Reading 1 1 Kgs 12:26-32; 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.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 106:6-7ab, 19-20, 21-22
R. (4a) Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
We have sinned, we and our fathers;
we have committed crimes; we have done wrong.
Our fathers in Egypt
considered not your wonders.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They made a calf in Horeb
and adored a molten image;
They exchanged their glory
for the image of a grass-eating bullock.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
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
My heart is moved with pity.” (Mark 8:2)
So many things touch our heartstrings. A friend’s baby dies. A neighbor struggles with a debilitating disease. A couple we admire files for divorce. The daily news brings us graphic images of starvation, atrocious crimes, seemingly endless wars, and overwhelming weather catastrophes. We can’t help but feel sorry for the people undergoing such struggles.
But Jesus doesn’t stop at compassion. He doesn’t just feel bad about what’s going on and shake his head helplessly. Take today’s Gospel passage, for example. Jesus carefully analyzes the situation. The people have been listening to him in a deserted place for three days, and they’ve run out of food. They won’t have the energy to make it all the way home.
Next, he takes inventory of the disciples’ resources. They have seven small loaves of bread and a few fish. Clearly this is not enough, but he is pleased when the disciples bring it to him to use as he sees fit. He proceeds in an orderly fashion, having the people sit down. As a hush falls over the crowd, he lifts the little loaves heavenward in thanksgiving. Then he tells the disciples to distribute the food he has blessed—and pick up all the leftovers. Jesus made a difference!
Compassion is a great starting point, but it can be paralyzing if we dwell on the problem. Our resources seem so meager we can’t possibly make a difference. But we don’t have to stop there! When we come to the end of ourselves, God is waiting to fill us with his riches and direct us with his wisdom. When we bring Jesus our meager resources and join him in lifting them up to God, great things can happen.
With God, one person can make a difference. One survivor of the horrendous genocide in Rwanda has spread God’s life-changing message of forgiveness all over the world. One person with building skills had the vision to begin Habitat for Humanity. One physical therapist traveling to orphanages in Romania changed the way caregivers treated their young charges. What will you do?
“Father, I believe you have laid something on my heart because it matters to you. Show me how to cooperate with your grace so that I can make a difference.”
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