Mark 6:35-44 (Common English Bible)
35 Late in the day, Jesus’ disciples came to him and said, “This is an isolated place, and it’s already late in the day. 36 Send them away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy something to eat for themselves.”
37 He replied, “You give them something to eat.”
But they said to him, “Should we go off and buy bread worth almost eight months’ pay and give it to them to eat?”
38 He said to them, “How much bread do you have? Take a look.” After checking, they said, “Five loaves of bread and two fish.”
39 He directed the disciples to seat all the people in groups as though they were having a banquet on the green grass. 40 They sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 He took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed them, broke the loaves into pieces, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 Everyone ate until they were full. 43 They filled twelve baskets with the leftover pieces of bread and fish. 44 About five thousand had eaten.
Summary:
A saint is a Christian who lives faithfully and sacrificially in service to God and creation. All who live and/or die for justice, freedom and peace are saints. Yet, how does one become a saint? Jesus shows the disciples that sainthood begins by learning to feel and show compassion with those God has called us to serve.
Reflection Questions:
- Why does Jesus push the disciples to feed the crowd?
- What opportunities do you have to serve others?
- What difference will it make when we all have compassion for others and strive to be saints?