Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Mark (8: 1-10) in which Jesus feeds a crowd of four thousand with just seven loaves.
Fr Paul says both the Gospels of Mark and Matthew have two stories of how Jesus wonderfully feeds the crowds and they are possibly two accounts of the same event. There is also an allusion to the account of the Eucharist at the Last Supper – taking the bread, blessing it, and distributing it. One account has a Jewish crowd in mind; the other account has a Hellenistic crowd in mind. One account is on the western side of the lake while this account is on the eastern side of the lake. At the end of the day, Mark is trying to tell us that the Gentile followers of Jesus are his chosen company just as much as his Jewish followers. With this in mind, Fr Paul says, we ask ourselves during our time of reflection today, ‘Have I treated others fairly? Have I helped those in need, or have I been judgemental and only helped a few?
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