Many of us yearn for calm in our
busy lives and space to reflect, especially when touched by strong emotions.
The news of John the Baptist’s death must have been terrible news for Jesus to
hear. He set out to be alone. But he arrived to find more crowds of people, who
had followed him by foot into a remote place, hungry to see and hear him… and
by the end of the day hungry also for food.
Even when the disciples proposed to send
them home, Jesus combined compassion with miracle, healing them and feeding them.
Later, after finally finding the
prayer-space he was seeking, Jesus then reconfirmed his divine power to his
disciples in dramatic fashion. Walking on water, he had mastery over the
element which held constant fear and danger for his fisherman friends.
As we contemplate these two
incidents together in Advent, we strive to reach out to others in constant
compassion, even in our tired and busy moments. And Peter teaches us that to do
this without sinking, we’ll need to keep our eyes not on the stormy sea around
us, but on Jesus.
Mags Bird
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