Food for the Soul: Resting and compassion

Today is Sunday July 18, 2021. Another Sunday has come. It happenned so fast that I feel like it was the other day that I wrote a "Food for the Soul" article. And today I share another one to you. This week has been so great for me. I receive so many blessings and it is just so right to praise and thanks the Lord for all of it. So, I wake up early and attend the mass as usual. Hear the gospel and receive the Holy Eucharist. I do hope and pray that you too who read this had already attended the Sunday's mass and hear the Holy gospel. If not then let me share this good news to you.

The Holy Gospel

Mark 6:30-34

The apostles rejoined Jesus and told him all they had done and taught.

And he said to them, 'Come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while'; for there were so many coming and going that there was no time for them even to eat.

So they went off in the boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves.

But people saw them going, and many recognised them; and from every town they all hurried to the place on foot and reached it before them.

So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some length.

Source

Reflection

If you had read the last Sunday's gospel Jesus sent the apostles to do a mission which is to heal and preach the word of God. And today's gospel is connected to the last Sunday's gospel. Today the apostles had come home to rest from the mission they had. They tell the Lord the journey the have been through and Jesus ask them to rest. They plan to went to a silent place to rest but there were huge crowd of people who still followed them from a far. Jesus pitied them for they were like a lost sheep who lost their sheperd. Because of that Jesus acknowledge their presence and continue to teach them the good news even with tired and wary self.

Today's gospel I would like to ponder with this four things I highlighted.

• To rest

Everyone of us needs rest even the Lord God who created the world rest in the seventh day. Much more than us, human. The apostles in the gospel wanted to rest from the long journey of mission they had. We us human being needs rest from all of the works we had the entire week. We need to recharge ourselves for the up coming next week. But my question is, Where do you rest? How did you rest? What did you do to consider that you have rested?

Many of us consider Sunday as rest day, the day we could escape all the works. But most of us fail the essence of the true rest we needed, that is with the Lord. We fail to recognized that instead of spending time with the Lord and gain strength from within, to face another battle ahead, we spend it with drinking, and going out. That when another Monday came you are so tired and hated Monday without Monday's fault. Brothers and sisters in Christ, spend your Sunday with the Lord together with the family. Hear his good news and give thanks for all the blessings He had given to you all throughout the week. And ask for His guidance and compassion the next week. From there, I may say that you will truly had rest. If you could see how compassionate the Jesus is, that He even compromise His rest because He feel pitied. So, He spend his rest to us, to the people He love the most. May we be like Jesus who spend our rest to the people we love, and to God who truly love us.

• To followed

As we had known the crowd who followed Jesus and the apostles, even though they know that they need some rest.

May we like those crowd who always seek the Lord. May we be like the crowd who followed Jesus. And to follow means to do His act:

• The compassion

Let us be compassionate towards other people. Especially to those in need. May we be like Jesus who could compromise His comfort just to make sure others will not be left out and become an outcast.

• The love

Let us be loving towards one another, especially those who need to acquire those love. May we be like Jesus who love without asking in return. Without thinking what could He benifit out of the love He gave.

• The faith

Let us have faith to the Almighty Father that He will not leave us and He will be with us although out this journey we chose to take. Let also have faith to the people around us. Like Jesus who seen people who are like lost sheep, and teach them, with faith that they will be in the right path and be renewed.

• The mission

Let us do our mission, to seek the truth and the life, to seek the Lord. Let us do the mission that when we finally find the truth and the life, we will share it to others. Let us be like Jesus and the apostles who do the mission and spread the good news.

• The Lost Sheep

In life sometimes we are like the lost sheeps. We travel so far without knowing where to. We journey the vast world without realizing the purpose. We journey without bringing light, thus we were lost. We are like the people in the gospel today who are like the lost sheep. Who doesn't know where to go and what is the purpose. But may we be like the people in the gospel today too, who seek the Lord through Jesus. Who followed Jesus and wanting to listen the good news and be guided. Let us hear God's words for us to be enlighten and to know our purpose in this life.

• The sheperd

Seeing the crowd Jesus felt pitied and without hesitation He stand as the shepherd of the lost sheep -the crowd of people. As the Shepherd He guided the people, feed them with words of God, and lead them the life that truly matters. The life with the Lord. May we be like the people, who seek for the Shepherd when we are lost -to seek the Lord our God. May we also be like Jesus who become a shepherd to other people who are lost and need enlightenment. May we shared also the light that we see and spread it so that darkeness will be vanish and cast out.

Closing thought

Brothers and sisters in Christ I hope and pray that we will find rest in God's loving words and presence today. I hope that like the crowd of lost sheep you have followed Jesus and listen to his words and act like Jesus who is so compassionate, full of love, have faith and do his mission of sharing the good news towards other people. I hope and pray that you are not a lost sheep anymore and you have already found your shepherd -God the Father in heaven.

I also hope and pray that as you have read this article of mine today I touched your heart and mind, and you have ponder good things that strengthen your faith. That this article had serve it's purpose to fed your soul, in order for you to have strength to continue to live life everyday with meaning and purpose.

May God bless you always.

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Thank you so much for reading.

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I appreciate you all. I love you 🥰😘