense? Or you are able to see meaning and sense and the hand of God at work in your life?

To Jesus the whole world was full of God's presence; the corn in the field, the leaven in the loaf, the grass on the hillside all spoke to him of God. He did not think that God had to break in from outside the world; he knew that God was already in the world for anyone who had eyes to see.

The sign of the truly religious man is not that he comes to Church to find God but that he finds God everywhere, every time and not that he makes a great deal of sacred places but that he sanctifies common places. As someone put it, "Earth's crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes, the rest sit round it and pluck blackberries." This poet was referring to Moses and the burning bush.

Why does anyone ask a sign from God when day by day he or she wakes up from sleep alive, when everyday the sun arises, each night the stars appear, each morning the thirsty grass is wet with dew; the corn fails not its harvest, nor the air stops to blow. Imagine what would happen to the airplanes if the air stopped blowing, what would happen to you and me if all the air disappeared?

From him who has eyes to see and a heart to understand, the daily miracle of night and day and the daily splendour of all common things are sign enough from God.

Thank God And Share what You Have and Are!

Mark 8:1-10

1 At about this same time he again found himself with a hungry crowd on his hands. He called his disciples together and said, 2 "This crowd is breaking my heart. They have stuck with me for three days, and now they have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they'll faint along the way-- some of them have come a long distance." 4 His disciples responded, "What do you expect us to do about it? Buy food out here in the desert?" 5 He asked, "How much bread do you have?" "Seven loaves," they said. 6 So Jesus told the crowd to sit down on the ground. After giving thanks, he took the seven bread loaves, broke them into pieces, and gave them to his disciples so they could hand them out to the crowd. 7 They also had a few fish. He pronounced a blessing over the fish and told his disciples to hand them out as well. 8 The crowd ate its fill. Seven sacks of leftovers were collected. 9 There were well over four thousand at the meal. Then he sent them home. 10 He himself went straight to the boat with his disciples and set out for Dalmanoutha.

Food for thought!

Have you ever felt hungry while sitting at a dining table, or felt sick while in hospital, or felt dry while inside a church, or felt in need of love with your spouse around...? This is what the disciples did. They felt empty, insufficient, limited, while in the presence of Jesus. Jesus had said, "This crowd is breaking my heart. They have stuck with me for three days, and now they have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they'll faint along the way-- some of them have come a long distance." His disciples responded, "What do you expect us to do about it? Buy food out here in the desert?"

The disciples are frustrated and don't know what to do; they're with Jesus and they're are confused; they've Jesus and don't know what to do. And Jesus knows what they think. So, in order to open their eyes, Jesus makes a question to the disciples: "How much bread do you have?" This question reminds us several things: that sometimes we need what we have, we cry for what we possess, we search for what we already have; we're poor with all our talents and God given gifts with us; we don't see opportunities while God gave us eyes to see; we suffer when we have the cure with us; we starve with food in our hands; we have questions whose answers we know; we're ignorant with our brains in our head; we don't know with all the knowledge around.

How much bread do you have? How much intelligence do you have? How many talents do you have? How many friends do have? How much luck and opportunities and money do you have? Not much? Do like Jesus did: "Giving thanks, he took the seven bread loaves, broke them into pieces, and gave them to his disciples so they could hand them out to the crowd. They also had a few fish. He pronounced a blessing over the fish and told his disciples to hand them out as well. The crowd ate its fill. Seven sacks of leftovers were collected."

Jesus did the following: 1) gave thanks for the seven loaves of bread. In other words, Jesus did not complain but thanked God for what he had. Do you ever thank God for what and whatever you have? For what and whatever you are? 2) Jesus then broke them and shared them. Do you remember to share the little you have, or you think it is too little to share?

So there're two things Jesus did to make the miracle: thank God for what and whatever he had; share what and whatever he had. Try this and you will have the miracle done by you. Thank God and share. 

Well done!

Mark 7:31-37

31 Then he left the region of Tyre, went through Sidon back to Galilee Lake and over to the district of the Ten Towns. 32 Some people brought a man who could neither hear nor speak and asked Jesus to lay a healing hand on him. 33 He took the man off by himself, put his fingers in the man's ears and some spit on the man's tongue. 34 Then Jesus looked up in prayer, groaned mightily, and commanded, "Ephphatha!-- Open up!" 35 And it happened. The man's hearing was clear and his speech plain-- just like that. 36 Jesus urged them to keep it quiet, but they talked it up all the more, 37 beside themselves with excitement. "He's done it all and done it well. He gives hearing to the deaf, speech to the speechless."

Food for thought!

This story is of a man with double jeopardy! He was deaf and had an impediment in his speech. No doubt the two things went together; it was the man's inability to hear which made his speech so imperfect. This was a special case that needed special handling. There is no miracle which so beautifully shows Jesus' way of treating people.

(i) He took the man aside from the crowd, all by himself. Here is the most tender considerateness of Jesus. Deaf people are always a little embarrassed. In some ways it is more embarrassing to be deaf than it is to be blind. Many times it is only the deaf person who knows that he cannot hear; and when we talk to one, we talk as if we are talking to a normal person, only to find out later that the deaf was not hearing a thing. Jesus showed the most tender consideration for the feelings of a man for whom life was very difficult. The whole story shows us most vividly that Jesus did not consider the man merely a case; he considered him as an individual the man had a special need and a special problem, and with the most tender considerateness Jesus dealt with him in a way that spared his feelings and in a way that he could understand.

We can learn from and after Jesus. When we want to correct someone, we do well to take them aside, away from the public, and speak to them there. Secondly, when we deal with physically challenged people, to be considerate. We need to learn the philosophy behind Para-Olympics.

(ii) Throughout the whole miracle Jesus acted what he was going to do in dumb-show. He put his hands in the man's ears and touched his tongue with spittle. In those days, as in ours too, people believed that spittle had a curative quality. When we cut our finger, instinctively we put the bleeding finger in the mouth. Even today, we believe that saliva is curative!

(iii) Jesus looked up to heaven to show that it was from God that help was to come. Then he spoke the word and the man was healed. We sometimes forget the source of our being and doing. It is God!

Above all we have said so far, there's something worthy of our notice. When the healing was completed the people declared that Jesus had done all things well. That is none other than the verdict of God upon his own creation in the very beginning: "And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good." (Gen.1:31).

When Jesus came, bringing healing to men's bodies and salvation to their souls, he had begun the work of creation all over again. In the beginning of the world, everything had been good; God saw everything he created as good. It was man's sin that spoiled and spoils God's creation. And it is Jesus' mission to recreate us. In today's gospel reading, Jesus was bringing back the beauty of God to the man who had lost it. Jesus can do the same to you and me! That's, if we let him.