The
image of a “lonely” place (Mk 6:31, 32) painted
in today’s reading prepares for Mark’s next story, about
the feeding of five thousand. But the image is worth pondering
for fresh insights it can give into our Mediterranean ancestors
in the faith.
In the New Testament, the Greek word translated “lonely” or “deserted” and
used with “place” basically describes an uninhabited region or one
with a very small population. The word can also describe a place of sparse vegetation.
Although the two ideas are related, the New Testament usage applies more often
to population.
In first-century Palestine, there were fewer than three or four large cities
like Jerusalem. Ninety percent of the population lived outside the large cities
in hamlets or villages with a small number of residents. The population of Nazareth
may not have been more than 150 and could have been as small as 50. Try to imagine “privacy” in
a settlement of this size!
These small settlements were not packed densely close to each other. There was
a significant distance between them, and this uninhabited space was generally
viewed as chaos or “a lonely place.” The modern experience of “a
family picnic in the park” simply could and did not occur in the first-century
Mediterranean world.
Jesus’ suggestion that he and his disciples, freshly returned from their journey,
leave his neighborhood (Nazareth) and go off to a lonely place is well explained
by the next sentence: “Many were coming and going, and they had no leisure
even to eat” (Mk 6:31).
If Jesus is still in his own country (Mk 6:1), then
he and his disciples are well known to everybody. In the Middle East, everybody
minds everybody else’s business. Privacy is practically nonexistent. Rest is
all but impossible. And if anyone is eating, it would be impolite and inconsiderate
not to share with others.
Yet the nosey crowds give Jesus and his followers no rest. Mark presents a humorous
picture. “Many saw them going, and knew them, and they ran there on foot
from all the towns, and got there ahead of them” (Mk 6:33). It is not
just that they “saw them,” but some were certainly keeping an eye on them.
Any group going off to a lonely place raised suspicions. What did they have to
hide? What are they up to? Why are they being secretive? Who goes off to uninhabited
places known to be rife with demons and wild beasts? If nosey people wanted to
stay “in the know,” they had to run to get to the boat’s landing place even
before the vessel arrived.
Jesus’ response to them is compassion (Mk 6:34) because they were like “sheep
without a shepherd.” One of Hebrew derivations for “compassion” means “womb.” In the Middle East, compassion is considered
a female value and virtue.
Sheep are basically dumb animals. No one can lead them; they have to be driven.
Without a shepherd, sheep simply lie down and don’t move ahead. Jesus perceives
that the people have basic needs that are going unmet.
Moved to compassion for
them, Jesus teaches the great throng many things sufficiently interesting and
engaging to keep them there dangerously late.
Being in an uninhabited place far
from kin and without provisions, everyone wondered: what’s next? The story continues
in the next weeks.
John J. Pilch
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John
J. Pilch is a biblical scholar and
facilitator of parish renewals.
Liturgical Press has published
fourteen books by Pilch exploring the
“cultural world” of the Bible.
Go to http://www.litpress.org/ to
find out more.
Copyright © 1997 by The Order of St.
Benedict, Inc., Collegeville, MN.
All rights reserved.
Used by permission from The
Liturgical Press, Collegeville,
Minnesota 56321
The complete text of the
above article can be found in:
The Cultural World of Jesus, Sunday by Sunday, Cycle B
John J. Pilch. The Liturgical Press. 1996. pp. 112-114.
Art by
Martin Erspamer, O.S.B.
from Religious Clip Art for the
Liturgical Year (A, B, and C).
Used by permission of Liturgy Training
Publications. This art may be reproduced
only by parishes who purchase the
collection in book or CD-ROM form. For
more information go to: http://www.ltp.org/
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