Ever been in a situation where you forgot to bring food? Maybe it was a time where a group of you and your friends were hanging out after a long day, everyone was hungry, and there just wasn’t anything to eat. I’m sure it’s happened. Any one of us could relate.
Jesus and his disciples found themselves in the very same situation.
After an incredible day of ministry, Mark’s gospel records Jesus and his disciples crossing the Sea of Galilee yet again, but this time they forgot to bring food: “Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.” (Mark 8:14, NRSV)
This verse is a little confusing; Mark’s author says there is no bread, but also that there is one loaf of bread. So which is it? More than likely, with some commentary from Mark’s author, or possibly even Peter telling the events of that day to the fellow Christian who ended up writing the gospel account in Rome if we go by tradition, the answer is yes to both. There is no bread and there is bread.
The disciples didn’t bring any physical bread to eat, even after feeding 4,000 people. But they did have the living bread of life right there in the boat with them – Jesus Christ. Every time we participate in the Eucharist with other believers, we’re reminded of this fact as well: Jesus is the bread of life. Jesus is who we need.
But the disciples still forgot to bring bread. How could they forget? They had just fed multitudes of people with only seven loaves and a few small fish, multiplied by Jesus to feed the crowds, and even took up seven full baskets of leftover food after everyone’s stomachs were full! They brought what food they could find when 4,000 people were present, but it was still perfect and whole for Jesus.
Yet here they were, with nothing to eat on the boat as they crossed the lake. Maybe they were still full from the meal while they were leaving and didn’t quite plan ahead. Then hours later, after working, rowing, and sailing the fishing boat, they got hungry again.
Life feels like that, right? Sometimes things go right – incredibly right – and then they go wrong. We enjoy the feast, but it doesn’t continue, and later we hunger. After the party, the crowds leave and we’re in a boat in a lake with no food. There are good days and then there are bad days. And the bad days when we are hungry just to seem to pile up. That hunger might look like chronic illness, financial problems, depression, loneliness, unemployment, job insecurity, work that you just can’t stand, or constant confusion and a lack of direction about what to do in life.
Just remember this – even though there may not be any bread to eat, Jesus is always with you. It is not simply just one loaf in the boat, but it is one loaf that is the living bread of Jesus Christ with you in the boat. Whatever you’re going through in life, Jesus is with you!
Jesus, somewhat impatiently, even reminded the disciples of everything they had been through up to that point. Think about what Jesus has done throughout your life. Jesus knows what you and he have been through together, and as you consider those things, you’ll be reminded of who he is: faithful, loving, providing, and filled with grace.
He blessed seven loaves – all the disciples could find, yet the perfect number of loaves – and fed thousands of people. And even in the boat in the middle of the lake, Jesus, the one loaf, was with them in their hunger. Some days there will be a feast, but chances are that there will also be a lot more days when we are rowing the boat and simply forget to bring something to eat.
Even those days when we forget our bread or simply have no bread – physically or spiritually – Jesus loves you and he is with you.
The Kayaking Church 