Sunday, July 31, 2011

caring

When did Jesus feed the 5000? According to Matthew 14, Jesus had just heard the news that John the Baptist had been killed. Matthew doesn’t mention Jesus’ emotions, but I’m sure he was grieving. Matthew does say that Jesus withdrew to be by himself for a while. But the crowds found out where he was and came to him. And Jesus was moved with another emotion, compassion. He saw people loved by God, whose dignity and joy was marred by disease and emotional pain. So Matthew tells us that Jesus healed their sick.

The beginning of Eugene Peterson’s memoir “The Pastor” is about the development of his “pastoral imagination.” What is he imagining? He is learning to see people as God sees them. He is learning to envision their future as God does. His job as a pastor, then, is to help them get in touch with God’s love for them and help them cooperate with God’s work in them.

Jesus had an active pastoral imagination. After all, his divine nature was the one who had helped to lovingly create each person and had a vision and purpose for each one. So even though his human nature was grieving, Jesus took time to heal and feed people.

It’s also true that Jesus didn’t ignore his need to grieve and to be alone. I suppose his time away from the crowds didn’t last as long as he had thought it might. But he took that time nonetheless, as he often did (Mark 1:35, Luke 4:42). He knew that time alone with his Father was necessary for the renewing of his soul and his body.

Matthew 14 is a lesson to me in taking care of others as well as taking care of myself. Lord, help me to see people as you do, as those you have lovingly created. Help me to have the grace to participate in your loving work in them. And help me to be in touch with how much you love me and with what you are doing in me. Amen.