Posted by The WORD in Other Words by Fr Bernard Collera SVD (Philippines) for Wednesday After Epiphany
Prayer can provide a perspective much broader than our experience can afford. Jesus must have realized that his disciples may have been so tired. Remember they had just come back from the mission (Jesus sent them out in pairs, Mk. 6: 711), and they told Jesus their wonderful experience despite their lacking the time to eat! Then the people came and followed them, and Jesus had compassion on them, entertaining them by his teaching, perhaps forgetting that his disciples also needed to rest! Just as He had compassion on the 5,000, so did he extend that compassion on the twelve disciples. Seeing them terrified, he comforted them and rode the boat with them.
This really shows the kind of leadership Jesus had for his disciples. And this leadership became enhanced in prayer. The effect of that prayer was a broadened heart, a kinder spirit. It may not have immediately effected faith in the disciples’ hearts, but it managed to plant in that seed. It is the Spirit Who nurtures the faith, making it grow slowly until maturity.
Lord, help us when we are confronted with our own limitations, our disappointments. Help us to remember what Jesus did: placing everything before you in prayer, seeking your guidance, seeking your light to understand the situation we‘re all in. In seeing your way, may we live it so others may believe.
