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Gospel Reading for February 18, 2025 – Mark 8: 14-21
CRITICAL THINKING
The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. Jesus enjoined them, “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” They concluded among themselves that it was because they had no bread. When he became aware of this he said to them, “Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?” They answered him, “Twelve.” “When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?” They answered him, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
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In the gospel of today, Jesus wanted his disciples to see the similarity of leaven bread with the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod. Leavened bread will look big even when it is hollow inside because of the yeast that makes the dough rise. Therefore, it just looks big on the outside. The Pharisees pretended to know everything about the Law of Moses, making them look big in the eyes of the Jews when in fact, they were empty inside and were hypocrites. They just looked big on the outside.
Jesus’ style of teaching is truly very interesting as it is parabolical. He would like us to do CRITICAL THINKING and not just follow blindly what he says or what people tell us. This is one aspect of the divine. God is not a dictator. He gave us intelligence and counsel to discern and understand things that happen around us in the Christian context. If we review the 10 Commandments he gave Moses for us, we will realize that they are not really commands, but guidelines on how to live happy and peaceful lives with ourselves and with others.
Lord Jesus, may we have eyes that see beyond that which is ordinary!
