MARK 6:30-44

[R E LANGFORD JR]

Greetings!

Here is the next reflection on Mark's gospel tale. Again, many thanks
to my Canadian friend for removing the "time stamp" of the chatroom
which the robot attaches to each line. TY!

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joegabe11:	*MSG* Dear Lord
joegabe11:	*MSG* Hear our prayer
joegabe11:	*MSG* as we open the study with prayer and ask that you inspire our teacher with wisdom
joegabe11:	*MSG* we ak also that you remember all our people that are in the hospital
joegabe11:	*MSG* recovoring from there various maladies
joegabe11:	*MSG* we love them all lord please grant them peace and good health
joegabe11:	*MSG* as they recover
joegabe11:	*MSG* they are fine people
joegabe11:	*MSG* and need your love and guidance very much
joegabe11:	*MSG* please also remember pk's dad as he is still recovering from the copd and is on oxygen
joegabe11:	*MSG* he is a loving dad and needs your help and love
joegabe11:	*MSG* we ask all this of you in the name of jesus your son
joegabe11:	*MSG* amen
1revd:	*MSG* amen
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 6:30-44 Bible Study for Royal Family Coffee chatroom as revised and edited: 2 MCH 2012. Originally written during Easter Season on: 13 MAY 2011.
1revd:	*MSG* Would you post the verses, joegabe?
joegabe11:	*MSG* Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
joegabe11:	*MSG* 30 The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and taught. 31 Then Jesus said, ???Let???s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.??? He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn???t even have time to eat.
joegabe11:	*MSG* 32 So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone. 33 But many people recognized them and saw them leaving, and people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and got there ahead of them. 34 Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
joegabe11:	*MSG* 35 Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, ???This is a remote place, and it???s already getting late. 36 Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat.???
joegabe11:	*MSG* 37 But Jesus said, ???You feed them.???
joegabe11:	*MSG* ???With what???? they asked. ???We???d have to work for months to earn enough money[a] to buy food for all these people!???
joegabe11:	*MSG* 38 ???How much bread do you have???? he asked. ???Go and find out.???
joegabe11:	*MSG* They came back and reported, ???We have five loaves of bread and two fish.???
joegabe11:	*MSG* 39 Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred.
joegabe11:	*MSG* 41 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share. 42 They all ate as much as they wanted, 43 and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish. 44 A total
joegabe11:	*MSG* of 5,000 men and their families were fed from those loaves!
1revd:	*MSG* We still agree that "???" means a quotation mark (") yes?
joegabe11:	*MSG* yes
1revd:	*MSG* OK
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 6:30 The apostles gathered themselves together to Jesus, and they told him all things, whatever they had done, and whatever they had taught. |The Bible| This is a direct comment on what happened to the "sent out" ones, the apostles. In Mark's good news tale the word "apo stelloi" [apostles] occurs only here, and in some MSS @ MARK 3:14.
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 3:14 He appointed twelve, that they might be with him, and that he might send them out to preach, |The Bible| This verb, "send them out," is conclusive evidence. We remember hearing this term as part and parcel of the story! We've already said the apostles were Jesus' chosen agents or representatives. Elsewhere in tales and letters of the bible in early centuries the Greek "apostolos" is often translated "messengers." It was not until later gospel tales were created that the term APOSTLE came into common usage often meaning simply, The Twelve. At one point in one of those later tales we're told that seventy were sent out, for example.
1revd:	*MSG* It is used in a technical sense of (1) The Twelve, as we've heard in MARK 3:14. Rabbi Saul, a.k.a. Paul, uses it of himself, as denoting someone with authority from Jesus to preach the good news about the kingdom. It is also used to reference a larger group that included Barnabas, James, the Lord's kid brother, and, IMO, Andronicus and Junias (a woman). How neat that Jesus would send them out two by two, as we've already noted! This fact obviates straining at a clear listing of a woman by St. Paul in his letter to the Romans [ROM 16:7] as an apostle. She would have been a "team member" with Andronicus - a style established by Jesus.
1revd:	*MSG* These who were sent out, reported to him all they had done and taught, precisely because Jesus had commissioned them as his representatives. They were like apprentices, or persons in training, to undertake a "follow up" ministry in which Jesus planned to be engaged. Here they were returning from their second preaching tour in Galilee. This earlier tour, remember, some of them had gone with Jesus throughout Galilee on a proclamation, preaching, and driving out demons mission.
1revd:	*MSG* Any questions, problems, doubts?
