WEDNESDAY, March 18
Mark 8:11-26

Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out— beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” — Mark 8:14-15

Well, here we are talking about bread again. One of the many gifts of the Divine Office is the consecutive reading of Scripture passages, which provides continuity and context as we follow Jesus on his way to the Cross. Yesterday, there were seven loaves of bread. Today, the poor, distracted disciples forget to bring enough bread, so they only have one loaf. We might expect Jesus to multiply this bread, too, but instead he uses it as a warning.

He has just rebuffed the Pharisees who asked him for a sign, and he cautions his followers to watch out for the yeast, or teachings, of the Pharisees. Being fully human and fully divine, Jesus gets as exasperated with the disciples as he does with the Pharisees, asking, “Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember?” Jesus and the disciples then go to Bethsaida, where there is indeed a man who has eyes and fails to see. The man is brought to Jesus for healing. Jesus spits on the man’s eyes, and when he asks if the man can see anything, the man replies, “I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.” This wonderfully vivid response is so clear that we can easily visualize the scene. He is beginning to see, but like the disciples, he is only about halfway there.

When Jesus puts his hands on the man’s eyes, he can see clearly. I have been attending church since I was about a month old, and I have studied the Bible throughout my life. However, I am still only about halfway to understanding the nature of God and the full significance of the Incarnation of God in Jesus. I am like the blind man, about halfway there. I also relate to the disciples and the Pharisees who struggle to comprehend what Jesus says and does. His wisdom is so much greater than human understanding that I know I will still be only about halfway toward seeing it clearly at the end of my life. The good news is Jesus never gives up on us. Just as he did with the blind man, he keeps trying to heal and transform us.