The Compassion to Act

This piece is modified from a chapel talk I recently gave.

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Photo by A. C. on Unsplash

What comes to mind when you think of the compassion of Jesus?

Certainly there was the time Jesus was trying to get away for some alone time, but his trip was interrupted. “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” (Mt 14:14)

Another occasion, Jesus was leaving Jericho when two blind men called out to him. “Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.” (Mt 20:34)

Or there is the time a man with leprosy came and begged Jesus “‘If you’re willing, make me clean!’ He (Jesus) reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.” (Mk 1:41)

There are no shortage of compassion stories when it comes to Jesus. There is a story only told in Luke’s Gospel that comes to mind. It is not a long story. Certainly not flashy. You’d miss it if you were reading quickly. But it gives us a glimpse into the heart of God, and a beautiful picture of the compassion we are called to be a part of in this world as well.

Jesus is on the north side of the Sea of Galilee. In Capernaum he just healed a centurion’s son (an act of compassion in itself). Afterwards, Jesus heads to a small town called Nain. And the disciples and a large crowd went along with him. We read:

Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. (Luke 7:11-12)

As Jesus and his disciples (and quite a following) approach Nain, there is a stirring at the city gates. A dead person is being carried with a large crowd following. What does this sound like? It’s a funeral procession.

And right at the front of the procession is the deceased’s mother. It is a terribly sad story to envision. But Luke also gives us more about this poor woman. This is not her first funeral. He includes another important detail - she is a widow.

This woman has already walked this processional once…for her husband. Now for her son. And not just a son. Her only son.

This is true grief. “I’ve lost everything” are the words I imagine hearing through sobs.

In this first century world, where women did not have much (if any) social power, this woman not only has lost her family. She now stands to lose much more. Any land. Any inheritance.

This is a truly broken woman.

When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” (Luke 7:13)

When the Lord saw her. Jesus sees this broken woman. He notices her in her pain and grief. The text says “his heart went out to her.” This is the word for compassion. He takes pity on her. His guts are ripped out by what he sees. In other words, he sees her pain, but he is also moved by her pain. He is moved to empathy.

Jesus is being more than just sympathetic. It has been said that sympathy is when you feel bad for someone. Empathy is when you feel bad with someone. Jesus doesn’t see her and think “Well that’s too bad, but I’ve got places to be (which he probably did). Moving right along.” He sees her and joins her in her pain.

We’ve seen a lot of times where somebody asked Jesus to do something for them (Consider the example up top…If you’re willing, make me clean!), and Jesus did. But here at the city gates of Nain, does the woman ask for anything? Nope. Nothing. We have no record of her asking for what is about to happen. She is simply passing by.

Jesus sees. He notices. He is moved in compassion to empathy. And his empathy leads to action.

Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. (Luke 7:14-15)

With just a touch and a word, this funeral procession turns into a homecoming party as this mother receives her son back.

So if nobody asked Jesus to do this, why did he?

The response from those who witness the event may give us a reason (v16). They see what Jesus has done and it brings to mind the time Elijah the prophet raised the widow’s son to life. They respond that this Jesus must be a great prophet. Maybe Jesus intended to make this connection, showing that one greater than Elijah had now come.

From a face value reading of the text, however, it seems as if Jesus simply saw the brokenness of another and was moved by what he saw to compassion. What he saw with his eyes caused him to experience compassion in his heart which then flowed to his hands and feet and he simply had to act.

If Jesus had simply felt bad for her and just stood by and watched, would anything have changed? Not really. It was his action that stirred from his empathy that changed everything. Frederick Mathewes-Green said compassion without action is “one of those truths that runs out of gas halfway home.”

In other words, compassion without action is empty.

Instead, Jesus acts in love to transform the life of a broken person.

Now we probably won’t be raising anyone from the dead anytime soon, but how can we learn from Jesus and his model of compassion? How can we become people of compassion?

1. We have to see people

This may seem obvious, but it is so easy to just stay in our lane. To put our earbuds in or put our heads down and just keep to our own lives. To intentionally arrange our lives so that we just see ourselves. Or to order our lives so that we only see those that we are comfortable with.

When you start to really see other people, it can get uncomfortable.

But the truth is, when we are going through something difficult, we all want to be seen. To be noticed. We want to know that somebody sees that we exist…and that we matter. It was said by a volunteer that worked with Mother Theresa: “Whoever she’s talking to, that person becomes the most important person.”

That is what it means to see people, regardless of who they are or what they have to offer back to you.

But seeing alone is not enough…

2. We have to empathize

It is not enough to muster up an obligatory ‘That’s too bad’ or ‘What a shame.’ We have to allow ourselves to bear the pain of others. Not just to hurt for someone but to hurt with someone.

Why has this become even more difficult? We are so desensitized to pain and suffering. We see it all the time in our feeds and on our many screens. We are inundated with up-to-the-minute coverage through the endless news cycle on the latest natural disaster, mass shooting, or act of violence that we start to tune it out. Honestly, we have to look away at some point because if we felt it all deeply, how would we be able to function at all? But the more we see, the harder it gets to actually feel the pain of others. To feel anything. Or it may be a voluntary choice in our entertainment. What we watch or listen to makes light of the pain of others for entertainment value and it becomes easier to laugh at what others are going through rather than to hurt with him. The pain of others becomes something to watch rather than something to enter into.

We are a culture that is so desensitized to the suffering of others that we can literally see the pain of others around us and have zero reaction to it.

That may be the way of our world. It is not the way of Jesus though.

3. We have to act.

In the same way Jesus’ compassion for others led him to act, we have to step into the often uncomfortable and often inconvenient pain of others. How do we love our neighbor as ourselves, as Jesus called us to? We act on their behalf.

The apostle John writes:

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. (1 John 3:16)

John holds Jesus up as the standard—the litmus test for love. If we are following him, then we are to learn love from him. Our love will look like him. John then goes on to describe the laying down of our lives. After giving an example of someone with a material need who goes ignored, he states:

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:18)

I find these words of John to be incredibly convicting. How easy it is for me to throw a rope of positive word cliches to someone who is going through some deep pain and move along. It makes me feel as if I have done my part but keeps me safe and dry on the outside of the pit.

When someone is hurting, is a kind word important? Obviously. But words have a ceiling. John says we must couple action with our words. That is true compassion.

For three months in 1994, a civil war took place in the country of Rwanda between the Hutu and Tutsi people. In this short span of time, it is estimated that almost a million people died in what can only be called genocide. The movie, Hotel Rwanda, told the story of the strife through the eyes of a hotel manager named Paul, a Hutu, played by Don Cheadle.

In one particular scene, the media, who have set up camp inside the hotel, are reviewing some horrendous footage of a massacre that occurred just a half mile down the road. When the reporters realize that Paul has been standing by watching the footage and listening to their conversations, one of the reporters, a guy named Jack (played by Joaquin Phoenix), goes over and apologizes to Paul for what he just saw. The following conversation ensues:

Paul: I’m glad that you showed this footage, and that the world will see it. It is the only way we have a chance, that people might intervene.

Paul’s one hope is that someone will see what is going on and step in to help.

Jack: And if no one intervenes, is it still a good thing to show?

Paul: How can they not intervene, when they witness such atrocities?

Jack: I think if people see this footage, they’ll say, ‘Oh my God that’s horrible,’ and then go on eating their dinners.

Compassion without action is empty. The way of Jesus invites us (read: requires us) to step toward others rather than away from them. And in doing so, it may feel like we are laying our lives down. In that moment, we will find ourselves in pretty good company.

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

Who needs the compassion of Jesus in your life right now? And how can you be a part of them experiencing it?