Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
“ … his heart was moved with pity for them” Mk. 6:34
Bertrand Russell, the Nobel Laureate and philosopher, summed up his entire life with these words:
“Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.”
The word translated as “pity” or “compassion” in the Scriptural quotation above is a very weak rendering of the original Greek in which Mark’s gospel was written. That Greek word literally refers to a “churning of the gut.”
This tells us the incredible depth of feeling Jesus has for all of us, and how profoundly he resonates with our cherished needs – even on the most physical of levels.
We’ve all experienced that “churning of the gut” in our own lives from time to time. Usually such experiences occur when we are so overcome with sadness or horror that we can barely maintain our composure: the death of someone so dear to us that we’re left feeling abandoned; the sight of something so unbearably painful that we must look away; the news of a tragedy so outrageous that we are visibly shaken.
We can all relate to these experiences.
What we don’t relate to so easily is the reality of Jesus doing the same.
This is the healer, the miracle worker, the teacher, the One who will rise from the dead, the Son of God.
How could he possibly comprehend what being human is really all about? In our minds, we so easily see him as above and beyond these kinds of earthly feelings. We still imagine him dropping out of the sky and almost pretending to be one of us, but not really struggling with the actual pain of everyday human life, especially that of the most impoverished and the most nakedly needy.
And yet Mark makes it as clear as can be that Jesus not only “gets it,” but walks through the door of our hearts and cries with us, hurts with us, prays with us, listens to us, and allows his gut to “churn” with compassion over us.
Whoever heard of a God like this? Whoever pictured a God so intimate, so personal, so caring?
But, that’s precisely the point of it all.
Jesus presents a whole new understanding of God:
The “with us” God; the “for us” God; the “dwelling among us” God. The God that feels and heals. The God that enters the most secret places in our hearts and tells us that we are beloved beyond belief. The God that “churns his gut” over us.
And, the God who dines with us – as he does right now.
Look at the common, ordinary, everyday needs Jesus speaks of in today’s gospel reading.
First, he asks his disciples to report on how things are going for them. What have they seen? What have they heard? What have they experienced?
See? The God of Jesus wants to hear from us. He wants to know what’s going on in our lives. He wants a deep pattern of communication to exist between us and him.
Why? Because that’s what friends do.
Second, from time to time, whenever we can, God wants us to “come away” from it all. He wants us to retreat from the busyness and demands of our daily lives and develop a love for solitude. He wants us to accompany him to a “deserted place,” inside ourselves, away from all the distractions so that we can daily spend some time in prayer.
Third, God wants us to rest. He understands the terrible stresses and hassles of our lives. But, the need for adequate rest is important also. Then, when we’re rested, we can be all the more open to be taught “many things.”
Notice that it’s all about us and for us.
That’s who our God is!
Mother Teresa certainly believed as much. She put it this way:
“We must make our hearts centers of compassion – like Jesus did.”
Ted Wolgamot, Psy.D.
11809194.1
7/19/18
