Five loaves and two fish (16)

Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.(Mark 6:41)

The incident of “Five loaves and two fish” gives a completely new meaning through Jesus who looked up to heaven and gave thanks. Though “Five loaves and two fish” are the mere product of the earth, it is closely interlinked with heaven. From an object bound to the earth it turns out to be an object that has invisibly connected with the limitless heavens. It has all the characteristics of solidity, unique identity of limitation and limitlessness. This visible thing has now gained the invisible power.

Some of you may consider that the above statements are too abstract to understand. They may say so. A lot of the words of expression from Christian faith are abstract and ideal. Abstract is the opposite of concrete concept and ideal is the opposite of reality. We who are familiar with concreteness and actuality as reality usually feel abstract and ideal as unreal.

In fact, there was time when Christianity excessively inclined to abstractness and idealism. It was a sort of faith that they did not care how the world turn out if they could go to heaven by believing Jesus. Because of this dogmatic faith, Christianity was called as the opium. Some scholars criticize that this happened because the fore-fathers accepted Plato’s idealism.

Plato’s concept ignores the practical principle of life in this world but dwells on the world view penetrating into the deeper level of incident of the world. It believes that this world is moving around and not regulated by a certain mechanical principle. The Fathers accepted Plato’s concept because this concept is correspondent with God’s concept of Christianity. I say it again; this idea is not the idea ignoring this world but hermeneutics to see the deeper dimension of the world. It is the hermeneutics that “Five loaves and two fish” is connected with heaven from where the “Five loaves and two fish” came down.