Monday, July 15
Matthew 14:13-21
Feeding the Five Thousand
Now 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. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When 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.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then 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. And all ate and were filled, and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Yesterday Pastor Paul shared a short sermon on caring for others. The foundation of care is compassion. When we share compassion with others we experience refreshment.
Jesus is always an example of compassion. He went out of his way to share compassion with others—especially for people who lived on the margins.
Jesus demonstrated compassion even when the events of life did not turn out like he wanted them to be. At the start of this famous story of the feeding of the 5,000, we read that the phrase, “Now when Jesus heard this …” (Matthew 14:13a).
What Jesus had heard was the terrible death of John the Baptist. The way that John was killed was not just and not right. It demonstrated the ugliness that happened in the world.
Jesus got in a boat to get away to process this terrible news. But a large crowd of people wanted to be with Jesus. They followed him. Even though Jesus wanted to be by himself, when he looked at the crowd he had compassion for them.
The English word, “compassion” comes from the Greek word splancha. It literally means guts. It’s as if the insides of Jesus went out to the crowd.
We would have understood if Jesus had told the crowd to go away. He had wanted to spend time by himself to process this horrible injustice.
What do you do to keep your heart full of compassion even when the events of the world might lead you to an opposite response? Please share.
Tuesday, July 16
Genesis 43:26-34
When Joseph came home, they brought him the present that they had carried into the house and bowed to the ground before him. He inquired about their welfare and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” They said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads and did obeisance. Then he looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me? God be gracious to you, my son!” With that, Joseph hurried out, because he was overcome with affection for his brother, and he was about to weep. So he went into a private room and wept there. Then he washed his face and came out, and controlling himself he said, “Serve the meal.” They served him by himself and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. When they were seated before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth, the men looked at one another in amazement. Portions were taken to them from Joseph’s table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.
Compassion is not an emotion that only happens in the New Testament. In this story we read about the compassion that Joseph had for his brother, Benjamin. At this point in the story Joseph was a leader in Egypt. His brothers did not know that the person to whom they were talking was their half-brother, Joseph.
Joseph had been treated very poorly by his brothers. His brothers were jealous of him and sold him to a traveling band of people. Joseph was deprived of a relationship with his brothers because of the actions of his brothers.
Despite this he still had affection for them, and especially affection for Benjamin. In verse 30 we read that Joseph was overcome with affection for his brother. The Hebrew word that is translated as affection could also be translated as compassion.
When we live with compassion, we don’t only experience and share this with people we love. Sometimes we are called to share compassion with people who have hurt us or people we don’t like.
Do you have a story of sharing compassion with someone who you didn’t especially appreciate? Please share.
Wednesday, July 17
Exodus 33:12-23, 34:6-7
Moses’s Intercession
Moses said to the Lord, “See, you have said to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ Now if I have found favor in your sight, please show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Consider, too, that this nation is your people.” He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” And he said to him, “If your presence will not go, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth.”
The Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have asked, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you the name, ‘The Lord,’ and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one shall see me and live.” And the Lord continued, “See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”
Exodus 34:6-7
The Lord passed before him and proclaimed,
“The Lord, the Lord,
a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation,
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,
yet by no means clearing the guilty,
but visiting the iniquity of the parents
upon the children
and the children’s children
to the third and the fourth generation.”
Moses wanted to see God. Moses had spent a lot of time with God and had led the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses had gone to Mount Sinai and received the tablets that we know of as the 10 Commandments. But when Moses came down from the mountain the people had turned away. He had many questions about God.
Moses wanted to know the ways of the divine. God told Moses that Moses had found favor in God’s sight.
God did reveal God’s self to Moses.
We see this in the sixth and seventh verses of Exodus 34. The first description of God is merciful.
This is similar to compassion. God is compassionate.
When God was describing God’s self, the first attribute was merciful. If you made a listing of ten attributes of God, what would be at the top of the list?
Please share.
Thursday, July 18
Psalm 103:6-14
The Lord works vindication
and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far he removes our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion for his children,
so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
For he knows how we were made;
he remembers that we are dust.
Many of the Psalms have terrific descriptions of the character of God. The first three verses of this Psalm are almost identical in the description that we read yesterday in Exodus.
They are worth reading over and over and even memorizing.
“The Lord works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed. He made his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”
Psalm 103:6-8
A synonym for merciful is compassionate.
The compassion we share with others is a quality that comes directly from God. When we live with compassion we are sharing a divine quality with others.
What are your thoughts about this description of God? Please share.
Friday, July 19
Luke 10:25-37
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
But wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and took off, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came upon him, and when he saw him he was moved with compassion. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, treating them with oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him, and when I come back I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
The story of the Good Samaritan is more than a story of doing a good deed. It is a story of compassion.
Jesus told this story as an illustration of his command to love God and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
Thinking that a Jew would help a Samaritan was quite radical. Even though Jews and Samaritans came from the same historical tradition, they had diverged. At a minimum they were distrustful of each other. Some Jews and Samaritans hated each other.
When a person was hearing this story they never would have thought that a Jew would stop to help a Samaritan.
The translation of the feeling that the Jew had for the Samaritan was not quite right. He didn’t feel pity, he felt compassion. It’s as if his guts were moved when he saw the suffering of the man. His heart went out to him.
How often do you find your heart being touched and going out to someone who was suffering?
Please share.
Saturday, July 20
Colossians 3:12-17
Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
The writer of Colossians was telling the people who read this letter the attributes that were important for a follower or disciple of Jesus. The first one is compassion.
As God’s chosen we are called to clothe ourselves with compassion.
Some people are born with compassion; for others compassion is not natural, but it still can be cultivated.
At one extent do you believe compassion is natural to you? On a scale of 1-10 with ten being the highest, what would your number be? Please share.
Pastor Paul shared last Sunday that compassion can be cultivated. Through our spiritual practices we can grow in compassion. What practices—spiritual or not—help you to cultivate compassion? Please share.
