BREAD AND FISHES
On two occasions there was a multiplication of bread,
alike in all details except the proportions of the quantities involved, —that
is, in exactly what give them their real spiritual meaning.
Thousands of poor people had followed Jesus into a place
in the wilderness, far from any settlements. For three days they had not eaten,
so hungry were they for the bread of life which is His word. But on the third
day, Jesus took pity on them—there were women and children among them—and ordered
His disciples to feed the multitude. But they had only a little bread and a few
fishes, and there were thousands of mouths. Then Jesus had them all sit down on
the ground on the green grass, in circles of fifty to a hundred, He blessed the
small amount of food they had; all were satisfied, and baskets of the broken
pieces were left.
The less there is of the true bread, the bread of truth,
the more it satisfies. The old law is abundant, copious, divided into
innumerable sections. There are hundreds of precepts written in the books and
thousands more invented by the Scribes and Pharisees. At first sight it seems a
gigantic table where a whole race could be satisfied. But all these precepts,
these rules and formulas are only dry leaves, shavings, trash. No one can live
on such a menu. The more numerous they are, the less they satisfy. Humble and
simple people cannot satisfy their hunger for justice with these innumerable
but inedible supplies of food. Instead, one Word alone sums up all the words
and transcends the petrified bigotry beloved by the complacent and satisfied;
one Word which fills the soul, which reconciles hearts, which calms the hunger
for justice; the multitudes will be satisfied and there will be enough to eat
also for those who were not present on that day. Spiritual bread is in itself
miraculous. A loaf of wheat bread is only enough for a very few, and when they
have finished it, there is no more for anyone! But the bread of truth, that
mystic bread of joy is never finished, can never be finished. Give it out to
thousands and it is always there; distribute it to millions, and it is always
intact. Everyone has taken his part as the men and women in the wilderness did,
and as much as was given out, so much the more remains for those who are to
come.
Another day when the disciples found themselves without
bread, Jesus admonished them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and
Sadducees. (Matt. 16:6, 11) And the disciples, almost always slow to understand
Him, said among themselves, "It is
because we have taken no bread." (Matt. 16:7) Which when Jesus
perceived he said unto them, "O ye
of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no
bread? Do ye not yet understand neither remember the five loaves of the five
thousand and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four
thousand and how many baskets ye took up? How is it that ye do not understand
that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the
leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?" (Matt. 16:8-11) That
is, of the blind guardians of the degenerate law.
They are the Twelve, the chosen, the blest, the faithful,
and yet they cannot understand at once, do not sufficiently believe. Again in
the boat, the night of the tempest, Jesus was obliged to reprove them. The
Master had gone to sleep in the stern, His head on the pillow of one of the
rowers. Suddenly the wind rose, a storm came down on the lake, the waves beat
against the boat and it seemed from one moment to the next that they would be
wrecked. The disciples, alarmed, awakened Jesus, "Master, carest thou not that we perish?" (Mark 4:38)
And be arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the
sea, "Peace, be still." (Mark
4:39) And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. And He said unto them, "Why are ye so fearful? How is it that
ye have no faith?" (Vs. 40) And they feared exceedingly, and said one
to another, "What manner of man is
this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" (Vs. 41)
There is one, Simon Peter, who has no fear. Not only does
his nature transcend the human, but great is his faith, great his love, great
his power of will. Nothing animate nor inanimate can resist these three great
qualities. A man who possesses them has renounced all that is temporal and is
victorious over time.* He has renounced the good things of the flesh, and for
this reason can save the flesh; he has renounced material things and so is
master of matter.* Everyone can partake of this power. Faith is sufficient, but
it must not be faith only in oneself.
A few years before Christ, a great Italian, captain in
many wars, corrupt but a fitting ruler over the disintegration of the Republic,
was on the sea, on a real sea, in a boat with a few rowers, in search of an
army which had not come up in time to win the victory for him. The wind began
to blow, the storm bore down on the boat and the pilot wished to turn back to
the harbor. But Caesar, taking the hand of the pilot, said to him, "Go forward, fear not, Caesar is with
thee and his fortune sails with you." These words of haughty
self-confidence heartened the crew; every one, as if a little of Caesar's
strength had entered into his soul, did his best to overcome the opposition of
the sea. But in spite of the efforts of the seamen the ship was nearly sunk and
was obliged to turn back. Caesar's faith was only pride and ambition, faith in
himself: Christ's faith was all love, love for the Father, and love for men.
With this love He could walk to meet the boat of the disciples
tacking against a contrary wind, and could step upon the water as on the grass
of a meadow. They thought in the darkness that it was a threat, and once again
He was obliged to reassure them, "Be
of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid." (Mark 6:50) As soon as He was
in the boat, the wind fell and in a few minutes they reached the shore. Once
again they were astounded because, says the honest Mark, "For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their
heart was hardened."* (Mark 6:52)
This comparison may seem ingenuous, but it
is revealing, for the miracle of the loaves is the foundation of all the
others. Every parable spoken in poetic words or expressed with visible
prodigies was as bread prepared in different manners, so that His own
followers, at least His very own, should understand the one needful truth that
the Spirit is the only charge worthy of man, and that the man who is nourished
on that charge is master of the world.
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