The Saint 73
there are seven baskets. Then Jesus sends them away. “And imme-
diately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the dis-
trict of Dalmanutha” (Mark: 8.10). This is the miracle of the loaves
and the fi shes.
What happened? From the orthodox perspective, from the per-
spective of those who demand miracle, mystery, and authority, the
Son of God has performed a miracle. He has used his super natu ral
powers to create abundance where there was scarcity. He’s defi ed
the laws of physics and shown what a power ful fi gure he is: truly
the Son of God.
But there is another explanation for this event, more naturalistic,
less tied to what one might call superstition. What happens with the
loaves and fi shes may still be a miracle, but a miracle of a more
earthly and, perhaps ultimately, a more profound sort. When Jesus
sees that the people are hungry, he asks the disciples how much food
they have. The answer is that Jesus and his entire party has seven
loaves and a few fi sh among them. And then they do something re-
markable. They give all the food they have to the crowd. That’s it—
after the loaves and the fi shes are gone, there is nothing left for
them. Maybe they will not starve to death because of their charity,
but it’s likely that they will go hungry for a while. Jesus and his
friends feel enough compassion for the crowd to give them all that
they have to eat. They don’t hold anything back. What is ours is
yours. Take it.
Is it possi ble that the crowd is moved by this act? Is it possi ble
they are touched by the compassion of the teacher? He’ll give them
what he has and leave nothing for himself. He doesn’t love them in
some abstract way; he loves them immediately and viscerally, the
way a mo ther loves her children and will give them the last food that
she has. Is it possi ble then that the people in the crowd, the four
thousand, follow suit and reach into their cloaks and their sacks and
take out what food they have? What was stored away and hidden