Compassion That Never Ends

𝐃𝐄𝐂. 𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓. 𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐈𝐒 𝐗𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐑, 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝐈𝐬𝐚 𝟐𝟓:𝟔-𝟏𝟎

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟐𝟑:𝟏-𝟔 “𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐓 𝟏𝟓:𝟐𝟗-𝟑𝟕

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞.” (𝐯.𝟑𝟐) 

         The event depicted in today’s Gospel reading should be distinguished from the more popular feeding of the 5,000 when Jesus miraculously multiplied the five barley loaves of bread and two small pieces of fish (𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟏𝟒:𝟏𝟑-𝟐𝟏).

         This time around the vast crowd who has been following him swelled to 4,000 as they brought to him the lame, blind, crippled, mute, and many others with physical disabilities and they laid them before Jesus. And Jesus healed them all (𝐯.𝟑𝟎). Again, the disciples of Jesus were overwhelmed and they asked: “𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐭?” (𝐯.𝟑𝟑)           

         This comes as a surprise because the disciples of Jesus only days ago were witnesses to one of the greatest biblical event when Jesus multiplied the five loaves and two small fish to feed the 5,000 men in addition to the women and children.

         Just like the disciples, we too at times forget the blessings that God has poured out on us in the past, the answers we have received to our prayers, the times we managed to wiggle out of difficult situations by the Grace of God and, how we easily give up and allow despair to get the better of us when we find ourselves in a crisis situation.

         What we should be mindful of is that God is faithful regardless of the circumstances and if he cared for us in the past, we could expect that he will still care for us today. And for him to once again show his compassion as he did in this gospel passage, we only must place our lives in the palm of his hands as a sign of our complete trust and confidence in him.

         This miracle event which was the second time that Jesus fed the crowd who have been following him shows the kind of God that Jesus was and there is no doubt that Jesus remains to be the compassionate God that he is today and forever.

         That he was sent down from heaven to be with the chosen people of God can no longer be denied nor doubted. And here in this passage Jesus gave the people another opportunity to get a glimpse of what God was like for there was no one who could do what he has been doing.

         If you have been faithfully reading and reflecting on the Gospel readings, you will certainly note the daily routine of Jesus. Despite the rejection he experienced in his own hometown, Jesus left and preached in all the villages that he went into, and the people were amazed for he taught and spoke with authority.

         Many times, on the way, he debated on several occasions with the Scribes and Pharisees over the traditions that the Jews were obliged to observe and follow such as eating without washing their hands as the disciples did. And Jesus surprised the Pharisees and the people when he said that nothing outside can make a man unclean but what comes out of a man was what makes him unclean.

         These debates and arguments probably took its toll on Jesus which was why he and his disciples went to the region of Tyre and Sidon with the intention of spending time to rest but his fame preceded him as crowds of people even in Gentile territory sought him out wherever he went.

         And a very beautiful recording of what followed next is found in this Gospel passage today when Jesus said: “𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞; 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐭. 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲, 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐩𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲.” (𝐯.𝟑𝟐)        

         This passage sums up not only what Jesus felt at the time, but it provides us with a picture of the true nature and character of Christ. “𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞;” meant that empathy for the people was written all over his entire being that there was nothing in his heart that did not translate to concern, love and compassion.

         Jesus could have driven away the crowd, but he did not. Instead, he gave the people what they needed, and he also healed all those who were sick and, he ministered to the people by feeding them from what his Apostles had with them – seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. (𝐯.𝟑𝟒)        

         What Jesus also did was he showed his Apostles the important role they will play and to a certain degree the role that we now too will play. To serve the needs of the 4,000 who were there, Jesus had to rely on his Apostles and other disciples to help feed the people. And this is the reality that we also face today.

         For the Good News to reach the ends of the world, Jesus has to use us especially those who have committed their lives to the Lord because it was through the Apostles and now through us that the truth can be proclaimed.

         What we also see in this miracle was not just the multiplication of the seven loaves and a few small fish but the miracle of the dependence of the people on God. Notwithstanding their hunger and thirst as they have been with Jesus for three days, they did not complain but they simply waited for whatever provision that Jesus will give them.

         Here we also see what we saw Jesus did when he fed the five thousand on another occasion. “𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬…” (𝐯.𝟑𝟔) In everything that he had done, Jesus never did it on his own. He always prayed to God the Father to bless him by the power of the Holy Spirit, and this was the kind of discipline that Jesus wants us to also observe and follow.

         More than anything else, Jesus showed that anything is possible when done in love. Love conquers all things and in this Gospel passage, Jesus gave the Apostles and his disciples a lesson of what love and compassion meant. The plight of the people was always in the heart of Jesus. Similarly, Jesus is telling us now to also have compassion for the poor and Jesus showed that love could transform us into becoming generous to others.

         This is the same attitude that Jesus is asking of anyone who will follow him. We are to share this same love that we received from Jesus so that others may also be blessed. In times when we may feel that what we give may not be enough, this miracle of the seven loaves and a few small fish assure us that whatever we give to others in love will be multiplied.

         To sum it up, Jesus in this passage shows us the kind of character that every servant must have. A servant must be filled with love and compassion when serving others.

         But more importantly, Jesus shows us that the food that will last is for all. As the feeding of the 5,000 in Matt 14 was for the Jews, this event refers to the feeding of the 4,000 who were mostly Gentiles. This means that the food that comes from God arguably is for all – Jews and Gentiles alike. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘋𝘦𝘤. 3, 2025)