Mark 6:30-34
Chapter 6
30
Feeding the Five Thousand
The apostles returned and reported to Jesus everything they had done and taught.31
Then he said to them:
“Let us go off by ourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
For so many people were coming and going that the apostles didn’t even have time to eat.
32
And they went away in the boat to a secluded spot by themselves.
33
But people saw them leaving, and many could guess where they were headed. So, from all the towns, they hurried there on foot, arriving before them.
34
As Jesus came ashore, he saw a large crowd and had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He then began to teach them many things.
Commentaries
Feeding the Five Thousand.
When asked what to do with the crowd, the disciples suggest sending the people away and washing their hands of them; but Jesus proposes the opposite: solidarity. When we give in a spirit of solidarity, we do not seek the submission or humiliation of our brother in need, but his freedom. With the multiplication of the loaves, Jesus inaugurates a new exodus with a new manna, revealing that where there is solidarity, the bread of the Word and material bread are enough for everyone. His gestures and words (blessing, breaking, giving, and distributing) anticipate the Eucharistic banquet (14:22). What remains must be shared so the cycle of solidarity keeps growing. The twelve baskets represent the new people of God.