Compassion

7th Sunday after Pentecost

Proper 11

Mark 6: 30-34, 52-56

"Compassion"

30* The apostles returned to Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught.

31* And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.

32* And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves.

33* Now many saw them going, and knew them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns, and got there ahead of them.

34* As he went ashore he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

52* for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

53* And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored to the shore.

54* And when they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized him,

55* and ran about the whole neighborhood and began to bring sick people on their pallets to any place where they heard he was.

56* And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or country, they laid the sick in the market places, and besought him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched it were made well.

Grace and peace to your from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen

"A two year old boy was tired and fretful, all out of sorts, and so was his mother. It was a unusually trying day. Nothing was going right for them. As the day wore on things became even worse. To him everything seemed to go wrong. Mom was yelling at him at every turn he made it seemed. It seemed that life had become one big mountain of frustrations.

Finally, towards the end of the day, when it seemed he couldn’t take any more, he toddled over to the telephone, took the receiver off the cradle and without dialing anything, said to nobody in particular, in a voice of despair, of wanting of desiring some tender loving care, "Give me my Daddy, please."

The two year old boy wanted his Daddy to rescue him from the frustrations, all the hurts, all the trouble, all the brokenness he was feeling in his life. He needed someone else besides his mother to turn to, he needed someone to bring some needed change into his life. He needed someone to care for his feelings, his hurts, his inability to handle the challenges of life, so he asked, "Give me my Daddy, please!"

In our gospel lesson this morning, the people came to Jesus with that same kind of attitude. They needed someone to care for them.

The text says: 33* Now many saw them going, and knew them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns, and got there ahead of them.

34* As he went ashore he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

They saw Jesus and ran to him with all the frustrations, the hurts, the troubles in their lives. They ran to Jesus and in a sense said as that boy in our story, "Give me my Daddy, please!"

And notice what the text said 34* As he went ashore he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

Jesus saw the throngs of people and though he was tired, he had compassion on them. Jesus saw that they needed a shepherd, they needed a guide. They needed a guide and he had compassion on them.

Jesus is like the policeman in the following story:

A pastor wrote, " I was on Time’s Square in New York during rush hour. Thousands of people were thronging and pushing at the corner ready to cross at the intersection. Ten lanes of cars were backed up for blocks screeching their tires and racing their motors waiting for the light to change.

And, suddenly, a mother cat came out of an alley followed by her four little kittens. She started across that busy intersection. The policeman on duty dashed out in the middle of the traffic, at the expense of his life stopped the cars and the people and allowed that mother cat and her kittens to cross in the rush and excitement of life. Everyone stopped and watched this brave act exhibited by the policeman and the calm manner in which that cat and her kittens crossed the busy intersection, because of the sacrificial caring of that policeman."