Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Title and Theme
Outline and Body
The root of all dysfunctional human behavior is anxiety
So says Bowen Theory
But later additions to Bowen Theory point to spirituality as the solution, for we are cut off from our spiritual center
Genesis shows this clearly
The man and woman have disobeyed God in order to become like gods themselves
Instead of becoming like gods in the sense of determining good and evil, they realize their vulnerability - they are naked
God is no longer a welcome presence in the garden, but produces anxiety, for they are naked before him
When confronted by Him, they demonstrate their dysfunction by blaming some other: the woman, the snake
This is in contrast to repentance
The result is more fear and servitude
Their rule over creation as co-creators becomes servitude to deal with their vulnerability
Their gift of children to enable them to rule the world becomes a type of servitude - hard labor
The one light is that it will eventually produce one who released them from servitude
Their marital intimacy is gone - only two intimate marriages in the Bible
And the dysfunction will continue in sibling rivalry, murder, estrangement from the ground, and eventually their death
But through the seed, Mary, the redeemer seed Jesus comes
The crowd around Jesus is vulnerable: out of food, not enough strength to get home, hungry
The disciples are anxious: seven loaves is not enough for them
But at his word they give all to Jesus - even the fish they had not mentioned at first
Jesus blesses them and they get to set the pieces before the crowd
Instead of seven loaves, seven baskets full of left over pieces are taken up and 4000+ stomachs are full
Vulnerability is forgotten; anxiety is gone
While Mark goes on to draw his conclusions from this parabolic act, we can read it in the light of Genesis
We are often vulnerable and anxious: how will we do the task before us, large or small?
We reverse the act of Eve and act like Mary, giving all to God - our too little, our nakedness, our all
Jesus receives our obedience, our submission, our repentance (we could say) and lifts it up and blesses it
And there in relationship to him we have not just enough, but more than enough.
Vulnerability and anxiety are banished
But only so long as we obediently feed from his tree of life and stay in loving relationship to him
Readings
9 But the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent beguiled me, and I ate.”
14 The LORD God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all cattle,
and above all wild animals;
upon your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
16 To the woman he said,
“I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children,
yet your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you.”
17 And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife,
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19 In the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”
1 In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him, and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; 3 and if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come a long way.” 4 And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these men with bread here in the desert?” 5 And he asked them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven.” 6 And he commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. 7 And they had a few small fish; and having blessed them, he commanded that these also should be set before them. 8 And they ate, and were satisfied; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 9 And there were about four thousand people. 10 And he sent them away; and immediately he got into the boat with his disciples, and went to the district of Dalmanutha.