THE MEANING OF COMPASSION
MATTHEW 25:34-40
Rev. Paul Wrightman 9/26/21
MANY YEARS AGO, A SMALL BOY WHOSE PARENTS HAD DIED
LIVED WITH HIS GRANDMOTHER,
HIS ONLY REMAINING RELATIVE.
ONE NIGHT THEIR HOUSE CAUGHT FIRE.
THE GRANDMOTHER, TRYING TO RESCUE
THE LITTLE BOY ASLEEP UPSTAIRS,
PERISHED FROM SMOKE INHALATION.
A CROWD GATHERED AROUND THE BURNING HOUSE.
THE BOY’S CRIES FOR HELP WERE HEARD
ABOVE THE ROARING OF THE BLAZE.
NO ONE SEEMED TO KNOW WHAT TO DO,
FOR THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE WAS A MASS OF FLAMES.
SUDDENLY A STRANGER RUSHED FROM THE CROWD
AND CIRCLED TO THE BACK
WHERE HE SPOTTED AN IRON PIPE
THAT REACHED AN UPSTAIRS WINDOW.
HE DISAPPEARED FOR A MINUTE,
THEN REAPPEARED WITH THE BOY IN HIS ARMS.
AMID THE CHEERS OF THE CROWD,
HE CLIMBED DOWN THE HOT PIPE
AS THE BOY HUNG AROUND HIS NECK.
WEEKS LATER A PUBLIC HEARING WAS HELD IN THE TOWN HALL
TO DETERMINE IN WHOSE CUSTODY THE BOY WOULD BE PLACED.
EACH PERSON WANTING TO CARE FOR THE YOUNG CHILD
WAS ALLOWED TO SPEAK BRIEFLY.
THE FIRST PERSON SAID, “I HAVE A BIG FARM.
EVERYBODY NEEDS THE OUT-OF-DOORS.”
THE SECOND PERSON TOLD OF THE ADVANTAGES
SHE COULD PROVIDE. “I AM A TEACHER.
I HAVE A LARGE LIBRARY. HE WOULD GET A GOOD EDUCATION.”
OTHERS SPOKE.
FINALLY THE RICHEST MAN IN THE COMMUNITY SAID,
“I’M WEALTHY. I COULD GIVE THE BOY
EVERYTHING MENTIONED TONIGHT:
FARM, EDUCATION, AND MORE, INCLUDING MONEY AND TRAVEL.
I’D LIKE HIM IN MY HOME.”
THE CHAIRMAN ASKED, “ANYONE ELSE LIKE TO SAY A WORD?”
FROM THE VERY BACK ROSE A STRANGER
WHO HAD SLIPPED IN UNNOTICED.
AS HE WALKED TOWARD THE FRONT,
DEEP SUFFERING SHOWED ON HIS FACE.
REACHING THE FRONT OF THE ROOM,
HE STOOD DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE LITTLE BOY.
SLOWLY THE STRANGER REMOVED HIS HANDS FROM HIS POCKETS.
A GASP WENT UP FROM THE CROWD.
THE LITTLE BOY, WHOSE EYES HAD BEEN FOCUSED
ON THE FLOOR UNTIL NOW, LOOKED UP.
THE MAN’S HANDS WERE TERRIBLY SCARRED.
SUDDENLY THE BOY UTTERED A CRY OF RECOGNITION.
HERE WAS THE MAN WHO HAD SAVED HIS LIFE.
HIS HANDS WERE SCARRED FROM CLIMBING UP AND DOWN
THE HOT PIPE.
WITH A LEAP THE BOY THREW HIMSELF
AROUND THE STRANGER’S NECK AND HELD ON FOR LIFE.
THE FARMER ROSE AND LEFT.
THE TEACHER, TOO.
THEN THE RICH MAN.
EVERYONE DEPARTED, LEAVING THE BOY AND HIS RESCUER
WHO HAD WON HIM WITHOUT A WORD.
THOSE MARRED HANDS SPOKE MORE EFFECTIVELY
THAN ANY WORDS.
COMPASSION IS A PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT WORD
IN THE GOSPELS.
THE STORIES TOLD ABOUT JESUS SPEAK OF HIM
AS HAVING COMPASSION
AND OF HIS BEING MOVED WITH COMPASSION.
