Jesus answered, "There was once a man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him, stripped him, and beat him up, leaving him half dead. It so happened that a priest was going down that road; but when he saw the man, he walked on by on the other side. In the same way a Levite also came there, went over and looked at the man, and then walked on by on the other side. But a Samaritan who was traveling that way came upon the man, and when he saw him, his heart was filled with pity. He went over to him, poured oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them; then he put the man on his own animal and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Take care of him,' he told the innkeeper, 'and when I come back this way, I will pay you whatever else you spend on him.' " And Jesus concluded, "In your opinion, which one of these three acted like a neighbor toward the man attacked by the robbers?" The teacher of the Law answered, "The one who was kind to him." Jesus replied, "You go, then, and do the same." (luke 10:29-37)
Compassion seems pretty important to Jesus. Too bad some of his followers through the centuries have not been so compassionate. We’ve been quick to judge and condemn the one who does not fit the norm of our cultural standards. We push away whoever makes us feel uncomfortable. We tend to value our interpretation of the law more than we do concern about expressing the love of Jesus. In so many ways, it’s just easier to be the self-appointed moral police than it is to be the compassionate people of God, expressing the love of Jesus one person at a time.
I get the fact that there are moral laws. I also get it that God has hard wired in some pretty dire consequences for breaking His laws. There are times when I do need to speak up when someone is obviously heading down the path of moral failure, and everyone knows it’s going to end badly. But do I speak up from a position of moral superiority, or as one who knows all too well that we do end up reaping what we sow and it’s best to sow God’s way? So am I passing on what I’ve learned the hard way as one poor sinner to another or acting like God’s self-appointed assistant general manager of the universe?
Sin separates. Sin creates chaos. God is all about healing that which is broken. The gospel message is that God sent Jesus to reach out to broken human beings, not to condemn us, but that we might have new life through Him. (John 3:16-17) As we experience mercy and compassion through Jesus, the most natural thing is to pass it on. As we’ve been reconciled with God, so we’ve been given the ministry of reconciliation. Which means we no longer look at others through the eyes that seek to differentiate, condemn and judge, but through eyes that have been corrected by mercy and love. (2 Corinthians 5:16-19)
That’s all good. I’m the most compassionate person there is sitting in the comfort of my study writing this blog posting. But at some point I have to go “out there” and interact with real people who are real different and who are going to really challenge my ability to translate the grace I’ve supposedly received from Jesus into real compassion. It’s the old comic gag: “I love humanity. It’s people I can’t stand.”
The only thing I know to do is pray for God to change my heart through the work of the Holy Spirit deep within me. It’s along the same lines of what I said Sunday about forgiveness, “I’m not good at it, but God is.” The same is true of compassion. The compassion Jesus exercised on the daily basis can and will grow in my life if (and that is a BIG IF), I ask for compassion and exercise compassion in the situations God will surely present to me every day. So be careful what we ask for, because that is a prayer God will answer by placing people in our path who are going to require from us compassion. Compassion is not a quaint theological concept; it is the real life application of grace-full living.
Now for what’s on my desk…
A note from our Youth Group~ Last week to pre-order your Christmas evergreens! The St. Andrew Youth Group will be in the fellowship hall to take evergreen orders (with payment). The Christmas evergreens will arrive the week of Nov 28th. You will be able to pick them up in the Fellowship Hall on Dec. 5th! The money raised will go towards Caravan 2012. Thank-you for supporting our youth!
PARENTS - Don't forget to get your tickets for CROSSING THIN ICE. Attending this seminar will be life-changing for both you and the young people in your lives and well worth the $25 per person investment. We are getting a great response with sign-ups but you can still buy tickets this Sunday at St. Andrew between worship services in the fellowship hall.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4 - 6:30 PM-9:30 PM
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5 - 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
HANNA BOYS CENTER: 17000 ARNOLD DRIVE: SONOMA, CA 95476
Now you know what I know.
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