John the Baptist had been murdered, executed by King Herod to satisfy a grudge of his sister-in-law. When told the news Jesus withdrew to a deserted place to grieve the loss of his cousin.
However, when his location was discovered, large crowds showed up. Instead of being upset that his solitude was broken, Jesus showed compassion healing the sick.
In this story from Matthew 14 Jesus teaches three valuable lessons about compassion and grief.
First: Jesus Shows That Grief Is Compassion. Jesus proves that it is alright to show compassion as he grieves the loss of a loved one. In our microwave society folks may show grief at the funeral but not much beyond. Jesus understood the significance of his loss and that the compassionate thing to do was to grieve.
Second: Jesus Understood The Compassion Of Selfcare. In his grief Jesus withdrew for a time of solitude and self-reflection. Whatever the situation we need to be compassionate to ourselves and practice selfcare.
Third: Jesus Demonstrates That In Grief We Can Be Compassionate To Others. Out of grief can come the discovery of that compassion can be of service to others. Jesus was the first rockstar, and even without GPS tracking it was simply a matter of time that his cone of solitude would be broken. But despite his grief Jesus, understood his mission and in honor of John the Baptist he showed compassion healing those who had come.
Grief Is Compassion, Compassion Is Selfcare, and From Grief Comes
Compassion To Others are three lessons from Jesus about grief and compassion.
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