THE WORD ALSO REPRESENTS THE SUMMATION
OF HIS TEACHING ABOUT BOTH GOD AND THE MORAL LIFE.
FOR JESUS, COMPASSION WAS THE CENTRAL QUALITY OF GOD
AND THE CENTRAL MORAL QUALITY OF A LIFE CENTERED IN GOD.
THESE TWO ASPECTS OF COMPASSION
ARE COMBINED MOST CLEARLY AND COMPACTLY
IN A SINGLE VERSE FROM THE GOSPEL OF LUKE:
BE COMPASSIONATE AS GOD IS COMPASSIONATE.
(Luke 6:36)
THIS CRYSTALLIZATION OF JESUS' MESSAGE
SPEAKS OF A WAY OF LIFE
GROUNDED IN AN IMITATIO DEI -- AN IMITATION OF GOD.
IMAGE OF GOD AND THE MORAL LIFE --
WHAT GOD IS LIKE AND HOW WE ARE CHALLENGED TO LIVE --
ARE BROUGHT TOGETHER.
MOREOVER, FOR JESUS COMPASSION
WAS NOT SIMPLY AN INDIVIDUAL VIRTUE,
BUT A SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PARADIGM
EXPRESSING HIS ALTERNATIVE VISION
OF HUMAN LIFE IN COMMUNITY.
IN THE HEBREW BIBLE,
WHICH CHRISTIANS TYPICALLY CALL THE OLD TESTAMENT
AND WHICH WAS SACRED SCRIPTURE FOR JESUS
AND HIS JEWISH CONTEMPORARIES,
THE WORD COMPASSION HAS RICH ASSOCIATIONS.
IN HEBREW, THE WORD USUALLY TRANSLATED AS "COMPASSION"
IS THE PLURAL OF A NOUN
THAT IN ITS SINGULAR FORM MEANS "WOMB."
IN THE HEBREW BIBLE, COMPASSION IS BOTH A FEELING
AND A WAY OF BEING THAT FLOWS OUT OF THAT FEELING.
IN TERMS OF FEELING, COMPASSION MEANS "TO FEEL WITH,"
AS EVEN THE ETYMOLOGY OF THE ENGLISH WORD SUGGESTS:
PASSION COMES FROM THE LATION WORD THAT MEANS "TO FEEL;"
AND THE PREFIX COM MEANS "WITH."
COMPASSION THUS MEANS FEELING THE FEELINGS
OF SOMEONE ELSE IN A VISCERAL WAY,
AT THE LEVEL OF THE HEART RATHER THAN THE LEVEL OF THE HEAD.
MOST COMMONLY COMPASSION IS ASSOCIATED WITH
FEELING THE SUFFERING OF SOMEONE ELSE
AND BEING MOVED BY THAT SUFFERING TO DO SOMETHING.
THAT IS, THE FEELING OF COMPASSION
LEADS TO BEING COMPASSIONATE.
QUITE OFTEN THE HEBREW WORDS
FOR COMPASSION AND COMPASSIONATE
ARE TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH AS MERCY AND MERCIFUL.
BUT COMPASSION IS QUITE DIFFERENT FROM MERCY,
AND BEING COMPASSIONATE IS QUITE DIFFERENT
FROM BEING MERCIFUL.
IN ENGLISH MERCY AND MERCIFUL MOST COMMONLY IMPLY
A SUPERIOR IN RELATIONSHIP TO A SUBORDINATE,
AND OFTEN IMPLIES A SITUATION OF WRONGDOING:
ONE IS MERCIFUL TOWARD SOMEBODY
TO WHOM ONE HAS THE RIGHT AND THE POWER
TO ACT OTHERWISE.
COMPASSION, ON THE OTHER HAND,
ASSUMES A RELATIONSHIP AMONG EQUALS,
ONE OF WHOM IS ABLE TO FEEL THE SUFFERING OF THE OTHER
AND IS MOVED BY THIS FEELING TO DO SOMETHING
TO HELP ALLEVIATE THE SUFFERING OF THE OTHER.
COMPASSION AND AN OPEN HEART GO TOGETHER.
AND AN OPEN HEART AND SEEING GO TOGETHER.
WE SEE MORE CLEARLY WHEN OUR HEARTS ARE OPEN --
WE SEE THE PERSON RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR FACE,
WE SEE THE LANDSCAPE STRETCHED OUT BEFORE US.