joegabe11:	*MSG* no
1revd:	*MSG* good
1revd:	*MSG* Some have even seen this event, reported by Mark, as a clue to Jesus' original plan for the mission given him by the Father in heaven. It would have encompassed ever widening circles of ministers who did as Jesus had taught them. Ah, yes, but only if everyone had been as receptive to Jesus and his message as the downtrodden, poor, sick, and confused folk in Galilee! I'm not convinced, will have to hear more on that point.
1revd:	*MSG* Remember: MARK 1:39 He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out demons. |The Bible| Now that the "sent out ones" have checked in and reported, people were showing up. So many people that again, Jesus and the returned missioners couldn't even grab a bite to eat. Oh, what to do? What to do?
1revd:	*MSG* Indeed! MARK 6:31 He said to them, "You come apart into a deserted place, and rest awhile." For there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. |The Bible| Precisely in need of nourishment, Jesus arranges for "down time" and sharing in his presence alone.
joegabe11:	*PART* Left room.
1revd:	*MSG* My wife and I have enjoyed Lent as a "down time" for us. We have used it for more than 40 years in gospel ministry as a time for reading and meditating on the gospel.
1revd:	*MSG* Do we remember to do this today? When was the last time you came away to a quiet place with Jesus to get some rest and refreshment? How often do you "make a retreat" with the Master, just to tell him privately and intimately what's been happening with you? If the apostled disciples needed this "down time" after the excitement of their journeys, how much more do we modern disciples take care to follow up on their example after especially trying times of failure, or of success (which are often far more stressful)? I happen to think that the whole idea of Lent, and the practices which have grown up in and around this "down time," while they may have been useful in the past centuries, are especially critical and salutary for 21st Century believers.
1revd:	*MSG* Here someone might lead a discussion of how to deal with bad news in our lives. The next step would be to discuss how we deal with the successes in our scholarship, jobs, homes, families, or even our volunteer work for non-profit organizations. All of it succumbs to the direction: "take it to the Lord Jesus in faithful prayer, apart with him." (to paraphrase a SS song)
joegabe11:	*JOIN* Entered room.
coffeebot:	*MSG* joegabe11 Welcome to The Coffee Shop, we are glad you could come.
coffeebot:	*MSG* 4Administrator: joegabe11. Type !x to view coffeebot's Control Panel.
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 6:32 They went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. |The Bible| Yes! To be solitary and alone with the Lord. This is something devoutly to be desired; something to be sought. Let me urge you to seek a quiet time and place daily in which you can read aloud for yourself the words of the Master.
1revd:	*MSG* wb joegabe
joegabe11:	*MSG* ty
1revd:	*MSG* Other writers try to tell us (much later after the fact) exactly where they went to this deserted, solitary place. Do not get distracted! Mark is telling this first gospel tale and including all we need to hear. Knowing "where" the solitary place happened to be plays no important role in his gospel tale.
joegabe11:	*MSG* we are having internet probs at the coffee shop i am in
joegabe11:	*MSG* i apologize in advance
1revd:	*MSG* ACTION is wishing you well
1revd:	*MSG* :)
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 6:33 They {Translator's note reads "The multitudes" instead of "They"} saw them going, and many recognized him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to him. |The Bible|
1revd:	*MSG* Any questions or problems?
joegabe11:	*MSG* no
1revd:	*MSG* good
1revd:	*MSG* * * * But, as in other cases, people who watched them leaving by boat, and ran in that direction (perhaps having overheard Jesus), and those who by happenstance saw the boat arriving, and ran in that direction (perhaps recognizing the oddity of a fisherman's boat headed for shore in what they knew was a deserted spot), arrive ahead of the apostles and Jesus. Some people speculate that the boat ran into a headwind that slowed it down. That would allow people time to run on and arrive before them. This is all speculation! It's a distraction of little value in comprehending Mark's point: "It happened this way!" Drawing conclusions and speculation are both disasters when compared with grasping what Mark want's to tell us. * * *
1revd:	*MSG* As you know, in listening to a tale a person must be focused in thought and heart on what is heard. Questions may pop into our consciousness, but they have to be put aside. The story teller moves on, focused on the tale being told.
1revd:	*MSG* [ASIDE] It's always worth remembering that we're trying to hear the gospel tale as persons who had never heard such a thing previously. This is a big task. We can barely comprehend a world in which most people were just learning how to use coins to buy goods and services. We have not lived under the oppressive heel of a foreign world power. Now MARK, as we hear it read, tells us a tale of a man who is more than just a mere human male, who brings us good news of God. "It happened this way" is Mark's favorite linking term, sometimes translated, "and immediately." [ASIDE ENDS]
