There are two stories mentioned in all four gospels, that are often linked together: Jesus' feeding of the five thousand and Jesus' walking on the waters. Indeed Mark even has two feeding stories.

In Mark's first account, Jesus says to the Twelve, 'You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while' (Mk.6:30-44). But when they get to the place where they are going, a vast crowd is already present. Jesus takes pity on the crowd and sets himself to teach them, after which Mark introduces the story of the feeding of five thousand.

Loaves and fishes
His disciples come to him and say, 'This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late; send them away so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something for themselves to eat.' Jesus answers them, 'You give them something to eat.' But they say they have no money to buy food for such a multitude. Jesus then says, 'How many loaves have you? Go and see.'

The disciples return, saying they only have five loaves and two fish. Jesus gets the crowd to sit down on the green grass in groups and, taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looks up to heaven, blesses and breaks the loaves, and gives them to the disciples to set before the people. He also divides the two fish among the whole crowd. All eat and are filled; and the disciples then take up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish.

Early Church
It may come as a surprise to some readers that this story and the story of Jesus walking on the waters, as they now stand, may be creations of the early Church, post-resurrection confessions about who and what Christ is, told in story form. There may well have been an occasion when a very large crowd of people, who had gathered around Jesus, had a meal of bread and fish together, sharing what they had. The Gospel writers may have remembered this and latched on to it to make a theological point, by way of a symbol-laden story, using Old Testament ideas and parallels.

Mark's story has several levels. On one level the multiplication of the loaves simply represents Jesus' compassion as he puts his divine power to the service of a hungry multitude. However Mark's story also refers back to an Old Testament story and forward to what Jesus does at the Last Supper.

Parallels
In the Second Book of Kings a man comes to the prophet Elisha, bringing twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. Elisha says, 'Give it to the people and let them eat.' But his servant says, 'How can I set this before a hundred people? So Elisha repeats, 'Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the Lord, "They shall eat and have some left". He set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the Lord' (4:42-44).

Mark links this incident to what happens at the feeding of the five thousand and at the Last Supper. In Mark's feeding story, Jesus is portrayed as one greater than the prophet Elisha. Taking loaves and two fish, Jesus looks up to heaven, blesses and breaks the loaves, and gives them to his disciples to set before five thousand people.

Eucharistic overtones
In any of the Synoptic Gospels, the only occasion outside the feeding miracle when Jesus acts as the host of a meal, takes bread, gives thanks or says a blessing, breaks the bread and gives it to his followers, is the Last Supper. For Mark's Christians the story of the feeding of the five thousand would surely resonate with all its Eucharistic overtones. Mark tells us that at the Last Supper, while the disciples are eating, Jesus takes a loaf of bread, and after blessing it, breaks it and gives it to the disciples, using virtually the same words that are to be found in the feeding story (14:22-25).

After the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus makes his disciples get into a boat to head off for Bethsaida on the other side of the lake, while he himself sends the crowd away (6:45-52). He goes into the hills to pray. When evening comes, the boat is far out on the lake. He can see that the disciples are worn out with rowing, for the wind is against them. He comes towards the disciples, walking on the lake, intending to pass them by.
When they see him they think they are seeing a ghost and are terrified. But Jesus says, 'Courage! It is I (or simply I AM). Do not be afraid.' He gets into the boat with them and immediately the wind drops. Mark tells us that Jesus and his disciples, having been blown off course, land at Gennesaret, not Bethsaida as planned (6.45-51).

Signs and symbols
One thing is clear from all the Gospels: Jesus performed miracles. He helped the gravely ill, the blind, the paralysed, lepers and `demoniacs' deprived of a peaceful life. These miracles were seen as signs of the coming of God's kingdom. In the story of Jesus walking on the water, however, we have a story full of Old Testament symbols, a sort of primitive theology, where the divine Jesus manifests himself in all his power and majesty.

In the Book of Job, God is described as one who 'stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea.' In ancient mythology the sea was often depicted as the monster of chaos, the principle of evil, disorder and death. Mark uses the same Greek phrase as Job when describing Jesus as trampling or treading on the sea.

Do not be afraid
When Mark says that Jesus `intended to pass them by', he may well be referring to a scene in the Book of Exodus where Moses asks God to show him his glory. God says, 'I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name.' That name is I AM. So when Jesus says 'it is I (or I AM); do not be afraid', he is simply using the name God gave himself when requested to do so by Moses. When people experience God's presence, the reaction is often one of awe. Hence Jesus' words to the disciples, 'Do not be afraid'.

The feeding of the five thousand prefigures not only the Last Supper but also the Christian celebration of the Eucharist where the risen Christ once again gives thanks, breaks the bread, and gives it to his followers. Struggling in a hostile world, bereft of Christ's physical presence, the walking on the water symbolizes the presence of the risen Christ in his little Church, especially in the Eucharist, revealing himself in all his majesty to his frightened, beleaguered, persecuted disciples, telling them, 'It is I; fear not.'