Gospel Notes by Michael Whelan SM
The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things (Mark 6:30-34 – NRSV).
Introductory notes
General
Most immediately, this incident flows naturally from the account of John the Baptist’s execution – see 6:17-29 – which would have been deeply troubling to both Jesus and his disciples. However, it also provides something of a transition from the mission of the twelve to the feeding of the five thousand. One commentary notes: “these verses both retrospectively provide an inclusio with the sending out of the disciples (6:6b–13) and offer a smooth transition to the feeding narrative, highlighted by the mention of the ‘desolate’ place (6:31, 32, 35) and the concern with eating (6:31, 36, 37)” (J R Donahue, & D J Harrington, The Gospel of Mark, Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002, 208).
Specific
apostles: This is the only time Mark clearly refers to the disciples as “apostles” – Greek apostoloi, literally “those sent out”. There is a dispute as to whether the word applies in 3:14.
gathered around Jesus: We have here a symbol of the Church. The Greek verb is synagō, meaning “gather” or “assemble” – from syn meaning “together” and agō meaning “bring” or “lead”. The noun is synagōgē. Thus the synagogue is the place where the people are brought together for worship. This same Greek word – synagōgē – is sometimes used to translate the word qāhāl in the Hebrew Scriptures. However, the Septuagint mostly uses the word ekklēsia for qāhāl. See for example, the assembly at Horeb – see Deuteronomy 4:10 – and in the promised land – see Joshua 8:35 and Judges 20:2. In 1 Chronicles 28:8 and Nehemiah 8:2 it is also used to describe the liturgical assembly of Israel. This is typical during the time of the kings or after the Exile. When the Greek word ekklēsia is used in the Septuagint it is always translating qāhāl. The disciples of Jesus are later to use this word – ekklēsia – to describe the gathering of Jesus’ followers. Whilst, in the world of the first century, the word ekklēsia was normally used to name the gathering of the demos – the people – the Christian use of that word actually has its roots in the qāhāl Yahweh.
told him all that they had done and taught: The disciples have just been doing what Jesus has been doing. One commentary sums it up: “This verse repeats the essence of discipleship for Mark: being with Jesus and doing the things of Jesus: teaching and works of power (see 1:16–20; 3:7–12)” (J R Donahue, & D J Harrington, op cit, 204).
Come away to a deserted place: This statement prompts us to remember the First Exodus and God’s calling the people into the desert – see Exodus 3:18. Come …. away …. where? …. into the mid.bār – the wilderness. The Hebrew word dabar – meaning “word” – is etymologically linked with mid.bār. The original title of the Book of Numbers is Wayyadabar meaning “And He spoke” but it is also sometimes called Bemidbar meaning “In the wilderness”. Thus, the Prophet Hosea writes: “Therefore, I will now allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her” (2:14). The link between the wilderness and God’s word to Israel runs deep. Thus, we are reminded of the wilderness where John the Baptist announced the call to metanoia (1:3-5) and where Jesus’ temptations occurred (1:12–13). It is also where Jesus himself is accustomed to go to pray (1:35, 45).
rest a while: One commentary notes the multiple connections in this reference, especially to Psalm 23: “The verb for ‘rest’ (anapausasthe) may allude to the Greek text of Ps 23:2 (22:2 lxx) where the shepherd cares for the psalmist by restful waters (lit. ‘water of rest [anapauseōs]’). Other possible allusions to this psalm are the green grass (Ps 23:2 [22:2]; Mark 6:39) and the provision of a meal by the shepherd (Ps 23:5 [22:5]; Mark 6:41–42). ‘Rest’ is also used for the land promised to the people after the wilderness wandering (Exod 33:1–14; Deut 12:9–10; Josh 1:13; Jer 31:2). In Matt 11:28–29 Jesus promises rest to all who are weary, and in Heb 4:9–11 eschatological rest from toils and persecution is promised to God’s people.” (J R Donahue & D J Harrington, op cit, 204).
leisure: The Greek word is eukaireō, meaning “to have opportunity” or “to have time”. Interestingly enough, the Latin root for our English word “leisure” is licere meaning “to permit” or “to allow”. This suggests that Jesus placed some importance in taking time apart, giving yourself permission to be still, to go to the wilderness to once again hear God speak.
he had compassion for them: Our English word “compassion” does not carry the visceral force of Jesus’ experience here: “‘Compassion’ (see also 1:41; 8:2; 9:22) translates the Greek esplanchnisthē, the verbal form of the noun splanchnon/a, used for the inner parts of the body (‘guts’) and for the seat of the emotions as well as for the heart. The term is a virtual synonym for oiktrimoi (Hebrew raḥûm and raḥămîm, ‘merciful love’), which in the ot is a quality of God (Isa 54:7–8, ‘with everlasting love I will have compassion on you’; Pss 86:15; 111:4; 112:4; 145:8). ‘Compassion’ is the bridge from sympathy to action (see Luke 10:33; 15:20)” (J R Donahue & D J Harrington, op cit, 205).
