Data for Tuesday, February 3

Saint of the Day --- Anskar (801-865) -- Bishop and Missionary to Denmark and Sweden

Scripture of the Day --- Mark 8:1-6, 8-9 -- [Selection based on the Daily Office Lectionary in the Book of Common Prayer] In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, [Jesus] called his disciples to him, and said to them, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; and if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come a long way." And his disciples answered him, "How can one feed these men with bread here in the desert?" And he asked them, "How many loaves have you?" They said, "Seven." And he commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. ... And they ate, and were satisfied; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people. (RSV)

[Comment: At one level, this text indicates that Jesus was thoughtful and compassionate and and it suggests that these are virtues that would be highly appropriate for those trying to live a Christian life.

At another level this text raises the issue of what 21st century people are to make of the stories of miracles that one finds in the scriptures. In the telling, they are signs of Jesus' divinity; he is someone not bound by the laws of phyisics, etc. that apply to us mortals. But science and common sense tell us to always look for natural explanations for seemingly unbelievable events. For this particular miracle story, a strictly natural common sense explanation can be hypothesized --- and that may be all there is to this story.

But there are other miracle stories in the Bible that are much harder to explain using natural processes --- at least not in the world of our experience. However the physics we understand does not add up to the universe that we can see. Suppose there are actually four, five or six dimensions in the universe and we are only aware of 3 1/2. (North-south; east-west; up-down; time in one direction)

Ultimately faith requires a belief in things unseen. To believe in the Jesus of the Bible, you must in some way come to know him and trust him.]

Word of the Day --- marcher -- one who walks in a procesion

Place of the Day --- Nazca, Peru -- 14°49'50"S, 74°56'14"W -- a city in an area of archaeological significance --- It is located 75 SE of Ica, the district capital, and about 235 miles SE of Lima, the national captial