Lent Meditation Day 9
After the death of John the Baptist, Jesus tried to withdraw from the crowds, but they followed him.
A Note from Ruth
These meditations are a reflection of my personal journey through Lent at a time when I was experiencing deep spiritual growth and learning what it means to grow in community as a student at the Academy for Formation and Mission. In part, I wrote them to process my own thoughts, but mainly to share those contemplations, because I felt they were meant to be experienced by others. My hope was to encourage others to go deep, to see God and Lent with a new perspective, and to self-reflect in a way that brings hope.
He was grieving, but he did not turn them away. It was there that the miracle of the loaves and fishes took place and the crowds were fed. Only after they were cared for did Jesus send them away, along with the disciples. Then he went up to the mountain by himself to pray.
Jesus needed to be with God in his grief. He needed the replenishment that only God can bring when we are weary from the demands and sorrow life brings us. Jesus put others first because they were his purpose on earth, but he did not forget himself and his own needs. This lent, let us remember to find time away with God and to replenish our souls, so that we can once again feed the people God brings into our lives.