Today’s Gospel says that Jesus was surrounded by vast crowds. People were coming and going in great numbers and Jesus had no opportunity even to eat. Why were the crowds so large? That is my question for today. Why were the crowds so large? I can think of three reasons.
Number One. They were hungering for spiritual wisdom. They were tired of listening to leaders who gave them worldly wisdom. They wanted to hear more about God’s way of doing things. So, Jesus helped them immensely when he said spiritual things like: “Forgive and you will be forgiven.” (Lk. 6:37) “Give and gifts will be given to you.” (Lk. 6:38) “Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.” (Lk. 6:37) “Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you.” (Lk. 6:27) “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (Lk. 6:31)
So that’s the first reason why the crowds were so large. They flocked to the side of Christ because he gave them spiritual wisdom and spiritual advice. He did what spiritual shepherds are supposed to do. He gave them spiritual wisdom. He gave them wisdom sayings like: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God. Give unto others without seeking reward. Forgive and you will be forgiven.”
And now for the second reason. When Jesus said, “You are my brothers and sisters if you hear my word and act upon it.” He was offering to be their companion on the journey. Jesus offered to be their brother no matter what they might encounter in life. Jesus was giving them a sense of community: a sense of belonging. And the people needed that because the Pharisees were labeling them as outcasts because they had failed to follow some of the 613 laws which they had invented.
The crowds were large because Jesus gave them something they really wanted. Namely, a sense of belonging. He did not say to the crowds, “You are my audience.” Instead, he said, “You are my sisters and brothers and we are family.” He gave them a sense of belonging
Reason Number Three for having such large crowds: His message about God’s love gave them hope.
The Pharisees had told them that God is condemning them. The Pharisees said, “If you are sick, that is a sign that God doesn’t like you. If you are poor, that’s another sign that God does not like you.” But Jesus said, “God shows no favoritism. God loves each and every one of you. When Jesus came to a town he went searching for the sick and the homebound and the lepers. Jesus included everyone in his circle of friendship. His behavior indicated that he loved each and every person. And that message filled the crowds with hope.
So the crowds around Jesus were large for three reasons: Because he gave them spiritual advice. Because he gave them a sense of belonging. And because he gave them a reason to be hopeful.
Today we are like the people in the crowd. We are asking Jesus for what we really need. We are seeking spiritual wisdom. We want Him to include us in His kingdom. And we want Him to fill our hearts with hope.
And now I would like to focus on a line in today’s Gospel. Jesus said, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest for a while.” Jesus is telling us that we have to pause and pay attention to our hearts and pay attention to how we are living our lives. Without a strong spiritual life, founded on daily prayer and meditation, we cannot do all the work we need to do and we cannot be all that we are called to be.
Action without a heart is ineffective and a heart without action is empty. We need both prayer and action. Jesus is calling us to have a compassionate heart and to serve others. Both action and contemplation! Together! We need to meditate on the words of Jesus. He said, “There is more joy in giving than in receiving.” And He also said, “Seek to serve rather than to be served.” And: “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the Children of God.”
When we say these kinds of things, we will run into opposition, like Jeremiah in the Old Testament and the disciples in the New Testament. When we say Yes to God’s call to serve as leaders, we sometimes meet with rejection. How should we respond? Jesus says “When people will not listen to you, shake the dust from your sandals and move on. Move on to other places and trust that you will be the leaven in the dough which will eventually cause the whole community to rise to new heights of ethical behavior. The leavening will not happen immediately. But then we don’t need immediate results. All we need to do is be faithful.
God is calling us to be leaders in the pattern of Christ and we need to give a faithful response to that call. We are not called to be successful; we are called to be faithful. Let’s take a moment now to ask God to strengthen us for the task. We need God’s help so that we can separate false thinking from Christian thinking. We need divine help so that we can proclaim the value system that God has called us to proclaim.
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