Commissioning

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Commissioning

Spiritual   Harvest

Battered   Exhausted   Abandoned

Jesus' Heart Was Moved

Compassion

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Matthew 9:36

As Jesus looked out at the crowd that was following Him, His heart was moved with compassion for them. He could see that they were troubled. They seemed to Him like they were sheep without a shepherd.

Reflection

How do you feel when you sense that Jesus is asking you to do something?

Sometimes as I am praying, a person just pops into my mind. I think that maybe Jesus is asking me to reach out to that person and see how they are doing. It might also be a person who is sick and Jesus is telling me to pray for them. 

The experience is like a commissioning from Jesus. He is planting a seed in our hearts to reach out to someone else. All of a sudden we are not just thinking about ourselves and our own needs. Our vision becomes wider and we want to help someone else.

Jesus has that experience in our reading from Matthew. As He looks out at the crowd, His focus goes from the truths He wants to teach the people about the Kingdom of God to the actual lives of the people: what are they feeling?

Jesus can sense their confusion, pain, and discouragement. He can feel their spiritual needs. They need to hear Good News.

He knows that there can be a great harvest: the people are ready for the message He has come to share. It is a message of healing for those who have been battered, refreshment for those who are exhausted, and community for those who feel abandoned.

Jesus knows their needs. He can see into their souls and their hearts. He is moved to reach out to them. 

In the following verses Jesus is going to select twelve apostles to assist Him in bringing the Good News and healing to the people. He knows that this is not a task for one person. 

We are commissioned by Jesus to be ministers of compassion to the People of God. Just as He commissioned the twelve, He commissions us today. Each one of us is important. Each one of us is gifted. Each one of us has the Holy Spirit within us to guide us.

Those moments when we are praying and we get the name of someone to whom we should reach out, those are Holy Spirit moments. Jesus is asking us to make a difference with our compassion. Just as the heart of Jesus was moved, so our hearts are moved to help those who are struggling today. 

How will you respond?

1. When you are praying, do you ever get the feeling that you should reach out to someone who might need your help?

2. What do you feel that Jesus is commissioning you to do?

3. Do you sense that there is a great harvest awaiting the Church today?

4. What is your gift that Jesus wants you to share with the People of God?

5. What do you feel as you reflect on Kathy's photo?

(Scripture adaptation, reflection, and questions by John McNamara)