Compassion
When you find yourself working on your vacation, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. - Mark 6:30-34
What follows today's reading from Mark's Gospel is the feeding of the five thousand. We tend to focus on that and skim past the lead up to it, which is all about trying to get away from the crowds.
Jesus recognizes the need for a break, a sabbath, from the work they have been doing, and he tries to give himself and the disciples a rest.
We all need to take a break sometime, yet it is not always easy to get away. Work has a way of following us, especially today, with 24/7 access to everything.
Sure, there are some jobs that we don't mind being interrupted to attend to, but that isn't the point, is it?
We should be able to take a break.
Of course, it is helpful to see things differently from time to time, and if that cannot be done with a break, there may be another way.
A young couple came to help us serve meals yesterday at Caritas, and when they were done I asked them what the experience was like for them. They said they had mixed feelings.
There was joy in serving, but also sadness that so many needed food, especially the children.
Working day in and day out feeding the hungry, we can get accustomed to the situation and forget that it is sad. Jesus saw the sadness in how the crowd had no leader, no path to follow, and he had compassion for them.
It was no longer a job, but a mission, a ministry.
We should never let the work become routine, and we should struggle to make it go away, not by abandoning it, but by eliminating the need.
How do we do that?
I don't know, but I do know that until we do, we will need to be compassionate, and take the time to do what needs to be done, even if it means changing our plans.
More to come...