A Meditation for Tuesday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent | Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, 604

By The Rev. Jennifer Grady

This past summer I took my 14-year-old daughter to Family Paleontology Camp in southern Indiana. We learned so much that week about the geology of the Ohio River Valley, the unique aspects of the Devonian period, and the best place to find brachiopod fossils! The highlight of the camp was going on an official fossil hunting expedition. But, before we could head out into the field, we needed to know about safety instructions and precautions. We learned about the danger of wild animals, snakes, poison ivy, sunburn, and the proper use of a rock saw. To give this important safety briefing, the main paleontologist teamed up with a seasoned outdoorsman named Dale who was thoroughly prepared for any eventuality you might find on the field.  

“Where do you keep your tourniquet?” He asked the class.

He received several blank looks, as we all looked at each other.  

“In the First Aid Kit?” someone ventured.

“Where in your first aid kit?” He replied.

Silence…

“At the top of your first aid kit. If you ever need a tourniquet, you need it immediately. Always keep your tourniquet at the top of your first aid kit.”

When we traveled with Dale, we knew that we were well-prepared for any trouble that might befall us.

I wonder if that is how the disciples felt when they were walking with Jesus and spent 3 days in the wilderness with him and a crowd of 4,000? We read today in our Gospel passage, Mark 8, that, “In those days when there was again a great crowd without anything to eat, he called his disciples and said to them, “I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way – and some of them have come from a great distance.”

When I read through this passage, I find myself drawn to the details that Mark provides. Jesus, his disciples, and a crowd of 4,000 people find themselves in the wilderness for three days, listening to Jesus and his teaching until they are so hungry, they may faint on the way home. Jesus has compassion on their plight and poses the problem to the disciples of feeding this mighty crowd. The disciples find themselves wondering how they could possibly feed this many people. They ask Jesus, “Where can someone get enough bread in this wilderness?” Jesus answers their question with a question of his own, “How many loaves do you have?” 

The disciples take the seven loaves they’ve collected and give them to Jesus. Jesus takes the bread, gives thanks, and breaks the bread to give it to the disciples so they can serve the crowd. The disciples take this miraculously increasing bread from the One who is the True Bread, and they give it away. They keep giving it away until they have served the entire crowd. Then, Jesus takes a few small fish and, giving thanks, miraculously magnifies the gift until everyone there is so stuffed that they can’t take another bite. There is so much food left over that they fill seven baskets full.  

I wonder if you have ever found yourself in a situation like Jesus’s disciples, where you are asked to do something that seemed far beyond your capacity to do? Have you asked God, how am I supposed to do this seemingly impossible task?  And God responds, “What do you have? Let's start with that.”

I find that time and again in my ministry, when something looks or feels beyond what I feel capable to do, God shows up. Again and again, he takes my weakness and enfolds it in his strength. Sometimes I may feel unprepared, as I did this past summer, before going out with my guide, Dale. Thankfully, we don’t have to worry about where we pack our tourniquet when we walk with Jesus in the wilderness. We know that Jesus will provide for our needs, even if it is in a way that we do not expect or can easily perceive.

As we continue to walk through this Lenten journey, I hope that you find ways where God takes the seven loaves you give him, blesses it, and multiplies it to feed many people. One of the quotes posted on the bulletin board over my desk is from Angela Merici, “Do not lose heart, even if you should discover that you lack qualities necessary for the work to which you are called. He who called you will not desert you, but the moment you are in need, he will stretch out his saving hand.”

The Rev. Jennifer Grady serves as the Director of Children’s Ministry at St. Francis in the Fields in Louisville, Kentucky. Mthr. Jennifer has a passion for faith formation in children and youth and has worked in children’s and youth ministry in various capacities since 2005. She is an avid gardener and enjoys being outside among her flower and vegetable gardens or hiking around the nature preserve in Goshen, Kentucky. The readings for the preceding devotional may be located here from Forward Movement.