Loving God, you show to us through Jesus what things are most important and your love and compassion for us. Help us to continue to learn from Jesus, and fill our hearts with the peace that surpasses all understanding; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Take a moment this morning and try to put yourself in Jesus' place. He has recently been to Nazareth - his home town - where people refused to believe him and were offended that he would try to teach them (Mk. 6:1-6). In the mean time, he and his disciples have been busy teaching and healing - travelling from village to village in order to reach as many people as possible. As you can well imagine, this is work that is both tiring and draining, and so Jesus invites his disciples to come away with him to a deserted place and rest a while (Mk. 6:31). They are going to have a little retreat! And so Jesus and his disciples get into a boat and head for a deserted place.

However, by the time that they get there, the place is no longer deserted. Instead, it is filled with crowds of people who are desperate to see Jesus. Imagine that you are Jesus, and how are you going to respond? "Go away, you people. Can't you see that we need a rest?" "Don't you people have a life? Go home and stop following me around!" Maybe true for others, but not so with Jesus. He can only respond with compassion, because they are like sheep without a shepherd.

For Jesus, this is not just a one time occurrence and then he is done. At the end of today's gospel, which is further along in the same chapter in Mark, Jesus has people clamouring around him everywhere that he goes. Some come to hear him teach, and some come to be healed. Whatever their need, all of them are fed, and Jesus treats them with compassion.

How is Jesus able to do this? Would you be able to do that - surrounded by needy people all the time and treating them with compassion and love? Why is Jesus able to do this?

Perhaps we would like to say that it's because Jesus is the Son of God, but let's not be too hasty here. If we believe the Scriptures, Jesus was also fully human and shared our human experience in every way except sinning. As the letter to the Hebrews reminds us, Jesus is able to sympathize with our weaknesses because he has experienced them (Heb. 4:15). And so why is Jesus able to respond with compassion and love, in spite of rejection by some and constant clamouring by others?

There are a number of possible answers to this question, so let's look at a few of them this morning. First of all, Jesus' mission is by no means dependent upon what other people think of him. Some will accept him, and some will reject him, and that's simply the way it's going to be. Those who are always seeking the approval of others would have been devastated by the kind of reception that Jesus got in Nazareth. However, Jesus knows better than to put his self-worth in the hands of other people. His worth does not come from what other people think, but from God. "You are My Son whom I love. I am delighted with You" (Mk. 1:11 [Beck]). This is the source of Jesus' identity and self-worth. And so one reason for Jesus' response of compassion and love is that his identity, his mission and his worth as a human being all come from God, rather than from other people.

In other words, Jesus knows what is most important. The kingdom of God comes above all else, and Jesus' mission is to reveal what God's kingdom is like to as many as will receive it. And so when Jesus is faced with a crowd of hungry, hurting people, he sees, not an interruption, but the people whom God loves and who are in need of the good news of the kingdom. He is always able to teach them and heal them because this is what his mission is!

Yet, this does not mean that Jesus ignores the basic human needs for food and for rest and for quiet time in the presence of God. Our gospel tells us that the disciples hadn't even had a chance to eat lately when Jesus invites them to come on a retreat (Mk. 6:31). The part that we don't hear in today's reading is that they do get fed, along with the crowds of people that meet them on the other side of the lake. The feeding of the 5000 follows, which we will hear about in next week's gospel. So Jesus does pay attention to the need to eat every so often.

As for rest, Jesus got tired just like everybody else, and sometimes took a nap whenever he could - like the time when he fell asleep in the back of the boat. As for quiet time, this also happens in the part that we don't hear in the middle of today's gospel reading. The disciples get their quiet time out in the boat, and Jesus makes a point of going up on the mountain to pray after he dismisses the crowds (Mk. 6:45-46). And so their retreat does not take the form that they might have wanted, but their basic needs are looked after.

And so, when Jesus is met with the immediate need of the people on the other side of the lake, he makes a decision that this is more pressing than his retreat plans. His needs and the needs of the disciples still get attended to, but simply in a different time frame than what they had in mind. Again, Jesus knows what is most important: the kingdom of God where the hungry are fed and the sick are made well.

Now, one more answer to the question of why Jesus is able to respond with love and compassion to the constant throngs of people: His energy is not being drained by the things that most of us carry around with us. His energy is not being drained by fear and guilt and fixed ideas and attachments to anything other than God.

Take fear for example. Fear actually comes from our attachment to things other than God. If we are afraid, it is usually because there is something that we don't want to lose. It might be our health, or our possessions, or another person, or even our life. Yet, we are going to lose all of these things in the course of our life here on this earth. The only one who is eternal, who remains constant, is God. No matter how many other things we might lose - even our life - we are still in the hands of God. So is it really worth it to spend so much energy being afraid? God is the one who loves us and who has saved us and who delights in us. "Perfect love casts out fear," as the Scripture says (1 Jn. 4:18). Our challenge is to drop the attachments that lead to fear.

Another example: fixed ideas. Jesus could have had in his mind a fixed idea as to what kind of a retreat they would have. There would be no other people around. They would gather for prayer every 2 hours. They would eat as soon as they got there. They would have a sharing circle about the disciples' experiences this last little while. It would be a nice little getaway. Had Jesus been attached to one idea like this, he might have responded to the crowd with annoyance over ruining his plans. However, Jesus is attached only to God, and so when he sees the need of the people, he responds to it with compassion.

I have heard it said that Jesus is one of the most well-integrated people in all of history. In other words, he knows who he is, and what his purpose is, and his inner peace and love and compassion are rarely ever shaken. The only time when anxiety emerges in the life of Jesus is when he is faced with the agony of the cross - and he wouldn't be human if that didn't bother him! Yet, inner peace is not just for Jesus, but for us. We find this throughout the Scriptures.

Consider the lilies... (Mt. 6:28). Have no fear little flock (Lk. 12:32). Blessed are the pure in heart (Mt. 5:8). Is there somebody who doesn't want to hear the good news? - Don't trouble yourself. Shake the dust from your feet and go on to somebody who does want to hear it (Mk. 6:11).

"Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6-7).

It may not be easy, but with God all things are possible (Lk. 1:37)! Let us continue to learn from Jesus, to call upon his name, and to live based on God's love for us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.