God's Compassion and Ready Response to Human Need

In today's Gospel, Matthew 15: 29-37, Jesus "went up the mountain, and sat down there. Great crowds came to him,  having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others.  They placed them at his feet, and he cured them...." 

Every time we take time for prayer, for participating in the Eucharist, we, too, ascend the mountain of the Lord.  Whenever we "go up that mountain," let us take with us and lay down at Jesus' feet the lameness, the deformities, the blindness and deafness, and any other "diseased" parts of ourselves, of our world, of other people that need healing. Jesus will heal all in need of healing, if we acknowledge our brokenness and the "dis-eases" that cause divisions in our families, our nation, our world and within ourselves.

We are told in the Gospel that when Jesus looked out at the crowd that had  gathered before Him and simply stayed with him he said: "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,  for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat (think of Jesus in the tomb for three days following his death and then coming back to life)."  He would not not dismiss the crowd without giving them something to sustain them on their journeys back home. The disciples ask Jesus how they could possibly feed so many. Jesus asks: "'How many loaves do you have? "Seven,' they replied, 'and a few fish.'" And we know the rest of the story. Jesus took the loaves and the fishes, "gave thanks, break the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn game them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over--seven baskets full."

Scripturally, seven represents an abundance. It also reminds us of the seven sacraments whereby God's abundant blessings flow into our lives, sustaining us and making us whole, as God, now, as then, "is moved with pity" for us and does not want us to collapse on our way to the Kingdom!  He wants us to arrive safely!  He wants us to be well fed for the journey!

Obviously, this is not just about Jesus reaching out to human needs, it is also a call to us to go and do likewise!

Jesus, Master, Have Pity on Us

Today's Gospel, Luke 17: 11-19, tells the story of the ten lepers who encounter Jesus and, obviously recognize who Jesus is--the One who can restore them to wholeness, the One who is their "gate" to re-enter society and their "ticket" to leave their isolation.  By recognizing Jesus and calling out for pity, by believing in Jesus as the One who can save them, these lepers are healed. They no longer need to isolate themselves from others. They no longer need to hide from the public.

It was no accident that these lepers encountered Jesus, anymore than it is an accident when we encounter loving, merciful, wise individuals who free us from that which may be "eating" away at our "flesh,"  people who open our eyes to our hatreds, our prejudices, our fears, our sinful behaviors and attitudes by which we distance ourselves from others and from God. Whenever we stand in judgment of another, whenever we condemn another, whenever we enter into gossip of another, we are distancing ourselves from others. Whenever we are dishonest, deceitful; whenever we act out of pride and vent our anger onto others, deliberately hurting them, returning evil for evil, the leprosy of sin within us comes out of remission, so to speak.  Whenever we succumb to "leprous," diseased attitudes and behaviors, we darken our faith vision. At those times, we, like the lepers, have created a wall between us and others and need to cry out:  "Jesus, Master, have pity on us."   Am I aware when I become "the leper" who has distanced her/himself from God and others and are in need of mercy?

The Compassionate Heart of our God

“His heart was moved with pity” (Mk 6:34) as Jesus looked upon a crowd of 5000+ people.
These people lived in a country occupied by a foreign power. They were oppressed, heavily taxed by the Romans. Their future looked bleak.  Women, in particular were treated poorly, discounted, controlled by male counterparts, a situation that continues in many parts of the world, and in all segments of society, to this very day. 

Jesus looks upon these persons with pity, concerned that they are like sheep without a shepherd (Mk 6:34), that it is getting late and they are hungry. He meets both their physical and spiritual needs.  Following  His teaching and guiding them spiritually, he takes the little they have in terms of food and meets their physical needs.  He does not allow them to go home hungry either spiritually or physically.   He teaches us that “Human beings live not on bread alone”  (Mt 4:4). He pays attention to the whole person. 

Jesus treats you and me the same way. He knows that we lack food spiritually; He knows our physical needs as well.  He takes the little we have to meet those needs. He expects the same of us in how we treat ourselves and others. The little we have, blessed by the Lord, is more than enough.