Scripture: Matthew 14:13-21
Journal: How is your compassion level these days? Where (or to whom) is God asking you to show
compassion today? How will you do that?
Reflection:
There seems to be a direct link between
compassion and the giving of ourselves in life and ministry. It seems that one always needs to be the fuel
of the other. Jesus had just heard the
news of John the Baptist’s gruesome death and had decided to pull away from the
crowds and go into solitude to process it all, but the crowds just couldn’t
stay away. They hurried around the lake
and were waiting for him when he and his disciples reached the other side. I don’t know about you, but if it were me, I
would’ve been thinking, “Good grief.
Can’t you guys give me a little time and space? After all, my cousin has been brutally
executed. Go away and come back another
day.” And who knows, maybe the disciples
were feeling the same way. But not Jesus. He had compassion. The word used here literally means that he
was moved with love from the very depths of his being. While the disciples were saying, “Send
them away,” Jesus was saying, “They need not go away. In fact, you give them something to eat.”
It seems that the giving
of ourselves—or our loaves and fish in this instance—must flow out of a heart
of compassion. Somehow we have to be
able to put ourselves in the other person’s shoes and imagine what battles they
must be fighting in their lives.
Because when we do, it does something in our hearts that makes this
giving of life—and the multiplication of our meager resources—possible. Who are the crowds for you today? Who is God asking you to show compassion to,
and how?
Prayer
Closing
Prayer: May I live this day compassionate of heart,
gentle in word, gracious in awareness, courageous in thought, generous in love.
~John O'Donohue
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