External Focus: Showing Compassion
Introduction:
I learn more and more about the importance of being honest with ourselves, especially concerning our relationship with Christ. I think that sometimes we as the church live an idealistic life. We don’t like to admit faults; we are too stoic and proud to confess sin to one another sometimes. Perhaps the bottom line is sometimes we just are not satisfied with mere humanity. You would think from the way that some people act and speak that they feel as if they are deity. On top of that sometimes we are so inwardly focused on our wants, needs and preferences we often fail to have that look outwardly that will cause us to have compassion on others. We can never be the compassionate people we should be if we are looking inwardly more than we are outwardly. I believe we need to not just be willing to do good, but we need to seek out opportunities to show to people the compassion that we have because of Jesus.
To be honest with you I do not like the fact that I am a fallen creature. I do not like the fact that I wrestle and struggle daily with sin. I do not like the fact that I neglect doing many of the things that God calls me to do. I just don’t like the fact that I am a fallen being that falls short of the glory of God. I don’t know if I do not like it because I don’t like that God knows those things about me, or because I may come to the conclusion that I am not perfect, or because others may realize that I am a sinner. I hope that you may be able to identify with me through this message.
I love the story of a fifth-grade class at Lake Elementary School in Oceanside, California, that had fourteen boys who had no hair. Only one, however, had no choice in the matter. Ian O’Gorman, was undergoing chemotherapy for lymphoma, and all his hair was falling out... so he had his head shaved. But then 13 of his classmates shaved their heads, so Ian wouldn’t feel out of place.
Ten-year-old Kyle Hanslik started it all. He talked to some other boys, and before long they all trekked to the barbershop. "The last thing he would want is to not fit in," said Kyle. "We just wanted to make him feel better."
This morning I want to confess something that I struggle with, something, which I believe, has application to everyone. I will admit that perhaps this is a sermon that I need to hear more than others need to hear, but I do believe that our struggles may be more similar than we would like to admit.
When Stephanie was pregnant with Hannah she went into the hospital with Kidney stones. They discharged her late one evening and she was excited to be able to go home. As we were leaving the hospital I looked and noticed that we were low on gas. It was late at night and we weren’t in the area of town where I felt most comfortable, but nevertheless we stopped to get gas. As we pulled into the gas station a lady approached me as I got out of the car and began to carry on a conversation with me. The whole time I kept thinking that this lady wasn’t all there. I wanted more than anything else for her just to leave me alone, we were tired, ready to go home, and just wanted a few dollars of gas. I just didn’t feel like being bothered.
Over the last little bit I am learning some things. I am learning that the Kingdom of God is about people. I am learning that God is all about people. I am learning that the church is about people. I am learning that my role as an evangelist is about people. Sometimes I do not handle people the way that I should. I don’t like to admit it, but sometimes I struggle to love people and to show compassion like Christ did. Does anyone else feel the same way? After all, Jesus said the second greatest command was to love our neighbor as our self.
Different people have different personalities and some people seem to have a natural ability and desire to show compassion to people. These people’s hearts break over those that are in need and hurting. Some people are compassionate people. I must admit that sometimes I am not as compassionate as I would like to be or as I should be. As you read through the gospels you can see that people is what mattered the most to God in the flesh. You can see that Jesus loved people in an amazing way, he loved and treated people like no one else in His Society ever did or ever since then. On Eight separate occasions in Jesus’ ministry the gospel writers specifically mention that Jesus felt compassion on the crowds. Obviously Jesus was moved to compassion many other times and probably many other times that the Scriptures do not even record.
The truth of the matter is that we as Christians are called to show that same type of compassion and love towards other people in this world. I don’t know about you, but I struggle to show compassion and love like Christ did. I realize that the things I do are not the most important things, but perhaps my love for God and my love for other people is the most important aspect of faith. So often our love for people is drowned out in our own busyness and we forget what it is all about and what is most important. I am here this morning to remind you and remind myself that the Kingdom of God is more about others than it is me. The Kingdom of God revolves around how we interact and respond with others and the compassion and love we show to them.
Text: Luke 10:25-37
I. A Lack of Compassion is Sin
A lot of people fail to realize that a lack of compassion is a sin, it is probably more an indicator of a severe heart problem.
I John 3:17-18 (KJV)
We are called to a love that cannot just sit back and watch. When we see people hurt, when we see a problem it is not okay for us to remain neutral, it is not okay for us to be unconcerned, but we must act and show compassion.
