By: Mauro Russo
Editor’s Note: Articles originally published on Pane Vivo.
A Reflection on Matthew 14:13-21
Jesus left the house, crossed the sea and withdrew to a deserted place. But the crowd followed him. And seeing them, he had compassion on them and healed the sick. This is the heart of Matthew 14:13-21, and every time I read it I stop on one word alone: compassion.
It is not the same as duty. It is not the same as giving alms. I can give alms without feeling anything for that person, for their poverty, for their pain. The gesture is concrete but remains cold, antiseptic. Compassion is something else: it is entering into another person’s pain, taking it on, feeling it as your own.
Jesus did not heal to build an audience. He had no need of recognition. He was the Almighty. Jesus healed because he loved. And those he healed felt it: they felt understood, not merely assisted.
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