We are often tempted to think that we know about God’s plans or God’s wills or God’s ways, misunderstanding that God might be trapped in our dimension. We wish we could put God into our small pocket, and want to carry God 24/7. However, God stands outside the competitive, coercive of practices of Babylon, holding to another purpose, in spite of every compromise, against every seduction.

Mark does not explain what happened nor even comment in a way that inspires readers’ holy imaginations—the two times a miracle to feed five thousand and then four thousand. Two times a little bit of food—five loaves and two fish and then seven loaves and a few fish. Two times, Jesus’s holy and sacramental words that transform the world—Jesus took, he blessed; he broke; and he gave. Two times great abundance—twelve baskets left over and then seven baskets left over.

But then a strange thing happens, as Mark tells it--“The disciples had forgotten to bring any bread.” Obviously, the disciples were not good in the bread business. They had not learned the deep lesson about abundance that occurs when they were in the presence of Jesus Christ. Jesus questioned, “Why are you talking about having no bread?” “Why are you still preoccupied with scarcity and deprivation?” “Did you not notice that with me scarcity is turned to abundance and anxiety becomes fade-out?”

In fact, those questions are still valid for all those who are close to Jesus but are still worried about having enough in an old world of scarcity while Jesus has invited us to a new world of abundance and generous well-being. Like the disciples in the passage, we might still resist and refuse to take hold of the new truth that Jesus has already enacted.

And today, the passage also questions us, “Hey, FCC, do y’all not yet understand?” Like the disciples, we still resist, and are always a little slow, unwilling to learn what the new data of Jesus means; unwilling to recognize that the world still can be changed by Christ; and, so, we are unable to act differently. Like the disciples, we are still bound in scarcity and anxiety and fearfulness in which Jesus does not really matter.

What does matter for us is that whether we can see others’ needs; whether we have a compassionate heart and mind for others; whether we not only remember lots of pieces of miracles in our lives but also fully understand how we live out those miracles by taking another step for others; by giving thanks to God; by breaking bread apart for others; and by sharing it with others.

Because we know about the twelve baskets and the seven baskets and about superabundance, because the world has been changed by Christ with those new data. What we are called and tasked to do is that we stay in confidence, knowing and trusting that we are recipients of enough and more than enough, more than enough to share.

Let’s keep finding joy for the true giver and participating in the process of making superabundance of the twelve and the seven baskets; because God still takes; blesses, breaks; and gives.

Thanks be to God.