At approximately 3:20 on the morning of March 13, 1964, a twenty-eight-year-old Kitty Genovese was returning to her home in a nice middle-class area of Queens, NY. She parked her car in a nearby parking lot, turned-off the lights and started the walk to her second floor apartment some 35 yards away. She got as far as a streetlight when a man grabbed her. She screamed. Lights went on in the 10-floor apartment building nearby. She yelled, "Help, he stabbed me! Please help me!" Windows opened in the apartment building and a man’s voice shouted, "Let that girl alone." The attacker looked up, shrugged and walked-off down the street. Ms Genovese struggled to get to her feet. Lights went back off in the apartments. The attacker came back and stabbed her again. She again cried out, "I’m dying! I’m dying!" And again the lights came on and windows opened in many of the nearby apartments. The assailant again left and got into his car and drove away. Ms Genovese staggered to her feet as a city bus drove by. It was now 3:35 a.m. The attacker returned once again. He found her in a doorway at the foot of the stairs and he stabbed her a third time -- this time with a fatal consequence. It was 3:50 when the police received the first call. They responded quickly and within two minutes were at the scene. Ms Genovese was already dead….
Why do people do things like that? How could someone just sit by and watch things like that happen without doing something? Why would people pass by in the parable of Good Samaritan, especially religious people? I believe plainly that we do and say reveals something in our heart. Our actions are not just all there is, but there is a deeper problem, and a lack of compassion for others reveals some serious spiritual problems.
I have tried with the best of my ability to understand people’s complacency and apathy towards people. Why is it people act like that?
1. Inconvenience
Perhaps another reason why the Priest and the Levite walked past the man in the ditch was because of inconvenience. Perhaps they thought to themselves, “I am in a hurry”.
They had the attitude let someone else help him.
I believe that many Christians have that attitude. They see service as someone else’s job. They see anything that they can do for anyone else as an inconvenience to them. I understand that we are all busy. We all have jobs, we all have families to tend to, but if we do not make and sacrifice time to help others our priorities are messed up.
2. Religion
One reason why the priest and Levite passed up the man on the side of the road was because of their religion. They were both Jews headed to Jerusalem to worship. I can just picture them now, “if we touch him we will become ceremonially unclean”. They missed the point. They were like the Pharisees who took every bit of the law and did not show any grace. They obeyed the law to its letter and looked down on anyone who saw the principle of the law as more important. Remember David when he and his companions got hungry? They ate from the bread in the temple that was forbidden to eat. God did not get angry with them because they were starving, would it have been better for them to die than to eat the bread? God is a fair and just God, he understands our circumstances. This is not an excuse to sin or break God’s commands, but the point is that God understands. He would have understood if the Priest and Levite would have helped the man in the ditch, he would not have condemned them for missing their commanded worship, because what they were doing was the point.
James 1:27
We need to make sure that we obey the commands of the Lord, but we also need to make sure that we do not miss the point that Jesus taught.
What if I was on my way to church, and I saw one of you wrecked and hurt on the side of the road, and didn’t stop to help because I wanted to make it to church on time. I would have missed the point of even coming to church, wouldn’t I have?
Let us make sure that our religion does not hinder us from doing good or what is right.
3. A Hard Heart
We all mess up from time to time, but it takes a hardhearted person to be unmoved by some things. It takes a hard hearted person to not be burdened when they hear of people wrestling with sin, going through trouble, or facing heartache. I believe what made that priest and Levite so bad was they saw a guy laying in the ditch and they left the guy, they missed the point. How could their heart not have broken? How could they not have worried about that guy? How could they go about their daily routine, much less religious routine without feeling guilt? The answer? A hard heart.
II. Jesus is Our Example of Compassion
As with everything the best example for us of how we should be and how we should show compassion in found in Jesus himself.
a. Jesus Showed Compassion to the Unlovable
Jesus was unlike any other individual who ever walked on the face of the Earth and one of the ways he was most different is the way he viewed other people. One thing that proves Jesus’ deity to me without a shadow of doubt is the way he treated people is unlike we would treat people. Jesus showed compassion on people that we would have a hard time showing compassion on. In order to understand that fully we must take ourselves in our minds back into the world of which Jesus lived. When Jesus spent time in Samaria talking to the woman at the well that was revolutionary for a Jewish man to be in conversation with a woman let alone a Samaritan. In the world in which Jesus lived it was unheard of for a Jew of any repute to talk with a Samaritan woman. Nevertheless we learn through Jesus that he showed compassion on those that seemed unlovable. It is clear from Jesus ministry that he spent time with and ministered to those that were not like him and those who were rejected by everyone else. He had a special love, concern and compassion for others. If you don’t believe that read through the Gospels and see where Jesus spent his time and energy and who he associated with.
