This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.
In today’s gospel, after the Twelve return from their arduous journey preaching the message of repentance, Jesus invites them to come away by themselves and rest a while. But the crowds, not particularly empathetic to their fatigue and hungry for the Good News, figure out their destination and reach it before them.
Not annoyed at all, Jesus rather takes pity on the crowds, who are like sheep without a shepherd.
We see something of this pastoral tenderness of Jesus mirrored in how the Holy Spirit inspired the closing of the letter to the Hebrews, our first reading for today. The letter ends, not with an admonition or advice, but with a prayer for the addressees, that God Himself will carry out in them what is pleasing to Him, in Jesus Christ; that God will come to their aid in their quest to be faithful Christians.
Christian life is frightfully demanding. It is not just that the Commandments are difficult to live up to, which they are; it is that Christ wants to transform us into the very embodiment of the virtue of selfless charity, and this transformation is hard.
But Christianity is not defined by its difficulty. It is defined by that tenderness, that intoxicating tenderness, with which the Sovereign of the Universe incarnate looks upon each of us.
Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus for the gift of His intimate friendship. Ask Him also for the gift of transforming your heart into a pastoral heart, one that is continually moved to profound compassion for your fellow humans–especially those who do not possess His friendship.
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