Daily Reflections ...

Today, I am struck by the first line in the gospel where the disciples forget to bring any bread with them on the boat.

How is it that a group of thirteen people didn’t think about how they were going to feed everyone as they got onto a boat (they had only one loaf with them)? And this is just after they’d witnessed the miracle of feeding the four thousand, where they had a full seven baskets of bread left over! Where did all that left over bread go, I wonder? Why didn’t they think to put a couple of loaves away for their trip over the water?

Is this a case of taking Jesus for granted, I wonder, as they believed he could simply multiple more bread for them along the journey? Perhaps they had become complacent with their role as Jesus’ companions and believed that they no longer needed to provide for food in this way since Jesus had demonstrated such great power?  

This line of thought has caused me to ask some questions of myself today. In what ways have I started to take Jesus for granted? Have I reduced him to a kind of ‘magic man’, where my role in our relationship is just to be the receiver, never taking ownership for my own actions and responsibility to find time to pray and do good works in Jesus’ name? Have I become a passive complainer expecting Jesus to solve every problem that comes my way, even those problems I cause (or could solve) myself?

Perhaps you too might sit with some of the questions above and bring your answers to Jesus.

by Melissa Ledwich