Compassion: To Suffer With

Compassion: to Suffer With


Matthew 14:13-21

13Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. 15When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” 18And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. 21And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

When we think about God’s commandment for us to love our neighbours as ourselves, we use many terms: sympathy, empathy, compassion and unconditional love or agape love. To follow the path of our Risen Lord we need to remember how Jesus had compassion for the people. Jesus was ready and willing to suffer with them and perform miracles that delivered them oppressive situations.
There are several moments in Jesus’ ministry where he was willing to set aside his game plan in order to be present with people in their struggles. In chapters 9 and 14, Jesus has compassion on the crowd, he heals people of diseases and illnesses and feeds thousands with twelve baskets remaining.
These feeding stories are very important in the life of the church. There are six different versions in the four gospels. We should go easy on the disciples and their scepticism about being able to feed them all. How can we start without knowing we will be able to finish? They don’t want to be look like the aid workers we see on the news who over taken by the masses scrambling for the dwindling remnants of food.
These feeding stories point us back to the ministry of Moses and the manna falling from heaven, and the feeding miracles attributed to the prophets Elijah and Elisha. Our gospel lesson also foreshadows the masses who will gather at our Lords table for the great feast. Together we will remember again how our God of compassion blesses and breaks the bread of life that will feed us all. Deacons we won’t need to worry if there is enough bread or enough cups. God’s compassion will bring fill the baskets and trays with enough for all and then some.
The use of this specific word compassion is a good reminder of the kind of love we are called to extend to our neighbours. We are invited to emulate the compassion Jesus holds for his sheep. Growing as a Christian means we need to learn and improve our ability to love and care for others. We need to be humble and take inventory of our motives when we are ministering to others. The bottom line needs to be the well being of the people we are serving. We are human! We will always have mixed motives for our ministries. It’s a question of degrees that we need to be constantly examining.
For too long and in too many instances our faith response to love our neighbours has been based on how it makes us feel. We feel good about our selves by performing acts of charity. We feel relieved of guilt and conviction by at least doing something about the tragedies that have befallen these poor souls. Jesus’ life and ministry challenges us to move beyond mere sympathy and charity. If we follow in his foots steps our acts of love will be acts of compassion, empathy and solidarity with people struggling to experience the abundant life.
I’m grateful for the Scantlins sharing an article that was in the Pioneer Press last Sunday. Congregations are engaging in some critical self reflection the mission trip industry that totals 2.4 Million dollars a year. Are we really being good stewards of our mission dollars? Are our relationships genuine and mutual or are they based primarily on transactions?
Many of our churches are sending people to the four corners of the world, but too often the tourism motive and checking off our wish list of places we’ve visited overshadows the building of authentic loving relationships based on compassion and solidarity. We are called to bear compassion: to suffer with, to live and fellowship with our brothers and sisters on their terms. It’s great that the AHP mission committee has several long term commitments. Its better that we keep a manageable number of mission partnerships based on compassionate presence where we can accompany and suffer with others. We are disciples of Christ, this demands more of us than merely being American philanthropists on a “fact finding mission.”
As American Christians we need to eat some humble pie and let go of some of our puffed up pride as “leaders of the free world.” We don’t have all the answers nor do we hold a monopoly on the Gospel. We need to be ready and willing to experience our own conversion. Engaging in God’s mission brings mutual conversions for all parties involved. Each of us bears gifts of the Spirit to share that builds up the body of Chirst. We need to be ready to receive as well as give.
Having served in Kenya and South Africa, I have seen many waves of American Missionaries who perpetuate this lopsided model of ministry. They want to stay at the hotels where all the ex-pats are. They spend far too much of their precious time on safari and only a few days in the trenches where God’s children are. How would you feel if people travelled across the Atlantic or the Pacific to partner with you in mission and they seemed more preoccupied with their time at the Mall of America than your joint project?
We are called to feel compassion for others which means to suffer with them. We can’t settle for mere acts of sympathy. At our last General Assembly in San Jose, some wise servants of the church in Albany Presbytery proposed that we change the language we use to define the role of deacons as officers. In our most current Book of Order it reads :
The office of deacon as set forth in Scripture is one of sympathy,
witness, and service after the example of Jesus Christ. Persons
of spiritual character, honest repute, of exemplary lives, brotherly
and sisterly love, warm sympathies, and sound judgment should be chosen for this office.
For years we have used the term sympathy when empathy or compassion would be more accurate. Sympathy carries a tone of superiority, Oh you poor soul let me fuss over you for awhile. Wendy Norris, a Fire Dept Chaplain explains this difference between sympathy and empathy:
Empathy is different from sympathy. Empathy involves listening; sympathy involves reacting. When we empathize with others, we understand their feelings without getting involved in them. When we sympathize with others, however, we identify with their feelings to the point where we take on their pain. The empathetic person asks questions; the sympathetic person may be moved to offer advice and solutions rather than allowing others to come to their own realizations.
Well, the General Assembly discussed these change of terms from sympathy and empathy and decided that compassion was a good compromise. This is a term used in the Gospel to describe how Jesus felt. Fellow deacons take note, in the next edition of the Book of Order, it will read ministries of compassion instead of sympathy.
Generations of pastors in seminary have learned about Carl Rogers and his Client Centered model of therapy. His work emerged in an era when everything either boiled down to Freudian inner psychic conflicts or we were merely Skinner’s socially conditioned rats and pigeons being manipulated by rewards and reinforcements. Carl Rogers and others suggested that the very quality of our relationships can bring healing and health. Rogers proposed three essential elements for a healing relationship:
1. Congruency: Authentic and genuine
2. Unconditional Positive Regard: A non-judgmental presence
3. Deep empathic understanding
As Disciples of Christ we can incorporate these relationship qualities into our fellowship and ministries. These are valuable goals that will help us to be more humble and mutual with others. We are not the experts with the answers nor are we St Claus figure who feels good through handing things out to the less fortunate.
We are called to have compassion for others who are struggling to secure their daily bread. Millions of people are living with HIV/AIDS but do not have the means to take the medicines that will enable to provide for their children. Today thousands of people are gathering in Mexico City for the 18th International AIDS conference.
When historians look at the legacy of President Bush one of the positives will be his compassionate leadership on HIV/AIDS in Africa. Surely his faith and sense of Christian duty influenced the PEPFAR (President Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) that was just reauthorized and the funding was tripled! This means 3 million of our brothers and sisters will receive treatment, 12 million will have access to prevention and testing and 5 million orphans and vulnerable children will be cared for.
On the home front, we are confronted with the changing face of AIDS. The CDC underreported the number of infections by 40%! African Americans are 7 times more likely to be infected than Euro-Americans. Yet the domestic prevention and treatment budget has not increased for seven years. Our local churches need to be compassionate and suffer with our brothers and sisters enduring the yolk of HIV/AIDS. Our voices need to be heard by our lawmakers who set the budgets and priorities.
Christ has taught and modelled for us how to have compassion for our neighbours near and far. We can trust that God’s spirit will multiply our tithes, times and talents along with our communion cups and trays. We take the risk of reaching out and suffering with others. Like the road to Emmaus, we walk beside and accompany others. When we break bread we too will realize God’s presence among us. God’s compassion draws us all to Christ’s table. We are equal, we are all one. Regardless of our pedigree or number of degrees we are all merely waiters and busers, Christ is the host. Pass the basket.