Hear

"Let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger." (James 1:19)

This has to be the best phrase to describe me in the Bible =P. For those of you who know me, you'll know I talk really fast. (One of my friends told me it's incomprehensible why I can speak so fast, and yet so clearly... HAHA!!) And I do have a quick temper.

Today, I received this reminder again through the sermon today from the Parable of the Sower.

I have been studying Mark for Sunday School material recently. Mark seems like the most boring Gospel of all, teaching it looks like a daunting task to me. I couldn't find any good references even from Amazon. I have started using 奔走風塵的僕人 ──馬可福音析讀. I have also ordered NT Wright's Mark for Everyone, but still haven't received it yet. And today I read this really good part from Mark 6:30-7:23.

From my previous study of the other Gospels, I knew some of these miracles had profound theological meanings from the Old Testament. Like in this case, feeding the 5000 is like Manna in the desert, walking on the sea is like crossing the Red Sea.

However, what I wanted to share here is the two important reminders I have heard from God in the stories.

Mark Chapter 6
[31] And he said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
[32] And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves.
[33] Now many saw them going, and knew them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns, and got there ahead of them.
[34] As he went ashore he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

We often have plans in our life. I hate it when people disrupt my plans. I need rest, a lot of it. I need planning. However, my plans are often interrupted by my mother, my friends or my work (at work or in church). I get really frustrated and angry whenever this happens.

Jesus had compassion on them. (These people who disrupt His own plan for a retreat!) He was so busy that He did not even have time to eat. Yet He still consider people's need more important than His own. Efficiency had never been a top priority for Him, compassion was.

[35] And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, "This is a lonely place, and the hour is now late;
[36] send them away, to go into the country and villages round about and buy themselves something to eat."
[37] But he answered them, "You give them something to eat." And they said to him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?"
[38] And he said to them, "How many loaves have you? Go and see." And when they had found out, they said, "Five, and two fish."
[39] Then he commanded them all to sit down by companies upon the green grass.
[40] So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties.
[41] And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all.
[42] And they all ate and were satisfied.

What??!! 200 denarii of food?? That's like 8 months' wages from the poor disciples. For the administrative minded people, it seemed like a crazy idea. I am one of them. I have been questioning all these crazy ideas people have recently. Being a real practical person, I have always said, "That's impossible." I didn't even realise the problem until today.

Thanks for Your reminders.