The Basket Problem

Sometimes I just have to ask myself how when I should just believe.

Then he ordered them to get all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. And all ate and were filled;  and they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. - Mark 6:39-43

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus feeds the five thousand with just a couple of fish and a few loaves of bread.  That’s awesome.

After everyone had their fill, the disciples collected the scraps and they filled twelve baskets.

So, here is the problem.  Who had the baskets?

The way I look at it, somebody must have had the baskets, and so the question is why were all of hem empty?

People would travel with empty baskets if they were headed to market, but if they were traveling to follow a prophet, wouldn’t they take provisions with them?

Now I am not saying the miracle didn’t take place.  But if I was telling the story, I would like to tie up the loose ends.  Why leave any thread dangling where someone could pull on it and unravel the whole garment?

The basket problem is easy to overlook.  It could just be a means of explaining how much stuff was left over, like saying they recovered a truckload, when there was no truck there at all.

To me, the basket problem invites doubt, and I tend to think many of us see doubt as something that undermines our faith.

But doubt could be a catalyst as well as an obstacle.  We need doubt to test assumptions.  It lies at the heart of the scientific method, questioning and testing each hypothesis.

Jesus worked with doubt all the time, introducing it in his parables, setting up the stories so we have no choice but to ask how and why.

So, if we gather up all the crumbs and fish heads in a dozen baskets, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel, what difference does it make what they used to carry and why they were empty?

It may just be a great metaphor for the emptiness filled by God through the Son.

More to come...