Compassion – “Sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortune of others.” “The deep feeling of sharing the suffering of another in the inclination to give aid or support, or to show mercy.”
In order to cultivate compassion as defined above, means I will deeply care about my world and do my best to bring it help. It begins by my choosing to ask God to give me a tender heart that is painfully disturbed by the pain of others and seeks to act in their behalf as Jesus would do.
The scriptures convincingly portray Jesus as a “compassionate” person. Mark’s gospel records a story that clearly reveals Jesus’ heart of compassion. “A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. ‘If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,’ he said. Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. ‘I am willing,’ he said, ‘Be healed!’ Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed.” (Mark 1:40-42, NLT).
The word “compassion” comes from the same Greek word as “viscera, bowels, intestines” or, as in our vernacular, “guts.” Mark uses this word to communicate how deeply Jesus feels into the sufferings of the leper. It is as if Jesus himself takes on the suffering of the leper as his own.
Mark does not use the word “pity” because that would be too condescending, or “sympathy” because that would be too superficial. Rather he uses “compassion” to inform the reader that “flesh for flesh, gut for gut’ Jesus feels his way into the leper’s needs.
Mark also makes clear that Jesus did not simply feel with compassion toward the man with leprosy. He “reached out and touched him.” Violating every medical warning and risking every social taboo, Jesus makes physical contact with the leper, thus confirming his loving concern for the leper and his needs.
This and many other Jesus stories support the conclusion that in order to compassionately respond to the suffering of others, we must first enter into and empathically feel the pain of those seeking our caring assistance.
Paul Brand, a noted physician and author, writes, “In the human body, when an area loses sensory contact with the rest of the body, even when its nourishment system remains intact, that part begins to wither and atrophy. The body poorly protects what it does not feel. So much of the sorrow in the world is due to the selfishness of one living organism that simply does not care when another suffers.”
I think Dr. Brand’s statement can be expanded to include all bodies, whether they be the church, the organization, the community, or the government. There is substantial evidence that such bodies will not appropriately protect what they do not feel. Until they feel the pain of those suffering, these bodies will not respond in appropriate ways to meet their needs.
The challenge of Mark 1:40-45 is to every person, including you and myself, who have the capability and opportunity to make a difference in the life of suffering persons. Indeed, the challenge is for every human to compassionately feel their neighbor’s pain and respond with unselfish acts of caring love. This is God’s command and Jesus’ example.
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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – October 11, 2023
Ray M. Geigley
Healing Rays of Righteousness 
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