When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,
he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.
The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. (Mt 14:13-14)
Jesus was the Son of God. He was truly divine. Yes. That is true.
However, the other truth is that Jesus was truly human as well.
Being human, he had the same physical needs that we had. His body would react to stressors as ours do. His stomach would growl in hunger. He would perspire in heat.
One of the Lord’s needs was to be by Himself so that He could commune with His Father.
However, over and over again in the Gospels, we hear that the Lord would cut short His need because of the need of His people.
At the news of the death of John the Baptist, Jesus withdrew. But, the crowds sought Him out and, out of pity for them, He cut his own personal time short so that He could provide for the needs of His people, curing their sick.
There are many times that we find a need to withdraw from this world, to spend time alone in prayer.
At some of those times, though — perhaps most of those times — we become aware of the needs of others and are challenged to reach out to them.
FAITH ACTION: In prayer today, let us ask for the strength to reach out to others so that we may provide for their needs.