1. The Sinner
We know that the majority of Jesus’ ministry was spent with the sinner people. Most other rabbis during Jesus’ day thought that it would be really good for their ministry to rub elbows with the Pharisees and the Teacher’s of the Law, but Jesus did just the opposite. Very little of his time and ministry was focused on the religious people of the day. Jesus spent time with sinners. Jesus showed unprecedented compassion to the sinners that were living in his time and in fact he was greatly criticized for that. He was questioned as to why he hung around the tax collectors and sinners. He was called a drunkard and a glutton.
Mark 2:15-17
Jesus spent time with the prostitutes, tax collectors and immoral of the day. He spent time with what the people of his day would have considered the unclean and the refuse of the world. He didn’t just spend time with those people, he loved them. He showed the compassion, he became their friend. Jesus did not see them and an inconvenience. He didn’t stick his nose up in the air and avoid the sinner folk. He got in amongst them and loved them. So often today we want to avoid the immoral, but maybe we need to learn something from Jesus and show compassion to the sinner.
2. The Sick
Many times we read throughout the gospels of Jesus coming upon a sick person and having compassion on them. We see that Jesus showed emotion for the sick and diseased. He wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus; he had pity and compassion on the blind and sick. The sick of Jesus’ day were outcasts. They didn’t have the medical knowledge that we do now so often times the diseased were just thrown out like garbage. The blind couldn’t work so they often had to beg for money. We read of a lame man who sat by a pool that the Jews saw as miraculous hoping to be healed. The lepers were total outcasts, they couldn’t worship, they were taken outside the city walls and every time they walked by they had to shout, “Unclean, unclean!” Jesus had compassion on those very people. He took them and embraced them and healed them. Jesus showed compassion on those that were sick. Sometimes we are so focused on ourselves and how being around other people will affect us. We don’t want to be around the sick and the hurting because we don’t want to be contaminated, we don’t want to get their germs, but Jesus showed us that compassion on others looks beyond those things and sometimes embraces those people who have been reject by everyone else.
3. The Hurting
A lot of the people Jesus came around were hurting. The Woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery, the lame man trying to get into the waters. They were broken. Perhaps because of sin, perhaps because of failed relationships, or perhaps because of other situations. Whatever the case may be Jesus seemed to have a radar for those people and I can’t help but to picture our Savior picking up the hurting and taking them in his arms and hugging them and letting them know that he cared. Not only did he care because it was his duty, and not only did he care out of obligation, but because he really loved them. He was unlike the religious leaders of his day in that. In fact Isaiah 61, says that the ministry of the Messiah would consist on binding up the brokenhearted. We need a little more binding up of the broken hearted today. But it makes us unworkable and it may be inconvenient.
As I begrudgingly and reluctantly talked with that lady at the gas station I began to learn some things about her. I learned that her name was Pamela; I learned that it was her birthday that day and she was 56 years old. I learned that she had children; I learned that she did not have very much. I assumed from the way she talked that she was probably homeless. I also figured out that she was probably plagued by some mental disorder. All I wanted was for her to leave me alone so I could get on with my day.
