Feeding the five thousand

Some of the interesting findings from today's session, in which we studied vv. 1-27:

Is there any sign of contradiction in this first part of Ch. 9?

1. Dave: Jesus told them NOT to blab about being Messiah.
2. Len: Jesus does not want to be put up to be king. Instead, he has to be killed, then raised up.
3. Ken: The Gerasene man from the previous chapter was a sign of contradiction in that Jesus DID tell him to tell his story back in his hometown.
4. Ken: Jesus giving the Twelve his own power and authority is a sign of contradiction in that they do similar things that led to such acclaim for Jesus, yet Jesus did not mind them "stealing his thinder" this way.

 

After the Twelve return from their initial mission, they are part of the feeding of the multitudes. How are we to regard this miracle in terms of the training of the Twelve?

1. Len: Jesus now teaches them what they're going to be doing, from an unending supply, similar to the Eucharist.
2. Ken: This feeding of the five thousand with such a small supply -- five loaves and two fishes -- complements their previous mission orders to take nothing for the journey.

Into Ch. 9 of Dr. Luke's gospel

Here we go into Ch. 9 of Dr. Luke's gospel, beginning the mission of the Twelve.

1. How effective were the previous miracles and other events, described in chapters 7 and 8, for instance, as preparation for the mission which Jesus gives the Twelve here in v. 1?
2. We have various orders in the Church: bishops, priests, deacons. How does their mission compare to this mission of the Twelve?
3. The multiplication fo the loaves is the only miracle, other than the Resurrection, that all four gospels recount. Why is it so important?
4. After the Twelve return from their initial mission, they are part of the feeding of the multitudes. How are we to regard this miracle in terms of the training of the Twelve?
5. What is the central information here that prepares the Twelve for their main mission which is still to come? Everything in their mission revolves around... what?
6. St. Augustine says that every visible sacrifice is a sacrament, that is a sacred sign, of the invisible sacrifice. (City of God, x, 5). In these first few dozen verses of Ch. 9, how does this visible and invisible relationship appear?
7. Is there any sign of contradiction in this first part of Ch. 9?

We have a lot to think about, especially as it concerns our own mission, following the Twelve and the Messiah.

A notable finding

One of our most interesting findings last week concerned the curious interruption in the story of Jairus and his daughter.

Would there have been a conflict between Jairus and the woman with the flow of blood?
What effect does it have on the listener that Dr. Luke includes the story of the woman with the flow of blood inside the story of Jairus and his daughter?

1. Ken: The love aspect, interrupted by healing the woman -- Jairus' love was so strong, to love thy neighbor as thyself -- that it replaces the complicated Torah of the 613+ requirements as motivation for his actions.
2. Jim: Jairus' conversion after seeing the woman healed, a sign of contradiction, allowed him to continue home to his daughter.

Excellent.

Finishing Ch. 8

Here are a few questions to round out our look at chapter 8.

1. Are your ears as willing to listen as the "ears" of the storm in vv. 22-25?
2. Was the Gerasene man (v. 26ff) a Jew or a Gentile?
3. What were the numerical odds against Jesus versus the demons in the Gerasene man?
4. Why didn't Jesus allow the Gerasene man to follow in the company of the twelve?
5. Would there have been a conflict between Jairus and the woman with the flow of blood?
6. What effect does it have on the listener that Dr. Luke includes the story of the woman with the flow of blood inside the story of Jairus and his daughter?

Let's start thinking it over with a cup of coffee this morning.

On to Luke Ch. 8

We will finish up a few questions in Dr. Luke's chapter 7, then dip forward to chapter 8. Here are a few extra questions in Ch. 8:

1. Should Jesus have led a life of poverty in this world, or should He not have done so? Should he have lived a life on average between riches and poverty?
2. Is a parable similar to a sign? Each has meaning, true, but are there other similarities?
3. How does one change a soul of rocky soil into a soul of fertile soil? Is there any hope of this?
4. The parable of the sower here might lead someone to say that only privileged people, with fertile soil, are allowed to receive the Word. Is that kosher or is there a counterargument?
5. Jesus says that his mother and his brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it. Good. What kind of ground are they? Rocky ground, thorny ground, fertile ground?
6. Where is the lamp that Jesus mentions in v. 16? Perhaps it is part of one's kidneys? Or in one's pocket? Strapped to one's shoes? Or is it in the dust on the bottom of one's shoes? The courtyard of the Temple in Jerusalem? Where?
7. The lamp being where it is, how does it become visible?

OK, let's have some coffee and get going with these questions, humbly seeking to find the Lord's will today.