M is for Murder…and Math

It is difficult to see someone lose their life. I can remember standing by as paramedics worked to save the life of a guy stabbed during a bar fight and, in a separate incident, a homeless man hit by a guy showing off on a motorcycle. (The motorcyclist died as well.) In each of these cases, I asked the paramedics if these men would make it. They all said the same thing, “He’s gone."

Some days are like that in police work. The stress of these events takes their toll and at the end of a shift, it is good to be able to go home and decompress. Tired and fatigued from seeing firsthand the evil people can do, I looked forward to sitting on my couch, watching a sporting event on TV and enjoying a cold beverage. There were days, however; when I walked through my front door to find anything but a fortress of solitude filled with peace and tranquility. I would face a despondent, stressed out and panicked daughter for whom the world was ending because she could not understand the math concepts for a test the next day. For my child, it did not matter that I stood over a person dying from traumatic injuries four hours earlier; she needed her Dad to help her now. My compassion for my daughter was greater than my fatigue from a day at work and my evening would be fractions not football.

In Matthew 14, Jesus learned that John the Baptist was beheaded on the orders of King Herod. John was a relative of Jesus and John baptized him at the beginning of his ministry. Jesus was heartbroken and, “withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.” (Matthew `4:13) I think he wanted to pray for John, his family and have some time to mourn. I wonder if his destination was a place he visited in the past; a nice, out of the way location that offered a quiet location to reflect. He rounded a point and the beach was anything but secluded. The word got out and the people throughout the countryside were waiting for him. Jesus did not reverse course and head out on the lake; he did not abandon the boat and walk on the beach or across the water; he landed the boat, had compassion on the crowd and healed their sick.

The miracles did not end with the healing of the sick, Jesus would perform one of the most public and amazing miracles of his ministry. He fed 5,000 men and probably just as many women and children with leftovers to spare. Not bad seeing as he started with five loaves and two fish. No one could stretch food like Jesus.

We will all face times of sadness, fatigue and a desire to take a break from the harsh realities of life. In those moments, when the last thing you want to do is engage with the world; God will call you to perform miracles. You will be a point of hope for a soul that is struggling.God will even give you the strength to solve a math problem. 

Isaiah 40:28-31 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”