they were like sheep without a shepherd: “Mesopotamian kings already described themselves as shepherds of their people (see e.g. Code of Hammurabi, Prologue i), and in the OT and later Jewish literature both God and human leaders are pictured as shepherds who should lead and care for their flock (see Vancil, ‘Sheep’). As Levenson points out, moreover (Death, 144), in the OT and later Jewish traditions, ‘two shepherds in particular, Moses and David, are noteworthy for the transition they made from the literal to the metaphorical forms of their vocation’ (see e.g. Ps 78:70–72 and Exod. Rab. 2.2–3). Our passage thus strengthens the impression that Jesus is both the Davidic Messiah (cf. Pss. Sol. 17:23–46, in which the Messiah is termed a shepherd) and a Mosaic figure.
“It is the latter, Mosaic aspect of the shepherd image that is most emphasized in our passage. Admittedly, the ‘sheep without a shepherd’ phrase is not limited to Moses in the OT but becomes a proverbial metaphor for the people suffering either through lack of strong leadership (Num 27:17; 1 Kgs 22:17//2 Chr 18:16; Jdt 11:19) or through evil rulers (Ezek 34:8; Zech 10:2), and both nuances may apply in the present case. But the phrase most closely echoes Moses’ words in Num 27:17, and in moving from an allusion to Moses to a reference to Jesus’ teaching, Mark is probably drawing on a Jewish tradition that sees the Torah, the teaching of Moses, as the divine response to the dilemma of the shepherdless sheep of Israel (see Ps 119:176; Philo Posterity and Exile of Cain 67–69; 2 Apoc. Bar. 77:13–14; cf. Lohmeyer, 124 n. 6).
“In Num 27:17, Moses’ request that God appoint a shepherd in his place is answered by God pointing to Joshua (Greek Iēsous = Jesus), ‘a man in whom is the Spirit.’ In light of this sequence, one wonders whether a Joshua/Jesus typology may be at the back of Mark’s mind: Jesus, too, is a successor of Moses in whom God’s Spirit dwells (see 1:9–11 and cf. Heb 4:8, where the Joshua/Jesus typology is played upon). Joshua, moreover, was remembered as one like Moses (see Allison, New Moses, 23–28), and in the remainder of the feeding narrative Jesus will act like Moses” (J Marcus, Mark 1–8: a new translation with introduction and commentary (Vol. 27, p. 406), Yale University Press, 2008, 406).
Remembering who and what we are
In today’s Gospel – Mark 6:30-34 – we are told that, the disciples whom Jesus sent out on mission (6:7-13), have now returned. They “gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught”. Is there some ambiguity here? Before looking more closely at Mark’s statement, recall his earlier statement that Jesus “appointed twelve to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message” (Mark 3:14). The references to “be with him” and “proclaim the message”, will help us understand Mark’s report here that the disciples “told him all that they had done and taught”.
Brendan Byrne SJ writes: “One detects in the report a breathless sense of novice enthusiasm—matching the increased enthusiasm of the crowds that prevents them having any time even to eat (v. 31). For Jesus this popular response is ambiguous. It is not without threat to the true direction of his messianic mission. The disciples have a long journey to make with him before they will be spiritually ready to ‘handle’ it: hence his summoning them to withdraw for a time into a deserted place (cf. 1:35-37; 6:45)” (Brendan Byrne, A Costly Freedom: A Theological Reading of Mark’s Gospel (p. 173). Liturgical Press. Kindle Edition).
“Being with him” and keeping in focus “the message”, are of the essence for the disciples – and us. One reason the Church establishes Synods and Councils, is to help us all remember the mandate to “be with him” and bear witness to “the message”. A Church forgetful of its mandate, will drift towards being just another worldly organization. The raison d’être for the Church is found – and only found – in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It can never be found in political influence, social status, material possessions or rhetoric that in fact masks or even denies what is actually happening within the Church.
The Church, to avoid forgetfulness, needs prophets and prophetic voices. Some of those voices might even belong to non-believers. The horrible experience of those subjected to sexual abuse by agents of the Catholic Church in Australia, and the sometimes-appalling responses to the victims, suggests that the Catholic Church had become forgetful.
In 2017, I appeared before The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Justice McLellan asked me: “Do you think the Catholic Church is taking the Royal Commission seriously?” I said I could not speak for the whole Catholic Church. But I said I think the Royal Commission is prophetic. I was implying that the Royal Commission was in fact calling the Catholic Church back to remember its true identity – “being with him” and bearing witness to “the message”. We had drifted away.
We are not just another worldly organization. Yes, we “gather around him”. But not to talk about what we have done or would like to do. We “gather” to become one with him. Through us, with us and in us he enters our world.