GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 6:37
Yes, I Remember
I am not a consistent watcher of the game show Jeopardy!, but I do tune in occasionally. When there’s a contestant who begins a winning streak, I usually pay attention. I watched Ken Jennings, the show’s current host, as he competed in 74 episodes. Then Amy Schneider’s 40 wins and Matt Amodio’s 37 wins got my attention. I enjoyed the contests, but I was only able to answer a few questions on each show, but these contestants correctly answered questions one after another. I remember these competitions.
Sometimes one sees, hears, or does things that demand one’s attention, somewhat like Thomas Jefferson’s phrase “a firebell in the night.” Everyone has these poignant moments. Alice and I were talking recently about the moment we became engaged. Yes, I remember that day—the time and place. I remember the days when I saw each of our three sons for the first time and spoke their names. I also remember the day I heard about President Kennedy’s assassination and the moment I heard about the September 11 attacks. The day my doctoral mentor, Dr. David Conrad, told me I had completed my academic program is permanently fixed in my memory.
In the Gospel of Mark, the disciples returned to tell Jesus about their brief, successful mission assignment. Then they boarded a boat and sailed across the Sea of Galilee for some rest, only to be met by a large crowd. Jesus began a teaching session. When the hour became late, the disciples told Jesus that he should send the crowd away so they could buy food. “But answering, he said to them, ‘You give them to eat.’ And they said to him, ‘Shall we go and purchase 200 denarii worth of bread and give to them to eat?’” (Mark 6:37)
A denarius was usually considered a laborer’s daily wage. Currently, 200 days’ wages would be, oh, about $40,000. It’s difficult to imagine Judas carrying a money bag with that amount. Jesus apparently surprised the disciples with the command, “You give them something to eat.” The particular wording Mark used in this incident to describe the disciples’ reaction is more blunt; it could be rendered: “Where are we supposed to get 200 denarii to buy them food?” It’s easy to imagine that this lesson was permanently engraved in the memory of these practical-minded disciples.
There are many attention-getting moments in life that occupy permanent places in memory.
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