Daily Devotional • March 30
A Reading from Mark 8:11-21
11 The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him. 12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 And he left them, and getting into the boat again he went across to the other side.
14 Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” 16 They said to one another, “It is because we have no bread.” 17 And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes and fail to see? Do you have ears and fail to hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” They said to him, “Twelve.”20 “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” And they said to him, “Seven.” 21 Then he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
Meditation
We are presented with yet another example of the persistent anxiety of the disciples, hearkening back to their prototypes, the 12 tribes of Israel and their wanderings. Like the Israelites who, despite seeing God’s mighty and terrible works against Pharoah, grumbled for food and against God, the disciples fret over one loaf of bread, even after they have seen Christ’s miracle with the five thousand. The disciples are in the presence of their God and still are fearful. Christ chastens them, recognizing their foolish anxiety. It is foolish because the miracle worker is with them: the one who created all wheat, the one who laid the plans for all food. Like the wandering Israelites they who were fed with manna and yet questioned whether God could provide meat—the disciples forget God’s provision as soon as it is no longer in their vision.
How often do we doubt God’s work among us even after we have seen the mighty works he has done and hear of his works in history? How often do we let our anxieties over the mundane obscure our view of “things above” (Col. 3:2)? All that is temporal flows out of that which is heavenly. Why should we fear when God, who appears as a column of smoke and fire and who feeds the multitude with only a few scraps, is with us? As Christians we must recognize the graciousness of our God, the concern that he has for our material needs, as a father or mother cares for their child. The child we raise doesn’t fret over their next meal, knowing their mother or father will provide. How much more will our heavenly father provide?
The Rev. Samuel Cripps is the rector of the Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist in Wausau, Wisconsin.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Episcopal Diocese of Texas
The Diocese of Maridi – Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan
The Rev. Samuel Cripps is the rector of the Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist in Wausau, Wisconsin.
