Just how much time did Jesus get before the crowds found him in his solitude?
Jesus’ cousin was just beheaded by Herod, the king who was supposedly to take care of the Jewish people. Perhaps Jesus saw it coming. But the pain had to be real. Real enough that he decided to go somewhere alone.
…which apparently is okay. We know that, right?
It’s okay to set aside planned time for solitude. And it’s okay when circumstances of life would cause us to take a time out from it all. The rat race is not the kingdom of heaven.
But those crowds didn’t leave Jesus alone, did they? And it says he had compassion for them. And then he fed them.
Matthew 14:13-21
When Jesus heard about John, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. When the crowds learned this, they followed him on foot from the cities. When Jesus arrived and saw a large crowd, he had compassion for them and healed those who were sick. That evening his disciples came and said to him, “This is an isolated place and it’s getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
But Jesus said to them, “There’s no need to send them away. You give them something to eat.”
They replied, “We have nothing here except five loaves of bread and two fish.”
He said, “Bring them here to me.” He ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves of bread and the two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed them and broke the loaves apart and gave them to his disciples. Then the disciples gave them to the crowds. Everyone ate until they were full, and they filled twelve baskets with the leftovers. About five thousand men plus women and children had eaten.
Prayer
God,
Give me patience for people.
Including me.
By your spirit & in Christ,
Amen.