He Has Compassion

 

 Mk 8:1-10

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

8 During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ² “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. ³ If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”

⁴ His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”

⁵ “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied.

⁶ He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. ⁷ They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. ⁸ The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ⁹ About four thousand were present. After he had sent them away, ¹⁰ he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.

If we have any notion that Jesus is distant from and indifferent to our needs, we see from this story, that we are wrong.  He was so concerned about the need of this large crowd for food, that he again multiplied loaves of bread and a few fish to feed them. Does he not see our fatigue, our sadness, our consternation, our confusion, or our fears? We see here how attentive he is to our human needs; may we find cause to trust that he will provide for us as he did for the 4,000 he fed in that remote place. He has infinite compassion on us, so we need to develop boundless trust in him.

Bro. Rene

Dear Jesus, help me to trust when I doubt and strengthen my faith when it is weak. Amen.