First Reading Isaiah 55:1-5
1“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. 3Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. 4Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. 5Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.”
Psalm Psalm 136:1-9, 23-26
1Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. 2Give thanks to the God of gods, for his mercy endures forever. 3Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his mercy endures forever. 4Who only does great wonders, for his mercy endures forever; 5Who by wisdom made the heavens, for his mercy endures forever; 6Who spread out the earth upon the waters, for his mercy endures forever; 7Who created great lights, for his mercy endures forever; 8The sun to rule the day, for his mercy endures forever; 9The moon and the stars to govern the night, for his mercy endures forever. 23Who remembered us in our low estate, for his mercy endures forever; 24And delivered us from our enemies, for his mercy endures forever; 25Who gives food to all creatures, for his mercy endures forever. 26Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his mercy endures forever.
Second Reading Romans 9:1-13
1I am speaking the truth in Christ — I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit — 2that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. 6But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad — in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls — 12she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
Gospel Matthew 14:13-21
13When Jesus heard {of John the Baptist’s death}, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Seeing Through the Eyes of Jesus
Last week I told you about the Air Force veteran who bought a Rolex watch that turned out to be an astounding investment. Another amazing find occurred in September of 2019, when a French woman took an old painting to an auction house to determine its value. Previously, the woman had the painting hanging in her kitchen over a hotplate.
The painting depicted Jesus being mocked before His crucifixion.
In fact, the painting was titled simply, “Christ Mocked.” Turns out, it was painted in 1280 by an Italian painter named Cimabue [Snubˈbuːe]—a forefather of the Italian Renaissance. That painting sold last year at auction for $26.8 million—the most ever paid for a medieval painting.
The reason these amazing works of art go unnoticed for decades or centuries is because it takes someone with a special skill to see their worth. Think about it, two different people looking at the exact same thing can see something different. It’s all a matter of perspective.
A woman named Siobhan [Chev-ON Ku-kolic] Kukolic, tells about a friend of hers who teaches first grade in Toronto, Canada. This friend was teaching math to a class of six-year-olds, including a group of newly arrived refugee children. The lesson that day was on fractions. The teacher explained the difference between one quarter and one half in fractions. She then asked the class to write down whether they would prefer to have one quarter of a chocolate bar or one half of a chocolate bar. The teacher was surprised by the results of that little quiz.
As she looked over their papers, she noticed that many of her refugee students wrote that they preferred one quarter of a chocolate bar instead of a half. Initially the teacher was concerned that these students hadn’t understood the lesson. But before correcting their math, she asked them why they chose one quarter of the chocolate bar rather than a half. One little girl answered, “So that more people can have a piece of chocolate.” Two groups of children looked at the same thing—in this case a chocolate bar—one group saw a delicious snack while the other saw an opportunity to share something good with others. It’s all in how you look at things.
Think about this difference in perspective as we examine our gospel passage for today. Jesus had gone off to find a remote place; most likely to grieve the loss of His cousin John the Baptist and to pray. However, Matthew tells us, “when the crowds heard it, they followed Him on foot from the towns.” And based on this passage, perhaps there were as many as 10,000 people gathered, all of them wanting to be close to Jesus.
As the day passed, the disciples got tired. They asked Jesus to send the people away. They were concerned that the people couldn’t find enough to eat in the surrounding countryside. But in reply, Jesus said the strangest thing: “They don’t need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “Say, what?” the disciples must have thought to themselves. Feed this many people? How is that possible? At this point, we need to pause a moment to remember that Jesus often led His disciples into challenging situations—situations that required courage and insight and the kind of faith that seemed too big for them. This occasion was certainly no exception. Jesus did this because He saw something they didn’t see. He had a different perspective. Jesus sees the world with God’s eyes.
Jesus sees a world where anything is possible anytime our perception and will is aligned with God’s. Thankfully, today’s gospel story gives us some basic ingredients for seeing the world as Jesus sees it. Listen again to how Matthew begins: “When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a large crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”
The first thing we need to recognize is that seeing the world as Jesus sees it begins with compassion. Question: When we look at other people, how do we initially see them? Do we see them with animosity in our hearts? Do we view them as lazy burdens on society, through the lens of political divide, as rioting thugs, as law breaking looters, as people inclined to general violence against each other, or some similar response, or, is compassion our default setting? Jesus looked at everyone He met with eyes of compassion.
