God of Compassion

Wednesday of the First Week of Advent A-1

Entrance Antiphon Cf. Hb 2: 3; 1 Cor 4: 5 The Lord will come and he will not delay. He will illumine what is hidden in darkness and reveal himself to all the nations.

Collect Prepare our hearts, we pray, O Lord our God, by your divine power, so that at the coming of Christ your Son we may be found worthy of the banquet of eternal life and merit to receive heavenly nourishment from his hands. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Scripture today: Isaiah 25:6-10a; Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6; Matthew 15:29-37

When Jesus had passed on from there, he came near the sea of Galilee. And going up into a mountain, he sat there. And there came to him great multitudes, having with them the dumb, the blind, the lame, the maimed, and many others. They placed them at his feet and he healed them. The multitudes marvelled seeing the dumb speak, the lame walk, and the blind see, and they glorified the God of Israel. And Jesus called together his disciples, and said "I have compassion on the multitudes, because they have continued with me now three days, and have nothing to eat. I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint on the way." And the disciples said to him, "How could we have enough loaves in the desert to feed so great a multitude?" And Jesus said to them, "How many loaves have you?" But they said, "Seven, and a few fish." And he directed the multitude to sit on the ground. And taking the seven loaves and the fish, and giving thanks, he broke, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the people. They ate and had their fill, and they took up seven baskets full of what remained of the fragments. (Matthew 15:29-37)

God of Compassion Our Gospel scene presents us with a picture of Christ amid a very suffering world. “At that time: Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there. Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others.” Christ walks by the Sea of Galilee and goes up on the mountain, as if at a spot near to God. There he sits down as if making himself accessible to the world coming to him from below and as if about to dispense divine blessings to those who choose to approach him. The crowds brought those who were afflicted and they placed them at his feet “and he cured them.” Perhaps in them we remember Moses going up the mountain to meet Yahweh God. On that occasion Moses and the people encountered One of great majesty and awe, full of power and One who, while rich in compassion and mercy for his chosen people, nevertheless is threatening to the sinner. What was the image of Yahweh in the minds of those “great crowds” who followed our Lord up the mountain, bearing with them their sick and afflicted? We do not know but here in our Gospel scene today they encountered God on the mountain, a God of power while overflowing with compassion. There was no doubt in their minds that God was at work in the words and actions of Jesus. There was nothing he could not do for them and he was taking very many of them out of a condition of physical and emotional slavery into a new state of light and hope. Just as Moses led his people out of oppression by the power of God, so Jesus by the power of God — which is to say, by his own power — was leading those who came to him out of the oppression of their fallen condition. The distinctive manifestation of this almighty power he was exercising was that of kindliness and compassion. Christ’s heart was overflowing with kindness and concern for the afflicted. Indeed and in fact, he was the Yahweh God who had appeared to Moses at the Burning Bush to tell him his name and to tell him that he felt sorry for his people and was about to lead them out of their oppression.

Now incarnate in Jesus, Yahweh’s love was being fully revealed. Having cured “the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others,” Christ still felt compassion for the people. “Jesus summoned his disciples and said, ‘My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way.’” He proceeded forthwith to feed them with virtually nothing, and abundantly. The disciples said to him, “Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?” Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” “Seven,” they replied, “and a few fish.” He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets full(Matthew 15:29‑37). The wonderful thing is that all this was a foretaste of much greater things to come. Jesus was born into this world to free the world from the profound calamity which had no natural means of cure. The world had suffered a radical fall out of which it could not be taken by any natural means. The world, and man in particular, was doomed if left to itself. How terrible that man should have placed himself in this impossible predicament! But here was the Saviour among fallen and pitiful men, curing them of their afflictions and in so doing, showing that he had the power and the compassion to break the power of the root cause, which is their sin. He was pointing to a far greater work which he was soon to do and at unimaginable cost to himself. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world by bearing all of those sins on his own shoulders unto death. He expiated for the sin of the world and led mankind out of the slavery of sin to the true promised land of heaven.

Let us like the crowds go up to him where he is found. He is found most especially and in all his fullness in the Church he founded on the Apostles, with Peter at their head. He is the Head and Bridegroom of the Church and by means of his body the Church he draws into his own divine life all those who come to him to be with him. Let us then come to him and accept his offer of friendship and divine life. It is through him and only through him that this divine life will be ours.

(E.J.Tyler)

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