Lent Day 15: Making room for compassion and love

Crowds are so difficult to handle. There are crowds because of lack of space and crowds which are created because of lack of patience. The crowds which were near Jesus were not impatient crowds or created crowds but huge realistic crowds. It is surprising that Jesus and his disciples were not crushed by these crowds.

Jesus saw people at grounds, at the shore and sometimes he was on a boat and the crowd was on land. The few times he was in a house, the people thronged to see him. So much that there came a point when one could declare that there was no space anymore. St. Mark 2: 1-12 talks of such a scenario. Verse 2 says, “And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door…”

In South Asian countries and among the poor, lower middle class and even middle class in India, houses are filled with people. The family members and then other family, cousins and even friends who come to cities and towns for education and jobs. Even when the house is already full, the family opens its door and makes space for the person who seeks refuge. There is nothing practical about this and no clear space which is available and thought about. Space is created out of thin air.

Many Indians and Keralites who work abroad in the Middle East, also stay in bachelor rooms, where there are bunker beds and no privacy. The camps are even worse. Lots of hardships are undergone to make money for the family back home. In Kerala, migrant workers stay in small rooms, with little facilities and adjust so that they can save money to send to their homes in several parts of North India. Small rooms, spaces and facilities are created to accommodate people.

More people are cramped into a room which is already full. The sad reality of misuse of space is seen during illegal migration, when children and whole families are smuggled in trucks, boats and ships to Europe and America with promises of a bright future. Spaces, mostly illegal, are created and people are accommodated. Many don’t make it, while others squeeze through.

This is a sweaty, full and packed space into which the paralytic is brought by four men. The lack of space means that he is brought in through the roof. Creating space is a skill that the poor have. They have the gift of adapting to the situation and to the needs. This is seen in the case of the paralytic. There is always space for compassion, love and healing. The people there accept that and Jesus puts his seal on this with the healing.

Coming to think of it, the poor never say no, never say close and never say enough. The church should also follow this mentality and should embrace people instead of limiting crowds and making spaces exclusive. The high-rise buildings are possible because of workers living in cramped spaces, branded clothes and even toys are available at competitive prices because of sweatshops or spaces with poor working conditions. Jesus accepts the paralytic instead of asking his friends to take him out. He himself ministers to people in difficult scenarios and conditions. Amen.

Break to make

Matthew 14:14-21
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.


Jesus finishes his ministry to the crowd and it is close to evening. The disciples request Jesus to send the crowd away so that they may eat something. Jesus asks his disciples to give the people something to eat. They reply that they have only 5 loaves and 2 fish. Jesus requests the crowd to sit on the grass. He then blesses and breaks the loaves and gives to the disciples to distribute. Everyone eats their fill and 12 baskets of broken pieces are collected.

The miracle story clearly talks of a symbolic communion as Jesus breaks bread and his disciples distribute it. The passage though gives a couple of pointers to think about.

Firstly, breaking bread or in essence breaking oneself for others is a clear moment of being able to offer a solution when none is available. The disciples cannot think about a solution to the crisis of having a hungry multitude of people. This is clearly something which comes from Jesus’ unique background and experience on earth. He was born in a manger, grew up as a refugee, and trained as a carpenter. This gave him certain mundane and critical skills which someone born in a palace would not have. In the time of a crisis, this comes to the forefront and he is able to offer a solution to hunger.

Secondly, Jesus’ solution is a third world outlook of life. Jesus’ wish to break bread is an ordinary step to share what he had. This is not what we usually do but definitely something which we can do. Indians are known in the business world and other places as people who can offer solutions when there appear to be none. Jesus does just that. “The wealth of one percent of the richest people in the world amounts to $110 trillion—15x more than the wealth held by the bottom 70 percent.” Yet we struggle with poverty and scarcity. There is enough in the world for everyone and yet the mind to share does not come through.

This is when a third world mentality helps, because it associates with the mentality of Jesus. This is not easy but has to be experienced in several ways. In India, the poor share what they have in a very matter of fact way. Several of us would have noticed how the poor share the food they get on the street with one another. This is a normal reaction.

Many of us have come from an ordinary background. Today things might have changed but we can’t forget that we have been brought up in a culture of sharing. This is our strength. Jesus associated with the same culture. He continued to share even in his richness and continued to give even in his power and glory. This is what is being asked of us today. We have shown our creativity and hard work in offering solutions for business and creating jobs. Can we use the same creativity and hard work for alleviating poverty and suffering? Can we break ourselves like Jesus did and understand that in breaking and sharing lies our richness? Amen.



(Picture courtesy www.saviorsite.com)