1 Samuel 9:16: Plight
Wednesday, February 23, 2022
The Lord said to Samuel, “For I have witnessed their misery and accept their cry for help”.
Yahweh leads the Hebrew nation from slavery to freedom. The Lord guides Joshua as the tribes move into a promised land. God continues to abide with the faithful as they struggle through cycles in which they abandon God and return. We see God’s infinite capacity to heal and restore throughout the Old Testament. When Jesus arrives to incarnate God’s Word we are given a leader to follow, a brother to lean on, a vision of the world as it might be.
Matthew tells us in his Gospel: Seeing the people, Jesus felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36)
Mark tells us how Jesus feeds thousands from very little because of the compassion he feels for the faithful. In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and said to them, “I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with me now three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.” (Mark 8:1-3. Read more of this story at Mark 8:1-13)
The message is clear. When we suffer distress, we must call on God. When we see others who suffer, we must do all that we can to relieve their plight. In this way we deepen our relationships with others and with God. In this way we prepare for the Easter promise. In this way we become Christ for one another.
If there is time today, read more of the story about how Samuel listens to God’s word. Or spend time with the Gospels looking for signs of God’s care for us today.
To learn more about the plight of the homeless and how we might feed them, click on the image above or visit: http://www.mohmsplace.org/2012/06/feeding-multitude.html
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