Rev. David Horton

Matthew 9:35-38
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’

Reflection:
Jesus is for nerds. The Trekkies. The Star Wars rebels. Muggles still waiting on our admission letter to Hogwarts.

And those of us who took the red pill. In the 1999 classic movie The Matrix, Neo (played by Keanu Reeves) is presented with a choice. He can take the blue pill and remain in blissful ignorance of the “real world,” or he can take the red pill and be awakened to the reality of the Matrix. The Matrix is the hidden code that connects and unites us all, whether we know it or not, but once you’ve seen it, you can’t pretend anymore that you’re not part of one giant human network. Now you know there is no such thing as me, us, and them. There is only us. You must take your place in the network of the us and save as many people as you can.

Jesus taps into the power of the matrix. He feels compassion for the people who come to him for a word of hope or a healing touch. The word compassion means to “suffer with.” You feel what someone else feels. Your heart beats outside yourself, so that another person’s pain becomes your pain, and you want to do something about it. Jesus does something about it: he heals as many sick people as he can, but when he sees there are just too many for one man to handle, then he deploys the apostles, the missionaries of the movement, who must master the skill of compassion, who must feel the suffering Jesus has felt and respond in kind.

But for compassion to work, we must see the matrix. We must see that we are all connected in one giant human network. Call it “children of God.”  Call it “kinship.” Call it “one new humanity.” It’s the hidden code that binds us all together, and God is the one who wrote the code for those of us who can see it, read it, and use it. If you’ve ever felt empathy for a stranger, felt what they felt, and gone out of your way to show them a kindness, you know what I mean.

The harvest is so plentiful. The suffering in the world is so great. Will you be a harvester? Will you go with Jesus and take the red pill?

Closing Prayer:
God, we are your children, all beloved, all with sacred worth, all sinner and saint mixed together. May we feel compassion as your son, Jesus, felt compassion. May we be vulnerable to the pain of friends and strangers, and respond with kindness worthy of the name of Jesus Christ. In his name we pray. Amen.