Sometimes I think I am the most stubborn disciple of all….
In the gospel of Mark, the disciples are often depicted as … fools… They never get it right. They never understand what Jesus is saying or doing. They always say the wrong things. Jesus spent as much time rebuking them as he did with the Pharisees.
Take Mark 8:14-21 for example…
The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat.
“Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”
They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”
Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
“Twelve,” they replied.
“And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
They answered, “Seven.”
He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
Leading up to this section, Jesus performed two miracles of feeding the masses (the feeding of five thousands in Mark 6 and the feeding of four thousands in the beginning of Mark 8). He also walked on water (Mark 6:45-56). He cured the sick and drive out demons. The oppositions; Pharisees, Herod, teachers of the law, are mounting. After all these, the only concern the disciples is worrying not having enough to eat.
Hehe…I looked back on my transplant, on my blood pressure, on my teeth…..and I still lack faith. For the past five months, the numbers that measured my liver functions (ALT, AST, ALP) are high. Going to do an ultrasound this Thursday and a biopsy next Monday. The last time I had a biopsy was 20+ years ago, a few months before my liver transplant.
And all this, I still do not understand.
Indeed, a very stubborn disciple!
