I like to stay focused, staying on task to complete the project and specific things that I am working on. In this way, I can accomplish what I am working on and complete the work that I set out to do.
However, there are often situations where I am interrupted, and personally, it stresses me and is difficult for me because my mind tends to be focused on what I was working on.
Jesus, on the other hand, seemed to take interruptions in stride and seemed to place his priorities on the people that he had in front of him. This morning, I was reading in Matthew 14 that Jesus had learned of his cousin’s death and was headed off to a solitary place to pray and connect with God when suddenly a large crowd came to him.
I’m pretty sure that, if I were him, I would have likely either pushed my boat back into the water and gone to the other side, or figured out some other way to get past these people. But not Jesus. Instead, he stopped and had compassion on them.
John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.
When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
Matthew 14:12-14
I would say that is a pretty big interruption. It wasn’t even just that Jesus was trying to do something, but he was mourning. He was trying to be by himself for a while because his cousin, who was not only his family but also a very significant part of his work, had just been beheaded by a drunken puppet king. I think that would, very much, have saddened him.
But even in the midst of the sadness, Jesus stops and has compassion on the people.
It is a lesson for me. So frequently I have interruptions from people for one thing or another. Often, those things seem so silly to me as well, if I am being honest. But like Jesus, I need to be ready for those interruptions and be ready also to not reject the people, but instead have compassion and embrace them. God help me to do this!