2021.07.18 | The Compassionate Shepherd
“Compassionate shepherd”
Nadia Tavera
In today’s scripture, we find the disciples gathered with Jesus. Two weeks ago, Pastor Arlene preached on previous verses from the same chapter when Jesus sent the disciples two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits, he told them not to take anything for the trip.
In the text we found the twelve returning from their mission and are telling the master about the trip. However, these passages do not provide any detail of how the mission was, it does not say if they were welcomed in the villages, or if people there received the message, or even how many times they shacked off the dust on their feet. That was the instruction in case people refused them.
What the text emphasizes is that Jesus noted their weariness and invited them to rest for a while.
Campbell Morgan suggests that Jesus knew the disciples needed to take a mental and spiritual rest, no teaching for a little, no thinking, no conflicting with the underworld of evil for a while, and not praying for a little. [1]
Jesus was aware of the human body's fragility and the weakness of it to get tired. Jesus knew what it felt to inhabit a human body. He had incarnated in human form. Luke 6 says that Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray and maybe to rest.
Let’s go back to our story. Here is Jesus in human form. Can you imagine the moment where he and his disciples are looking for a quiet place to relax and they realize that many people are looking for them? Then, when Jesús comes down the boat and sees the large crowd, something happens. His intention was to find a place to rest with his friends but there were many people waiting for him. When he saw all of them, the scripture says, he had compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
I invite you to think about the metaphor of this text. Even though I grew up in a city, I spent the summer and winter at my grandparents' ranch in Guanajuato, Mexico, where I learned a lot about shepherds and sheep. Believe me, being a shepherd requires a lot of heart. Some sheep are foolish and rebellious.
Now, let me share what I learn by studying the word compassion. We read that Jesus had compassion on the crowd. The word compassion in Greek is ἐσπλαγχνίσθη (esplanchnisthē) and it appears twelve times in the Gospels.
Esplanchnisthē means: to be moved in the inward parts. Another Bible passage translates this word as tender-hearted.
I found that the Scripture is full of teachings about the heart. The compassion that Jesus had for the people has to do with an experience of the heart.
The Apostles Paul and Peter insist that we must be compassionate to one another. (Ephesians 4:32, 1 Peter 3:8)
Notice that the scripture does not say that Jesus felt pity for the crowd, instead he was moved in the inward parts. Compassion is not about to please God. It is about loving our neighbors and acknowledging that we all are equals.
Dear friends, today’s Scripture challenges us to examine our hearts. The psalmist wrote: Search me, God, and know my heart (Psalm 139:23) Create in me a pure heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)
Jesus models a compassionate heart willing to stand in solidarity with the oppressed. Eduardo Galeano affirms that "Unlike solidarity, which is horizontal and is exercised as equals, charity is practiced from top to bottom, it humiliates the recipient and never alters the power relations one bit.” [2]
Jesus not only fed the crowd, but he also spent time teaching them, demonstrating that he saw the people as equal and affirming their dignity.
Church and friends, let God search our hearts and lead us to experience authentic compassion that comes from a sincere heart. Amen.
1. Morgan Campbell, The Gospel according to Mark.
2. Eduardo Galeano, Patas arriba: la escuela del mundo al revés.