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 6:34 Jesus came out, saw a great multitude, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things. |The Bible| ". . . came out. . . , What's that?" Sure, out of the boat! Or, as the NIV puts it: "When Jesus had landed and saw. . . ."
1revd:	*MSG* Ah so? Like sheep without a shepherd were they? So what did Jesus do to change things, become their shepherd? Yes, he did. So we learn from Mark what is the essence of leadership that changes things. Oh, if only our "leaders" could learn this lesson today! "He began teaching them," says MARK. We hear, perceive, and learn from the tale how we are to be "little Christs" to people who do not know the good news of God today. The truly strange thing, at least for me, is how many such folks are gathered in the congregations I know. They continue to need to look, much as a pastor does, closely, very closely at the bible, and need to hear again and again the good news of Jesus about the kingdom.
1revd:	*MSG* We are to mimic Jesus and teach, not rule, not provide wisdom, not give directions, not give out secrets about how to become healthy, wealthy, or wise. All that is the work of the Holy Spirit and divine inspiration. Our job is to preach, teach, heal the unclean, and cast out demons! BTW, this is not just a job for ordained clergy, pastors, priests, bishops, rabbis, or people who take religious vows. The job description is for all whom Jesus calls to himself.
1revd:	*MSG* Any questions? Problems? Doubts?
joegabe11:	*MSG* no
1revd:	*MSG* good
1revd:	*MSG* So the day passed, and at about evening, the compassion of the disciples causes them finally to notice the circumstances of people whose situation is very much like their own. Here is another possibility for someone to lead a discussion. How well do we identify with people who are not healthy, wealthy, or wise? How do we react to needy people? Do we, on first impulse like the disciples, incline toward sending them away to "make it" or "fail" on their own?
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 6:35 When it was late in the day, his disciples came to him, and said, "This place is deserted, and it is late in the day. 36 Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages, and buy themselves bread, for they have nothing to eat." |The Bible| 37 But he (Jesus) answered them (the Twelve), "You give them something to eat." They asked him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii {200 denarii was about 7 or 8 months wages for an agricultural laborer.} worth of bread, and give them something to eat?" |The Bible|
1revd:	*MSG* Notice how alert the disciples were to what it might cost them? Two hundred denarii @ the rate of one per day as a working man's usual wage would mean about eight months' cash on the barrelhead in the nearest "dog & suds" shop!
1revd:	*MSG* Sadly, our government (USA) doesn't even put silver coins into circulation any more. Check it out for yourself! Even a coin the size of a dollar in silver would be - in ordinary non-inflated times - a very decent day's wage for a "day laborer" of about $40, prior to "911" and before the governmental economic mess of 2008, IMO. Remember! Agriculture was just beginning to be invented. Day laborers had very little need for a college education, and most did not have the blessing of an apprenticeship in a trade.
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 6:38 He (Jesus) said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go see." When they knew, they said, "Five, and two fish." |The Bible| So, five pita breads and two sardines. That's how much the disciples themselves had; twelve adult men couldn't think ahead far enough to put more than a tiny lunch aside in a knapsack for just one of them! No wonder modern commentators have stressed the dim-wit and slow to believe character of The Twelve Jesus chose. We are to be responsible for the ordinary lives of the people who hear our preaching and teaching. That's a rough message for a poorly paid preacher in the 20th or 21st century to learn!
1revd:	*MSG* * * * Here comes one of my own personal favorites in the gospel tale of MARK! * * *
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 6:39 He commanded them that everyone should sit down in groups on the green grass. |The Bible| The "koipa koine`" in the Greek is the springtime green grass around the Sea of Galilee after the late winter or very early springtime rains.
1revd:	*MSG* This is an amusing way for Mark to time stamp or "date" his tale. Howcome they sit in groups? Some have suggested that they were acquainted and would naturally sit with folks they knew. Others have suggested that they sat with family or perhaps with kin. Does this matter? Remember what I've already noted about Mark, a story teller, telling us all that we need to know for us to get the point he's trying to present.
