Jesus, the 4th of July, and the Oak Ridge Boys

Yesterday afternoon, my wife and I went down to the St. Louis riverfront for the 4^th of July celebration, which included an air show, a concert by the Oak Ridge Boys under the Gateway Arch, and a fireworks display.

I’m a great fan of the Oak Ridge Boys as musicians, as Christians, and as Americans. Often, when I’m in a bind for a homily topic, I have turned to their songs for inspiration. This is a group that has been around for a long time. Their string of country hits goes back to at least the ‘70’s, and they were a very popular gospel group before that.

The concert was held beneath the Arch, where the grounds form sort of a natural amphitheater. We got there early enough that we were able to stake out a piece of ground fairly near the stage. At one point, I turned around and looked behind me to see the crowd and it was amazing. I have no idea how many people were there, but it was a lot! My wife said a bazillion, which is a word she often uses. I have no idea how many a bazillion is, but I would guess it was somewhere around twenty or thirty million; or at least 20 or 30 thousand.

I thought to myself, this is a multitude. When the Gospels tell us of Jesus speaking to a multitude, this must be what it looked like. Thousands of people gathered on a hillside to hear and see the master.

In today’s Gospel, Matthew tells us that Jesus was moved with pity. The people were like sheep without a shepherd. These weren’t people who came to be entertained, like the crowd yesterday on the riverfront. These people were hurting. Many of them came to be healed. Every one of them was hoping to see the promised Messiah.

As I looked back at that huge crowd, I thought to myself that Jesus would have been speaking directly to each and every person in that crowd, from the front row all the way to the very back. And He was moved by each and every one of them, just as He’s moved by each and every one of us.

He knows my problems and he knows your problems. If He could, He wouldn’t let us get into trouble. But, because God gave us a free will, we will continue to have problems. We’ll smoke cigarettes and end up with cancer. We’ll drink and drive and get into terrible accidents. We’ll make bad choices, with terrible consequences, but Christ is always there for us, to share our burdens; to help us carry the load.

At one point in the show last night, the entire crowd stood and sang “Amazing Grace”. For some of us who were sitting on the ground, the song was halfway over by the time we got up, but still it was a beautiful moment. We really were a multitude!