Football fans know the name Joe Burrow. Burrow led LSU to last year’s national championship in college football. He also won the 2019 Heisman trophy as the nation’s most outstanding player. At the acceptance ceremony, Barrow used his moment in the spotlight to speak words of encouragement to the kids back in his hometown, Athens, Ohio.
Athens, Ohio is one of the poorest towns in the Appalachian region. Through tears, Burrow said, “. . . I’m up here for all those kids in Athens and Athens County that go home [every afternoon] to not a lot of food on the table; hungry after school.” Then he added, “You guys can be up here, too.” Within hours of Burrows’ acceptance speech, Will Drabold, from Athens County, set up a fundraising site to raise money for the Athens County Food Pantry. He was counting on Joe Burrow’s words of compassion to inspire others. And he was right.
Curious fans began searching for information on Athens County, Ohio. Within two days, generous folks around the country donated $260,000 to the Athens County Food Pantry. All because they were moved by Burrows’ compassion for the needy kids in his community. When we look out at the people of our society, how do we see them? Do we see people hurting? Do we see people frustrated? Do we see people who are scared and in need of guidance? Or, do we watch the news and shake our heads at the violence and dismiss the people involved as hoodlums, ignorant and people driven by hate and personal gain? As I’ve reminded you before, we can look at people’s actions and critique their actions, we are called to point out sin as sin. However, when we judge the person, we cross the line. Judging people is God’s job. When Jesus looks at people, He sees them through the eyes of their creator. Compassion is Jesus’ default setting.
Compassion is at the very core of Jesus’ nature. Compassion is the reason He gave up His power and authority as part of the Holy Trinity and took on human flesh and human weakness and walked among us. Jesus’ compassion for us is what led Him to die for us on the cross. He knew it was the only way to save us from our sins and restore us to God.
Anytime you walk into most Christian gatherings in any corner of the world, you’ll see a cross. Why? Because to followers of Jesus, the cross is the greatest symbol of compassion in the world. “When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. . .” He withdrew because He had just heard that His cousin, John the Baptist, had been beheaded by King Herod. What a horrendous thing to happen to someone you love and admire. So, Jesus undoubtedly wanted some time alone to grieve John’s death. But the crowds followed Him to that lonely place in hopes of receiving something that only Jesus could provide. They were desperate to hear His words or to receive a healing touch.
Now if this had been almost anyone else, they would probably have gotten angry, annoyed at the very least. They would have probably asked the disciples to send these people away or turned the boat around and left. After the death of a loved one, most of us need some me-time. But when Jesus looked at this crowd of thousands, He didn’t see a crowd, He saw hurting people in need. I heard a quote years ago that said, “There’s one thing that God cannot do. God cannot see a crowd.” This is true with Jesus. When Jesus saw the mass of people that day, He didn’t see a crowd, He saw thousands of individuals—each one made in the image of God, each one of them precious in God’s eyes. He also saw that they were hurting, and He had compassion for them.
When our default setting is one of compassion, we begin to see others as God sees them. When we see as God sees, instead of being dismissive and judgmental, we instead want to help. We find that we hurt as they hurt, and suddenly we want to do whatever it takes, because we see these people are valuable to God—and that makes them valuable to us. Seeing the world as Jesus sees the world inevitably leads to acts of compassion. The problem we face, is that too often, we have thoughts of compassion, but not often enough do these thoughts of compassion lead to acts of compassion. This could well be the reason St. James wrote that, “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:14). It’s not enough to feel compassion, we must act as well. Seeing the world through Jesus’ eyes oftentimes comes with a personal cost.
Seeing the world through Jesus’ eyes may mean giving up some of our own rights and comforts and possessions to meet the needs of others. We may feel that we don’t have enough resources to make a dent in something we feel compassionate about. But isn’t it amazing what can happen when Jesus gets involved? The crowd that day numbered some ten thousand people. Jesus tells His disciples, “You give them something to eat.” The disciples answered, “all we have are five loaves of bread and two fish.” And this is key: Jesus said, “Bring them to me.” When we’re willing to place what we have in God’s hands, miracles can happen.
There’s a couple of other things we need to take special note of here. First, Jesus used what was at hand to meet the people’s needs. Second, Jesus looked for a willing heart. Now to get the full picture, we need to go to St. John’s account of this story. In John chapter 6 we’re told that when Jesus asked what they had, they brought Him a young boy’s lunch. Jesus looks for people who are willing to give what they have in service to God’s kingdom. It’s here that we add another teaching that Jesus shared.
