Today, Rev. Kim Dunn (Pastor Kim) shared a message at Burks UMC from Matthew 14:13-21 about the "5 Loaves, 2 Fish". It wasn't the story that caught my attention today, but rather the reflection behind the scenes that she offered.
Scripture:
13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. 15 When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And all ate and were filled, and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
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Pastor Kim noted the "now" in verse 13- "now when Jesus heard this"-- what did Jesus hear? How did that affect him?
Jesus had just learned that his cousin John was beheaded. His response? He withdrew from the place he was to go to a deserted place by himself. Jesus needed time alone after hearing that devastating news.
The crowds also heard the news and followed Jesus on foot. Jesus had taken off to get away, to grieve. The people were also likely in shock, in grief. They wanted and needed to be near Jesus, the one that had become their teacher.
Notice Jesus' response in verse 14. He went ashore and saw the crowd. He had compassion for them. Wow. I would have been very tempted to get back in the boat and head somewhere else. Dang, Jesus. You modeled something different for us. You modeled servant leadership in the midst of grief and pain. Jesus had compassion for the crowd. He understood that they were suffering too. Instead of abandoning them in their time of grief, Jesus offered compassion from his place of grief.
As Pastor Kim shared, I wrote these words on the back of the bulletin. "In Jesus' grief, he had compassion on the crowd. He met them where they were. He ministered to them. Compassion-- even while grieving. Compassion-- especially when grieving."
Jesus offered compassion by curing the sick and them feeding them.
Jesus offered his gifts, his grace, his presence at a time that he was also grieving.
We know that in order to serve others, we must take care of ourselves first. Jesus was intending to do just that--- to get away for a time for reflection and grief. Yet, before he could take care of his needs, his compassion led to him helping the crowd.
That speaks of discernment to me. There are times when we get away and give ourselves time to heal. There are other times that we can offer compassion, grace, and healing to others while we are grieving. Here are some questions that come to mind for me:
- Where, how, with whom am I called to offer compassion?
- How can I offer compassion when I am grieving?
- What does it mean to follow Jesus' example here?
Merriam-Webster defines "compassion" as this:
"a feeling of wanting to help someone who is sick, hungry, in trouble, etc."
“Compassion.” Merriam-Webster.com Simple Definition, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/simple/compassion. Accessed 2 Aug. 2026.
Jesus modeled compassion for us, even as he was grieving.
May we follow his example and do likewise.
Deb