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 6:40 They sat down in ranks, by hundreds and by fifties. |The Bible| So, we learn something about how folks in those days learned to estimate the size of a crowd. I take it this is nothing more significant than that: it was a big group, a "multitude" of people. This also recalls the Mosaic camping in the Sinai desert experience where the people sat in "traditional" fashion.
1revd:	*MSG* [ASIDE] The Greek term we translate "groups," can actually be translated literally: "garden plots." If you have a garden patch in your green grass lawn or early wheat field of koipe koine, you will catch the flavor of this pituresque image. [ASIDE ENDS]
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 6:41 He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves, and he gave to his disciples to set before them, and he divided the two fish among them all. |The Bible| The standard Jewish thanksgiving: "Blessed are you, O LORD our God, Ruler of the Universe! You bring forth bread from the earth to feed your people."
1revd:	*MSG* The actual physical movement of this act of blessing is to look up to the sky, eyes open, with hands lifted, perhaps holding the item to be blessed. Cf. the gestures of our Greek Orthodox clergy, especially those from Syria, during the consecration of the bread of the Holy Communion. In the western church's tradition, Lutherans typically use the so-called "orant" position for the hands, except for the elevation in The Liturgy.
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 6:42 They all ate, and were filled. |The Bible| All of those present were satisfied! WOW & WOW!
1revd:	*MSG* Does this likewise amaze you?
joegabe11:	*MSG* yes
1revd:	*MSG* It always shocks me when I hear the story!
1revd:	*MSG* My doc (who is perpetually urging me to lose weight) reminds me there is a diff between being "full," being "satisfied," and being "content." It's a good point! Who was it is reported to have quipped, you can never be too thin or too wealthy?
1revd:	*MSG* I cannot remember just now. Paul tells us, and someone in Mark's audience might have heard the letter read from the Great Apostle to the gentiles. Paul says he knows the secret of how to be content.
1revd:	*MSG* The most recent popular suggestion I've read about those who like to denigrate the gospel tales is that Jesus and the Twelve shared their lunch. The crowd, seeing their generosity, followed their good example. This is silly; it's inadequate; sorry, it doesn't fly.
1revd:	*MSG* Of course, that just my opinion.
1revd:	*MSG* Of course, if we're enmeshed in the tale Mark is telling, then we know Jesus is both human and divine. His "wonder working," or production of a miracle lunch for everyone, doesn't surprise us. Had not God already promised that when the true Shepherd of Israel came the desert would become a rich pasture where his sheep would be gathered and fed? [EZEK 34:23-31] Here the Messiah, God in the flesh of Jesus, feasts with his own followers in a deserted place! Jesus is the Shepherd about whom David would sing in PS 23.
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 6:43 They took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and also of the fish. 44 Those who ate the loaves were {Translators note adds "about"} five thousand men. |The Bible| Jewish folks of the time regarded bread as a gift of God. The rabbis had decreed that scraps that fell on the ground during a meal were to be picked up. The fragments were collected in small wicker baskets that were carried by any well-dressed man's daily attire. Thus each of the Twelve using his own basket picked up a basket full of scraps, and returned it to the giver of the feast.
1revd:	*MSG* In the far east, even yet today, people carry "begging" bowls with them as part of their daily attire. I was given a "begging bowl" by a missionary on furlough, long ago; it was made of some kind of seed, perhaps coconut, hollowed out, and had two holes near the rim for a cord by which to hang it from the belt. It held about 2/3 quart.
1revd:	*MSG* "five thousand men" = literally 5,000 males, in the Greek. Put Bethsaida and Capernaum (at the head of the Sea of Galilee) together had perhaps, 2 or 3 thousands total population each. The five thousand males is a huge crowd, it doesn't even account for women or children who were in the groups and also fed! It's interesting that the translator you posted, joegabe, takes account of this by adding in the words "and their families." It was a huge crowd!
1revd:	*MSG* I must end here today. Would you lead us in prayer this lenten Friday, joegabe?
joegabe11:	*MSG* ok
joegabe11:	*MSG* Dear Lord
joegabe11:	*MSG* Let us give you thanks for all you do
joegabe11:	*MSG* we must be thankful that you are a kind and loving god
joegabe11:	*MSG* and we are not thanking you enough
joegabe11:	*MSG* inspire us to give you thanks as we must
joegabe11:	*MSG* we ask this of you in the name of your son jesus
joegabe11:	*MSG* amen
1revd:	*MSG* amen

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The Rev'd R E LANGFORD JR, FAPC, ELCA pastor  ! retired !
       39.58°N by 75.98°W

My clarity of conscience and my purity of heart are undisputed

evidence that my memory is failing me.        

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