He Wanted to be Alone

Reading 1 Isaiah 55:1-3
Reading 2 Romans 8:35, 37-39
Gospel Matthew 14:13-21

In our Gospel today we hear that Jesus heard of the death of his cousin – John the Baptist – and He withdrew we are told to a deserted place by himself – he wanted to be alone.

Perhaps because He wanted to mourn the death of His cousin – maybe also because He feared what was going to happen to Him – you see Jesus preached the same message that John the Baptist did – repent – for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

All John ever did was preach the truth – all John ever did was worry about the eternal salvation of others – and what did he get for doing this – he was murdered – what possible hope then could Jesus have that He too would not suffer the same fate.

So Jesus withdrew – He needed some time alone – but we are told that the crowds had followed Him on foot – and when Jesus disembarked He saw a vast crowd – sheep without a Shepard – and moved with pity for them He cured those that were sick.

Even though Jesus wanted to be alone – to mourn the loss of His cousin – to contemplate His future – He realized that when He stepped off that boat that God had other plans for Him. Jesus could have turned around and got back on the boat and left those people on the shore – but He didn’t.

Jesus knew that He needed to be the Good Shepard and take care of those people – who knew that those people needed Him – there wasn’t any time for mourning the loss of John or worrying about what might happen to Him – Jesus realized if not Him then who would minister to those people – without Him they were lost – just like us – without Him, without Jesus in our lives we too are lost. Jesus didn’t turn His back on those people and He won’t turn His back on us either. He is coming to each of us today – in His Word and in the Blessed Sacrament to nourish each of us, to strengthen us.

And just as Jesus did then – putting aside His plans to minister to those people – so too we, as Disciples of Christ, must do, we must put aside our plans our agendas and minister to those in our lives who are in need, who are lost, especially those who don’t know Jesus.

It isn’t always easy in this culture of me, myself and I – in this materialistic world that we live in – it isn’t easy to do that – to put others first, it isn’t easy to share our gifts of time, talent and treasure even though many of us have more than we need. But Jesus teaches us today by His actions what it is that each of us is called to do – to put others and their needs first.

He also shows us that it doesn’t matter how little it is we have to offer – be it five loaves of bread and two fish – or just a little bit of our time, talent, or treasure – God takes what little we may have to offer and multiplies it to satisfy the hungry heart. Something as simple as a kind word, a simple smile, or a quiet prayer for someone can go a long way.

There was a young man – who after graduating from college moved to the west coast to work. Even though he was successful at his work he didn’t make friends easily and soon found himself alone and depressed – far from his family and friends he was isolated. His depression grew and one day he couldn’t handle it anymore and killed himself by jumping off of a bridge. When the police searched his apartment they found a suicide note: if just one person smiles at me today on my walk to work I will not jump off the bridge.

How much does a smile cost? What little each of us has to offer, God will take and work with it to save lives – each of us are called to follow the example Jesus gives us today – to put aside our own needs and concerns – to trust in God – and to serve our brothers and sisters. God will take whatever it is we have to offer and multiply it abundantly to satisfy the hungry hearts.

Who is it in our lives today that needs a kind word, who is it in our lives today that needs a little bit of our time, a simple smile, a quiet prayer or some of our attention – who is it in our lives that we are being called to be Christ to – we must search our hearts, we must take the nourishment we receive here from God’s Word and Jesus’ body and blood and share it abundantly with all those we meet.

And if we do that – in the eyes of the world we might be foolish – but our reward in heaven will be great – Amen!