The Multiplication of Forgetting: When We Fail to Remember, We Fail to See

A Lectio Meditation on Today's Gospel

This morning I was reflecting and meditating on today’s Gospel Mark 8:14-21.

Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” They said to one another, “It is because we have no bread.” And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and fail to see? Do you have ears and fail to hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” And they said to him, “Seven.” Then he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

Today the word is forgotten.

Jesus fed the 5000 with 5 loaves (with 12 baskets remaining); he fed the 4000 with 7 loaves (with 7 basket remaining). Yet, the disciples forgot (even though they had one loaf with them). The act of forgetting what Jesus did in the multiplication of loaves causes the heart to harden, the eyes to be blind, the ears unable to hear. And think about it—the events of the feeding were not some distant memory. They were recent and yet—the miracles were forgotten. To understand Jesus, to know Him, we must not forget. We must not forget how Christ multiplies all things, intercedes for us, and actively works on our behalf. He feeds us through the Eucharist, yet we often fail to recognize the mysteries of mystery at work—the Bread of Angels sustains us. He comes to dwell within us, and this gift of the Bread of Life continues unbroken from the First Supper to this very moment. This Eucharist is the single gift that multiplies. And yet, like the disciples, we are unable to practice any sort of recollection so as to remember. We simply forget. We forget what Jesus does for us. In this, we are no different than the disciples. Jesus ask us, “do you not yet understand?” When we forget, we risk hardening our heart—a hardened heart that cannot see, cannot hear. It is a serious thing to forget. This is why Jesus calls us to a life of recollection and contemplation. To not do so is to risk forgetting.

Last, Jesus warn the disciples to beware of the yeast of Herod and the Pharisees. This warning is one of multiplication. This is the multiplication of sin and doubt that cuts one off from the truth. Herod, steeped in sin, was perplexed by the Gospel to the point he liked to listen to John the Baptist preach about Him (Mark 6:20). Yet, the more Herod lived in sin, the greater the multiplication of evil in his heart. The Pharisees, in their obsession with religious tradition, suffered a catastrophic hardening of the heart in which they could not see the God man in front of them or make the connection by hearing him. Like the disciples, they forgot. Their forgetting what God had done for them in their history as a people. They forgot what God had promised by way of a Messiah—a savior. In doing so, their forgetting caused a multiplication of doubt.

Let this be a warning and a harsh reminder to us. Forgetting always multiplies. A lack of being recollected will harden the heart, close the ears, and cause spiritual blindness. Jesus, help us to not forget.