In Luke 16:18 we read, “Let the little children come to me,” [Jesus] said; “do not hinder them; for it is to those who are childlike that the Kingdom of God belongs. A child-like heart, willing to give what they have in service to God. It’s a simple principle, but it’s always the first step to a miracle. Jesus chooses to work through willing and faith-filled individuals. In that child’s eyes, if Jesus said it, he believed it and he willingly gave what he had. But what about you and me?
Do we hold up our schedule and say, “Lord, I don’t have time to volunteer in my community.” And Jesus looks at our schedule and says, “Bring it here to me.” We look at our bank account and say, “Lord, I don’t have any extra cash to give to the food pantry.” And Jesus looks at our bank account and says, “Bring it here to me.” We hold up our hearts and say, “Lord, I don’t have it in my heart to love that person. It’s impossible.” And Jesus looks at our heart and says, “Bring it here to me.”
When we look through Jesus’ eyes we say, “Lord, my life belongs to you. I may not have much, but whatever I am and whatever I have, use it for your kingdom.” And suddenly, we see all the needs around us, and with God’s help we find a way to meet some of those needs. When we place our faith in God and give Him what we have, we can, and will, have what we need to make a difference. Seeing the world through Jesus’ eyes starts with compassion—both thoughts of compassion and acts of compassion. Seeing the world through Jesus’ eyes often leads to miracles being performed.
After the disciples gave the child’s volunteered lunch to Jesus, Jesus took the bread and fish, gave thanks, broke them and gave them back to the disciples. And then the disciples gave them to the people in the crowd. Verse 20 says, “They all ate and were satisfied . . .” Everyone—every men, women and child—got more than enough to eat. And after they ate, the disciples collected what was left, and there were twelve basketfuls of leftovers. Everyone was satisfied and there was plenty to spare.
Seeing the world through Jesus’ eyes means being willing to share what we’ve got—our strength, our time, our intellect, our love, our money, all our resources with others for the kingdom and the glory of God. We don’t have to start with a lot of resources. We start with a lot of compassion and faith. Then God will take our resources to satisfy the needs of those around us. And miraculously, we’ll discover we have plenty of resources left over for our own needs.
I read a story recently of a little girl named Rachel Beckwith who wanted to do something for people in need. In 2011, Rachel decided to “donate” her ninth birthday to an organization called “Charity: Water.” Charity: Water is a non-profit that raises money to fund water projects around the world. Since 2006, they have funded 30,000 water projects in 26 countries and provided clean drinking water to over 8 million people. They have saved hundreds of thousands of people who would have suffered from preventable diseases or even died from drinking unclean water.
One of the many ways that Charity: Water raises money for their projects is to convince celebrities to “donate” their birthday to the charity. Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, Justin Bieber, Kristen Bell and Jessica Biel are just a few of the celebrities who have asked family, friends and fans to donate money to Charity: Water in honor of their birthday. Rachel Beckwith wasn’t a celebrity, but she decided to donate her birthday, with a goal of raising $300 for the charity. She raised $220.
Sadly, just a few weeks after her ninth birthday, Rachel died in a car accident. News media sources across the country spread the story of this generous child and her tragic death, and strangers began making donations to Charity: Water in Rachel’s honor. To date, $1.3 million dollars has been donated in honor of Rachel—enough money to provide clean water to over 37,000 people.
Rachel Beckwith saw the world with eyes of compassion. Instead of asking for presents for her birthday, she “donated” her birthday for others; a simple act of love and faith. And her compassion inspired people all over the world to give to Charity: Water. Today 37,000 people around the world have clean water because of her decision to place what she had in God’s hands and trust that God would use it for His kingdom.
What about us? Do we shut our eyes to the hurting people around us because we don’t think we can make a difference, or we don’t think it’s our responsibility? Jesus is looking at us, just as He looked at His disciples, and says, “They don’t need to go away. You give them something to eat [or drink or something to wear or a place to live, or simply a kind word!].” Jesus didn’t go off by Himself that day to plan a picnic; but when He saw the people, He had compassion for them. He then took that opportunity to train His disciples, and us, to see the world through His eyes and thereby help establish the kingdom of God here on earth. The good news is, He’s still doing that today.
Whenever you or I see a need, no matter how large or small it may be, no matter how small our resources might seem, we need to start by looking through the eyes of compassion and then, in faith, trust Jesus with what we have. If we’ll do this, we’ll begin to see the miracles God can do through us and through all those who see the world through Jesus’ eyes. Amen
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