Reading I
1 Kgs12:26-32; 13:33-34
Jeroboam thought to himself:
“The kingdom will return to David’s house.
If now this people go up to offer sacrifices
in the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem,
the hearts of this people will return to their master,
Rehoboam, king of Judah,
and they will kill me.”
After taking counsel, the king made two calves of gold
and said to the people:
“You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough.
Here is your God, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
And he put one in Bethel, the other in Dan.
This led to sin, because the people frequented those calves
in Bethel and in Dan.
He also built temples on the high places
and made priests from among the people who were not Levites.
Jeroboam established a feast in the eighth month
on the fifteenth day of the month
to duplicate in Bethel the pilgrimage feast of Judah,
with sacrifices to the calves he had made;
and he stationed in Bethel priests of the high places he had built.
Jeroboam did not give up his evil ways after this,
but again made priests for the high places
from among the common people.
Whoever desired it was consecrated
and became a priest of the high places.
This was a sin on the part of the house of Jeroboam
for which it was to be cut off and destroyed from the earth.
Gospel
Mk 8:1-10
In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to eat,
Jesus summoned the disciples and said,
“My heart is moved with pity 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 collapse on the way,
and some of them have come a great distance.”
His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread
to satisfy them here in this deserted place?”
Still he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”
They replied, “Seven.”
He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them,
and gave them to his disciples to distribute,
and they distributed them to the crowd.
They also had a few fish.
He said the blessing over them
and ordered them distributed also.
They ate and were satisfied.
They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets.
There were about four thousand people.
He dismissed the crowd and got into the boat with his disciples
and came to the region of Dalmanutha.
Meditation: Mark 8:1-10
The Gospel of Mark reads like an action drama.
The hero, Jesus, is always on the move, preaching the gospel, casting out demons, sparring with Pharisees, and healing the sick. But in this account of the feeding of the four thousand, we get a glimpse into the heart of Jesus and not just his actions. In fact, before he takes a single step, Jesus speaks with his disciples personally. “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,” he tells them (Mark 8:2). After listening to him for three days, they have run out of food. He’s afraid they won’t make it home without a meal.
After sharing his heart with his disciples, Jesus invites them to share his attitude, and then to brainstorm about how they can respond to the crowd’s need. They obediently bring Jesus the meager supplies they have. As he lifts them up in gratitude to the Father and directs his followers to serve them to the crowd, there is more than enough to satisfy the hunger he discerned and pointed out to them.
Sometimes we can be too quick to act. Especially when we are facing significant challenges, we should first ask the Lord to share his heart with us. As he shows us what moves and matters to him, we can get clarity on our situation. And that puts us in a position to find out what God and we together can do about the needs that touch us.
Ash Wednesday is only a few days away. Why not spend the next few days thinking about how you can draw closer to God’s heart this Lent? Try to discern how your heart may need to change to become more like Jesus’ heart. Think about how you can make yourself more open to seeing as God sees and loving as he loves.
Perhaps God is inviting you to spend more time with Scripture, paying particular attention to Jesus’ attitudes toward people and the actions that flow from those attitudes. Maybe God would like you to talk less and love in more practical ways. The possibilities for growing in God’s love are as limitless as his affection for you—and for all the people around you.
“Jesus, I love you. Draw me close to your heart so that I can be moved by the great love you have for me and for each individual you’ve placed in my life.”
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