At the sight of the crowds, Jesus' heart is moved with pity. This is literally in Greek his inward parts, the guts. With every fiber of his flesh and blood and divinity, Jesus expresses this compassion that God feels for us. Our sufferings, and pains and the trap of our sinfulness wrench Jesus’ guts, he feels it all in his innards - a “visceral” love. Jesus is moved; he is the mercy of God enfleshed. And this mercy gushes forth from his heart; he can’t hold it back; his mercy expresses itself as he cures “every disease and illness.” And even now his heart is brimming over with tenderness and compassion, indulgence and mercy for us, because, he sees that we are “troubled and abandoned.” Jesus sees into our hearts, knows all the stories we are, the stories we bring. He sees our confusion, pain, and incompleteness, our sinfulness, and his heart is magnetized by our need for him.
Photograph of the lancet window in the transept of the Abbey church by Brother Brian.
