Time with Jesus - Tuesday, 07
February 2012
Hi all,
What
is the difference between sympathy and compassion? Let’s have an easy way to
look at it. Sympathy prompts you to say, “Ag shame”. Some may even go so far as
to state, “I’m sorry to hear about that”. Of course from the expression on
their face you feel tempted to respond. “Well if that’s how you look when
you’re sorry, when you are happy, you must look like a raving lunatic”. Mind
you, I’ve been there often enough. We say to people, “I’ll pray for you”. Then
you promptly forget all about it. What makes it even worse when people come and
thank you for your prayers, when you didn’t pray at all! Mind you, perhaps I’m
the only one who caught in this trap!
Compassion
could perhaps be defined as “sympathy in action”. Sure, part of compassion
includes sympathy. It has to. Unless you feel “sorry” about a situation, there
can be no compassion! If I don’t care a fig about the protection of wildlife,
I’m unlikely to get involved in wildlife protection.
Compassion
demands you do something about the object of your sympathy. You find this among
support groups. John Doe gets ill with a life threatening disease. After many
years of treatment; partly successful and partly useless, he gets into
remission. He’s learned a great deal about that sickness, and wants to help
others who are starting out down the long road he’s just been on. So he establishes
a support group for those suffering from the same disease.
Perhaps
the best example of compassion I have heard about in my lifetime is Mother Teresa
of Calcutta. She went to Calcutta to minister to the sick and dying in that
city. She focused primarily on the poor. Her efforts are legendary. “Love” was
her motivating force. Because she got involved, millions of men and women have
been touched. But it was not her individual efforts alone that made such a big
difference. Her example touched the hearts of many women and they are following
her example. In fact a new “women’s branch” has been started in the Roman
Catholic Church. This has spread her life and example far beyond anything she
could have anticipated. It seems that compassion is contagious. In the case of
the late Mother Teresa, it has given rise to a new church order. Who knows what
will happen when we are touched by the compassion of the Master.
But
what can you and I do in the face of overwhelming odds? The “starfish story” is
a good example. Two men were walking along a beach littered with thousands or
perhaps millions of starfish. They were discussing what they could do. After one
of the men threw one of them back into the sea, the other man asked him, “What
difference would that one make?” His friend commented, “Not much, but it made a
big difference for that one”.
When
it comes to compassion, it’s time we stopped thinking about the enormity of any
problem. If we all do a small amount, the total will astonish us.
Today’s
meditation looks at compassion.
Blessings
Jim & Phyllida Strickland.
Compassion
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Jesus had compassion on them;
their sick He healed.
The depth of pain and suffering,
to Jesus was revealed.
He knew of their misfortunes;
was touched by their distress;
And pity welled up in Him and
prompted Him to bless,
The crowd that stood before
Him. His tenderness and care;
The love He had for people who had
come from everywhere!
Things are not much different
from all those years ago.
Compassion for all people; for
those born high or low.
Compassion isn’t sympathy; it’s
that and so much more.
It causes you to get involved;
to open wide the door,
That in a very special way,
lets you “put on their shoes”;
So you can feel the impact,
from someone else’s view.
It causes you to feel the pain
and the extreme distress,
That’s prompting you to get
involved, to help clear up the mess.
It’s rather like what Father
feels when looking at His child;
And knows with understanding
that they have been defiled.
It drives us to take action,
when wickedness and hate,
Is welling up around us saying,
“leave them to their fate”.
It takes you to Calcutta, to
the slums where people die,
Of so many diseases, it makes
you want to cry.
And there amid the squalor as
people pass away,
You hold them to your bosom,
take care of them and pray.
It takes you to a hilltop to
look along the road.
It maybe that your long lost
son comes back to your abode.
Perhaps you just may spot him walking
all alone,
Broken, tired and hungry, from
the wild oats he has sown?
Suddenly you spot him. You
can’t mistake that walk.
It’s branded in your memory
since he first learned to talk.
And so you run and meet him in
spite of all he’s done,
Weeping you embrace him. He’s
still your precious son.
It stands inside a church hall,
where a young man of eighteen,
Has come because of all the
foolish things that he has been.
And in some fateful instant,
his hands reach out to You;
Knowing in his heart there’s
nothing more that he can do.
This is the compassion which
every Christian needs.
It isn’t seeing Jesus as a way
to meet your greed.
It’s looking at the Master, through
all the tears and shame,
And knowing that He loves you. After
all, that’s why He came!
Jim Strickland – Written Tuesday 7th February 2012.
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