compassion

Harassed and Helpless?

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 104; 149, Jeremiah 35:1-19, 1 Corinthians 12:27-13:3, Matthew 9:35-10:4

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them,
because they were harassed and helpless,
like sheep without a shepherd.

Domesticated sheep are not capable of thriving unattended by a shepherd. Some of them may survive for years, but they become unshorn, parasite-ridden, vulnerable, malnourished, painfully diseased creatures. It’s not really the sheep’s fault; centuries of breeding to maximize their economic potential have manipulated them so far away from their wild counterparts that they lack the strength and intelligence to flourish.

When Jesus looked at the crowds, he saw people who’d been manipulated for the economic benefit of both the empire and their religious leaders, then left to their own means of survival. To paraphrase Tiberius – a Roman statesman and contemporary of Christ – they had been skinned rather than sheared.

Reclaiming an abandoned or neglected flock takes a great sacrifice of time and effort, but we know Christ didn’t want a single one to remain lost.

Do we feel any less harassed and helpless today?  As corporate, religious, and political interests become increasingly entangled and mutually corruptive, it can certainly feel like we are used up for gain and then abandoned. Government “of the people, by the people, for the people” seems more like government despite the people. These forces are less concerned with tending us than commodifying us.

Fortunately, none of those entities or people is our Good Shepherd.

Christ calls and guides us through the wilderness to the pastures of compassion. We are of course expected to be more responsible and accountable than actual sheep, but Christ is there to help us with the things we just aren’t built to do. He can shear us of our anger, doubt, and fear when then have grown thick and burdensome. His words – in the Gospels and in our hearts – can talk us away from the cliffs and warn us of those wolves lying in wait.

Always remember that Christ is looking at you with compassion. Even if you think you’re a real mess – maybe especially then – he understands how you got there and calls you to come home.

Comfort: Jesus calls because you need help, not despite it.

Challenge: Read about what can happen to sheep who don’t have a shepherd.

Prayer:  I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart. (Psalm 138:1)

Discussion: When do you feel harassed and helpless?

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Use Me

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 96; 148, Jeremiah 31:15-22, Colossians 3:1-11, Luke 7:1-17

Today in Luke we read two short healing stories with particular lessons. Unlike the stories where a faithful woman touches Jesus’ garment or a blind beggar calls out to him, characters in today’s story are healed because of Jesus’ work through others.

A Roman centurion, whose beloved servant lay dying, was too humble to ask Jesus to travel out of his way. Instead, he sent Jewish elders and then friends to say he had faith that if Jesus willed it, the servant would be healed. When we pray or intercede for others, are we as wise and humble as the centurion? When we see an ailing co-worker, or a friend in a bad marriage, do we believe we need to pray or work hard enough to “convince” God to act, as though we are the deciding factor? The truth is none of us can fix anyone else, and God will act as God will. Like the centurion and his friends, often the best we can do is to stand ready to let God use us. This is not a passive state – it is a decision to trust and to be open to possibility.

On his travels, Jesus had compassion for a widow grieving her only son, and he commanded the son to rise from his funeral bier. Compassion is a powerful tool for God to use. Even in our greatest grief, God’s presence can spark new life. Consider John and Revé Walsh who, after the murder of their son Adam, founded the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Compassion both for and from the Walshes made such an endeavor possible.

We learn from the centurion and the widow that we may – intentionally or unintentionally – become God’s instruments.  God may use us even when we are unwilling or uncaring, but remaining alert to the needs around us gives God one more avenue for healing to reach the broken, one more vessel for pouring love into the world. Faith is always about more than our own salvation; it is also about learning to care about the things God cares about.

Comfort: God’s compassion is boundless.

Challenge: Pray for God to open your eyes to needs you might address.

Prayer: God of Freedom, thank you for the opportunity to serve. Amen.

Discussion: How difficult do you find it to let God be in charge?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group  or visit comfortandchallenge.tumblr.com. You’ll  have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

A Thing of Horror?

/ JJS / 1 Comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 88; 148, Judges 5:1-18, Acts 2:1-21, Matthew 28:1-10

“You have caused my companions to shun me;
     you have made me a thing of horror to them.”  – Psalm 88:8

What a jarring statement, to declare oneself a horror to companions and neighbors. Sadly, we can all relate. When we experience an extended personal crisis – a divorce, a job loss, an illness – most of us reach a point where we suspect family and friends must be weary of hearing about it. We notice (or imagine) that people have begun to avoid us. Whatever the situation, even when we feel most alone, God is with us. Like the psalmist, we may feel God’s face is hidden. When that happens, we may need to use prayers like sledgehammers to batter down the barrier a crisis erects between us and God.

And when the tables are turned? Do our neighbors in crisis ever become horrors to us? We grow tired of hearing the minutia of Bill’s family court drama. We have to drag ourselves to the bedside of a formerly vivacious friend we weep to see wasting away. Some days we simply aren’t up to the task. But on better days we honor the Christ of the cross – who had become a physical and social horror to his friends and loved ones – by seeing his face where people suffer. We all know someone who lends the ear, takes someone to chemotherapy, or bakes the casserole. Maybe we are that someone.

If you are that someone, let people who still struggle to serve others know you don’t have superpowers – you rely on the Lord for strength. If you are not that someone and find yourself struggling to serve, understand that you are more capable than you realize. None of us wants to share disease or loss any more than we want to experience it, but we do so because love calls us to. When we serve each other with love, no one – no matter how awful their situation – is a “thing of horror” to God. Each of us is a child of God in need. Let’s not be put off by a matter of degree.

Comfort: God loves us as a child, regardless of circumstance.

Challenge: If you find it easy to serve others, offer to help someone who struggles. If you struggle, find and work with someone who finds it easy.

Prayer: God of strength, I will serve you by serving others. Amen.

Discussion: Have you ever felt like a “thing of horror?”

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group. You’ll be notified of new posts through FB, and have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!