WE MOVE FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT,
FROM NIGHT TO DAY, WHEN WE SEE
WITH THE EYES OF OUR HEART ENLIGHTENED WITH COMPASSION.
AN OPEN HEART IS ALIVE TO WONDER,
TO THE SHEER MARVEL OF "ISNESS."
IT IS REMARKABLE THAT THE WORLD IS,
THAT WE ARE HERE, THAT WE CAN EXPERIENCE IT.
THE WORLD IS NOT ORDINARY.
INDEED, WHAT IS REMARKABLE
IS THAT IT COULD EVER LOOK ORDINARY TO US.
AN OPEN HEART KNOWS RADICAL AMAZEMENT.
AN OPEN HEART AND GRATITUDE GO TOGETHER.
WE CAN FEEL THIS IN OUR BODIES.
AN OPEN HEART, COMPASSION, AND A PASSION FOR JUSTICE
GO TOGETHER.
AN OPEN HEART FEELS THE SUFFERING AND PAIN OF THE WORLD
AND RESPONDS TO IT.
AN OPEN HEART LEADS TO A NEW WAY OF LIVING.
WHAT IS THIS NEW LIFE LIKE?
IT IS ENORMOUSLY ATTRACTIVE.
IT IS THE LIFE OF RECONNECTION WITH GOD.
IT IS THE LIFE OF THE RETURNED PRODIGAL,
WELCOMED HOME FROM EXILE.
IT IS THE LIFE OF THE ELDER SON
WHO FINALLY DECIDES TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PARTY
THROWN FOR HIS YOUNGER BROTHER.
ST. PAUL SPEAKS OF THIS NEW LIFE "IN CHRIST"
IN THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY TERMS.
IT IS MARKED BY FREEDOM, JOY, PEACE, AND LOVE,
FOUR OF HIS FAVORITE WORDS:
THE JOY OF THE EXUBERANT LIFE;
THE PEACE OF RECONNECTION TO WHAT IS,
THE PEACE THAT PASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING;
AND LOVE -- THE LOVE OF GOD FOR US
AND THE LOVE OF GOD IN US.
PAUL AND THE OTHER AUTHORS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
COINSISTENTLY SEE THESE QUALITIES
AS THE "FRUIT" OF THE SPIRIT, AS "GIFTS" OF THE SPIRIT.
THEY ARE THE FRUIT NOT OF HUMAN STRIVING,
BUT OF A NEW IDENTITY AND NEW WAY OF BEING --
THE FRUIT, THE PRODUCT, OF CENTERING ONE'S LIFE IN GOD,
IN THE SPIRIT.
PAUL'S MOST FAMOUS DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW LIFE
IS FOUND IN 1 CORINTHIANS 13,
OFTEN CALLED PAUL'S "HYMN TO LOVE."
PAUL BEGINS THIS HYMN BY WRITING:
"IF I SPEAK IN THE TONGUES OF MORTALS AND OF ANGELS,
BUT DO NOT HAVE LOVE,
I AM A NOISY GONG OR A CLANGING CYMBAL.
AND IF I HAVE PROPHETIC POWERS,
AND UNDERSTAND ALL MYSTERIES AND ALL KNOWLEDGE,
AND IF I HAVE ALL FAITH, SO AS TO REMOVE MOUNTAINS,
BUT DO NOT HAVE LOVE, I AM NOTHING.
IF I GIVE AWAY ALL MY POSSESSIONS,
BUT DO NOT HAVE LOVE, I GAIN NOTHING."
THIS AFFIRMATION SOUNDS AGAIN AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER
IN PAUL'S MEMORABLE TRIAD OF FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE.
HE WRITES:
"AND NOW FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE ABIDE, THESE THREE;
AND THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE."
FOR PAUL, LOVE IS THE PRIMARY GIFT OF GOD'S SPIRIT,
INDEED THE DEFINITIVE GIFT.
THE SAME IS TRUE FOR JESUS.
FOR JESUS, THE PRIMARY QUALITY OF A LIFE CENTERED IN GOD
IS COMPASSION.
AS WE HAVE SEEN, WHEN JESUS SUMS UP
THEOLOGY AND THE MORAL LIFE IN A FEW WORDS, HE SAYS:
"BE COMPASSIONATE AS GOD IS COMPASSIONATE."
WHERE PAUL USES THE WORD "LOVE,"
JESUS USES THE WORD "COMPASSION."
