Matthew 8 & 9--The Compassion of the Christ

Just as the previous two days' readings have had a common theme woven in them, so too does today's reading. As we read through the stories of Jesus performing these miracles there is a common theme of compassion on the part of Jesus that is present in virtually each story we read.
Compassion, quite simply, is being aware of what someone else is going through and having the desire to alleviate it. I wonder how often we have thought of Jesus as compassionate; knowing what we are going through and wanting to make things better. One of my favorite mental images of Jesus is that of Jesus looking intently at a person or situation with his eyes full of concern and love. I like to think that each of the people we encounter in these two chapters saw a look similar to what I have just described--all those who recieved healing, those who had their life restored, and those who sat terrified in a boat.
Throughout the gospels, as we will see, some feel that their troubles would be an inconvinience to Jesus; they feel that he has better things to do or that they aren't worth His time or trouble. I love what Jesus says to leper in 8:3, "I am willing". What a powerful reminder that Jesus is always willing to show compassion and to be the relief and hope we humans constantly need! I believe that Jesus is still willing to show compassion today. Note one thing, though. In each of the instances where Jesus demonstrates compassion, someone asked Jesus to do something. I have to belief their asking was out of desperation; what if we asked Jesus long before we got to the desperate state? How much heartache would that save us?
One other thing I want to note about this passage. In 9:38, Jesus looks at those who have surrounded him and declares that the harvest is ripe; the harvest was ripe with people looking for the Good News God declares in Jesus. However, there were few laborers to proclaim this Good News. Jesus encourages those around Him to pray for workers for the field--that is, to pray that God would send someone to do this proclaiming. Will join me in praying for this same thing? The harvest is ripe with people who are in need of Jesus' compassionate touch. There are those who are ready to hear and receive the Good News of Jesus. All they need is someone who will tell them of the compassion of the Christ. May God continue to call workers into God's harvest field!