Today’s author is Prince of Peace’s Director of Visitation and Congregational Care, Debbie Jorgens.
Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them and cured their sick (Matt. 14:13-14).
Our gospel reading this past Sunday was the familiar story of the feeding of the five thousand. We’ll get to the meal tomorrow, but today I want to focus on the very beginning of this text because I think we have a tendency to overlook it. Maybe it’s because we want to jump ahead to hear, yet again, about the miracle itself as we try to imagine how in the world Jesus fed five thousand men (“besides women and children,” according to Matthew) with nothing more than five loaves of bread and two fish. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
“Now when Jesus heard this,” the story begins, which begs the question: What was it that Jesus had heard? Ah, yes – it was the news that John the Baptist was dead, beheaded at the request of a girl whose dancing at Herod’s birthday bash had so enthralled Herod that he recklessly promised to give her whatever she asked for. He was no doubt stunned by the request. But since Herod had given his word to the girl in the presence of all his guests, there was no turning back now.
Upon learning of John’s death, his disciples went to retrieve his body, burying it before going to tell Jesus what had happened. Is it any wonder that Jesus wanted to be alone after receiving such horrific news? As Barbara Brown Taylor reminds us in her book, The Seeds of Heaven:
Jesus had lost his prophet, the man who had baptized him and who had devoted his whole life to preparing the way of the Lord. And worse than that, he had lost him to murder, a vivid reminder to Jesus and everyone else that God’s prophets were not immune to death, that if anything they were more likely to die violently than quietly, and sooner than later (49).
So Jesus leaves by boat to go off by himself to “a deserted place.” But his solitude is cut short by the crowds who follow him on foot from the nearby towns. Jesus may need to be alone, but the people have needs, too, and some of them have learned enough about Jesus to know that if anyone can fulfill their needs, it’s him.
Sure enough, as soon as he steps onto the shore and sees the crowd, Jesus’s heart goes out to them. Putting his own needs aside, he spends the afternoon walking among the people, healing the sick and offering his loving presence.
God of compassion: Help us remember that you alone fulfill all our needs. When we become self-absorbed, open our eyes to the needs of others and fill us with compassion that compels us to act. In Jesus’ name, Amen.