THUS GROWTH IN LOVE, GROWTH IN COMPASSION,
IS THE PRIMARY QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE SPIRIT.
DR. RACHEL NAOMI REMEN DESCRIBES THE FOLLLOWING EXPERIENCE
IN HER BOOK MY GRANDFATHER'S BLESSINGS:
"I SPENT A FEW WEEKS ONE APRIL
IN THE FOUR CORNERS AREA OF UTAH
IN A LITTLE TOWN CALLED BLUFF,
CELEBRATING THE BIRTHDAY OF A FRIEND OF MINE.
ON EASTER MORNING WE ATTENDED
AN EPISCOPAL CHURCH SERVICE
CELEBRATED BY A NATIVE AMERICAN BISHOP.
WITH THE EXCEPTION OF MY FRIENDS AND MYSELF,
THE CONGREGATION WAS MOSTLY NAVAHO.
THE BISHOP WAS A MIDDLE-AGED MAN
OF GREAT PERSONAL INTEGRITY,
AND THE SERVICE WAS BEAUTIFUL.
DRESSED IN A WHITE ROBE
WITH A WOVEN SCARF OF NATIVE AMERICAN SYMBOLISM
AROUND HIS NECK,
HE SEEMED DEEPLY MOVED BY THE OCCASION
AND THE STORY OF THE RESURRECTION.
MOST OF THE SERMON WAS IN NAVAHO,
THE BISHOP READING FROM THE BIBLE
IN A VOICE FILLED WITH EMOTION.
THEN HE GLANCED OVER TOWARD US.
WE HAD NOT UNDERSTOOD A WORD.
WITH A DEEP COURTESY HE BEGAN TO REPEAT THE SERMON
AND THE READING FOR US IN ENGLISH.
HIS ENGLISH WAS PERFECT,
BUT THE PASSION OF THE FIRST READING
WAS SIMPLY NOT THERE.
HE STRUGGLED ON,
TRYING TO MAKE THE ENGLISH WORDS TRANSPARENT
TO THE PROFOUND MEANING OF THE STORY.
FINALLY HE LOOKED UP AND,
ABANDONING HIS BIBLE,
SPOKE TO US FROM THE DEPTHS OF HIS HEART.
'THIS MAN JESUS,' HE SAID AND PAUSED.
'THIS MAN JESUS, HE IS GOOD MEDICINE.'"
DR. REMEN CONTINUES:
"THIS MOMENT CHANGED ME PROFOUNDLY.
FOR YEARS I HAD TRIED TO BE A GOOD DOCTOR
AND PRACTICE GOOD MEDICINE.
I HAD TAUGHT MANY OTHERS TO PRACTICE GOOD MEDICINE,
FIRST PEDIATRICS AND THEN MIND/BODY MEDICINE.
BUT THE BISHOP'S WORDS POINTED TO SOMETHING MORE,
AND IN THE DEPTHS OF MY BEING
I RECOGNIZED WHAT THIS WAS.
PERHAPS WHAT IS NEEDED IS NOT ONLY TO LEARN
GOOD MEDICINE, BUT TO BECOME GOOD MEDICINE.
AS A PARENT.
A FRIEND OR A DOCTOR.
SOMETIMES JUST BEING IN SOMEONE'S PRESENCE
IS STRONG MEDICINE."
ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT COMMUNITY CHURCH
IS THAT WE HAVE A CHURCH
THAT IS COMPOSED OF CARING AND COMPASSIONATE PEOPLE,
PERSONS WHO ARE GOOD MEDICINE,
ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO SHOWING CARE AND COMPASSION
FOR THOSE WITHOUT HOMES.
THIS TELLS US SOMETHING VERY SIGNIFICANT ABOUT OURSELVES.
WE ARE A CHURCH THAT IS ACTIVELY INVOLVED
IN BEING THE HEART AND HANDS OF CHRIST SERVING OTHERS.
WE ARE A CHURCH LIVING OUT JESUS' CHALLENGE
TO FEED THE HUNGRY, CLOTHE THOSE IN NEED,
AND WELCOME THE STRANGER.
TO ECHO THE WORDS OF THE NATIVE AMERICAN BISHOP,
WE ARE A CHURCH THAT SIMPLY IS GOOD MEDICINE.
THANKS BE TO GOD!
AMEN.