His Heart was Moved

 

In this coming Sunday's Gospel, Mark 6:30-34, a crowd follows Jesus and the Apostles, even though Jesus and the Apostles were trying to get away for a bit of rest.  In the reading, we hear that "when Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things."

The part that I focused on this time: "his heart was moved".  I know Jesus was all human and all divine at the same time, but it made me think about the divine part and whether God is "moved" by interaction with us.

I've heard from some people who know a lot more about Judeo-Christianity than I do, people that I respect greatly, that God never changes.  And to me that makes sense in a lot of ways.  God is eternal, after all.

But then I think about the idea that we are "in relationship with" God.  And when I think of it in that way, I tend to think that God is changed by interaction with us.    

I think of what seems to be a difference in the God of the Old Testament versus the God of the New Testament.  And it seems that the way God dealt with humanity really changed when Jesus was born.  The Old Testament is full of God's punishment.  The New Testament if full of God's grace and mercy.

It seems to me that something in God changed.  I know I am seeing things through me very limited human mind.  I know that learned theologians would probably provide great arguments to the contrary.  

But I think that at some point God's heart changed.  I want to believe that. I want to believe that God has changed through interaction and relationship with us.  We know that we have changed by interacting with God.

Peace be with you.

- The Older Brother