Baby Crabs, Boulders and Jesus' Compassion

"Hiding" Might Not Be the Right Word

Last Sunday, I took some time to go down to a rocky beach close to our house and do some preparation for preaching tomorrow. I was amazingly distracted by the view of the Sound and the over large cruise ships that seems to glide past me.

Then I noticed something at my feet. The ground between the rocks seemed to scurry. Since everyone who is anyone knows the ground doesn't scurry, I had to look closer. Under every rock that I picked up was a little crab not even an inch in diameter. There seemed to be, literally, tiny crabs everywhere on the beach.

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 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 pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:35-38 ESV)

In light of why we moved our lives to Seattle, I have a question that constantly grabs my heart's attention: If the harvest is plentiful, then why does it seem so hard to find people who are, for lack of a better way to say it, ripe?

The picture that Jesus paints is not one of anxious, desperate pleading for people to come do a job, but of a real need of workers because the harvest is ready to produce. The wheat or grapes or figs are ready and waiting for someone to come grab them and it will take more workers than those who are normally in the field to harvest all of it.

So, he tells us to pray. I like that and I will pray, but...

My trouble is that the text (the Lord!) says the harvest is plentiful, but it seems like its not the workers who are few but the harvest. Right now it feels like I have to turn over a lot of rocks. The text makes it sound like every rock one overturns will produce a scampering crab. At least now, it seems like (even if the crabs are there) the rocks are boulders.

Am I reading this text rightly? I long to see Jesus express his compassion by opening the eyes of the people we are around that he is the shepherd they are longing for and didn't even know it. We long for  them to see Jesus more than I can express.

What I know now is to pray. We will pray. Maybe he will raise up compassionate workers for his harvest from his harvest. Isn't that what he always does?