There is some trouble with my attitude to Pamela. The trouble is that is definitely not how Christ would have acted. I saw her as an inconvenience, but perhaps there was more. I would give anything for another opportunity to see Pamela. I don’t know what her past was. I assume she has had a tough past, I don’t know what got her to where she is in life, but perhaps she needed a friend. Perhaps she needed someone just to stop and give her a hug. She was hurting and as Christians we have been called to clothe ourselves with compassion towards one another. Nevertheless, my own preconceived ideas, my own pride, my busyness, my prejudices that I thought I has suppressed and my own lack of compassion hindered me from ministering to and helping this lady who was hurting. There was one more problem with how I acted, Pamela was a human being, Pamela had a soul and she is precious to God. I perhaps thought that I was better and more valuable to God than she was because I did not have the problems that she did. How pride filled! I am ashamed and must confess that I don’t always show compassion like Christ did. I would like to be able to tell you that I looked at her with compassion, embraced her and told her of the love of God that can bring joy and peace to a broken and hurting life, but I didn’t. I gave Pamela a few dollars for a Taxi, but honestly it wasn’t because I was overwhelmed with compassion, it was more so that she would leave me alone. Perhaps there is a Pamela in your life. As I drove off a few Scriptures came to my mind; “whatever you do for the least of these you do for me”, “do not withhold doing good to those who deserve it when it is your power to act”, and “do not forget to entertain strangers for in doing so some have entertained angels without knowing it.” The point I learned was I missed the mark, I disobeyed a command, and I missed an opportunity to share the love of God with someone who may have been a sinner, sick and hurting. Let us strive to show Christ like compassion to all people. We live in a world that is hurting. We live in a world where people are depressed and broken. Divorce, sexual immorality, abuse, neglect, peer pressure and the stress of this life bring people to such hurt. Church, we have a cure for their hurt and often times we walk right on by because we do not want to spend the time or energy to show compassion. We have an answer to the heartache and pain that people in this world have and that answer is Jesus Christ. Let us show people Jesus through the compassion that we show to others.
b. Jesus’ Compassion Produced Action
Compassion is defined in the dictionary as a deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it.
The Greek word that we translate as “compassion” more literally means; to have the bowels yearn with sympathy.
Jesus took time to show compassion even when it was not convenient because people is what it is all about. We must never forget in the midst of our busyness and chaos, that when it comes down to it, it is all about people and sometimes we miss that and if we have missed that point we have missed the main point. It is great that we can do good things, be involved in a church, give generously, and believe the right things, but we must love others above all else or all that is in vain.
Jesus was moved to compassion many times, and that compassion that he had motivated him to action. As Jesus looked upon people he didn’t just see diseased, sick and hurting people, he saw souls that were of great worth to God. He had compassion on them and that compassion motivated him to action. So often we will look at someone who may be hurting, sick or in need and have sympathy for them or pity for them, but we don’t show a Christ like compassion for them. Compassion should motivate us to more than just feeling sorrow for someone it should motivate us to action. Pity is a feeling, but true compassion demands an action. I think it is important to denote that the difference between pity or sympathy and compassion is an action. It is great to have pity and sympathy when people are having tough time, but we are called to have compassion.
There is a funny story about Peter admitting people at the gates of heaven. Peter asks one man who appears, ‘Tell me one act of kindness you have committed during your life. The man said, ‘Once saw a rough looking gang of motorcyclist harassing an old lady. I walked right up and punched the gang leader in the nose!’ St Peter said, ‘When did that happen?’ The guy said, ‘About 30 seconds ago.’”
We can see in the gospels of several accounts of Jesus being overwhelmed with compassion for someone. That compassion that he had motivated him to do something about the situation they were in. One thing that we see in Christ’s compassion that he showed is a glimpse into the heart of God. We see how God thinks and feel regarding our suffering and pain. We too should be motivated to action because of the compassion that we may have for others.
c. Jesus’ Compassion Changed Lives
Luke 9:37-43
I hope you caught the result of Jesus’ display of compassion. It says, “The people were amazed at the greatness of God.” May that be said when we show compassion to others. Jesus showed acts of compassion without any strings attached or without any hidden agenda, but the result of his acts of compassion was always positive. I do not know of a time that Jesus healed someone or had compassion on someone and they were not changed for the better. Most of the time in fact the Scriptures tell us that they responded in amazement to God and placed their faith in God as a result of His compassion. Jesus’ compassion certainly changed people’s physical lives, but more than that His compassion changed their spiritual lives. The compassion that we show or even refuse to show to others can have an eternal effect on people Here is the bottom lone of what I am trying to preach to myself and everyone here – I know that sometimes people may be inconvenient or in the way. I know that sometimes we are so busy and wrapped up in our lives, but please, please do not miss what is most important. People! People! People! People matter to God and he values them, not because of their flesh and blood, but because of their soul. Let us as Christians change how we view people, let us look beyond and see people with compassion. I truly believe that we as God’s people who possess His Spirit should feel compassion for those in need that drives us to action
We have received compassion from God in our helpless estate, let us show it back to others.
Lamentations 3:22-23
