Showing Compassion

Kate just wanted me to remind or explain why you've got me here speaking to you.

It's because she didn't quite say it like that.

I'm on the plan for the Methodist side of the church and the plan has a number of local preachers.

David, you'll probably see more of us now that Russ has moved on.

We've got a gap, so that's why I'm here.

So I'm a preacher around the circuit.

So, anyway, showing compassion.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines compassion as the sympathetic consciousness of others' distress

together with a desire to alleviate it.

In other words, compassion means recognising the suffering of others,

deeply caring and then taking action to help.

My first reaction when I saw the theme for today was,

what can I say on this to some of the most compassionate people I know?

There's so much care shown here.

We see it, we share in it and we experience it.

Well, I think Jesus does have something to say to us today.

Both to us and also in a world where compassion seems to often take a back seat.

It's not just here in the UK that the age budget is down and protectionism is up.

It's across all of the wealthy world.

Several people have said similar things to this, but I found this quote from Pearl Buck,

a 20th century writer.

She said,

the test of a civilisation is the way that it cares for its helpless members.

I think Jesus might also have a lot to say to the so-say civilised world today.

Before we look at the passage,

I want to just remind ourselves of the benchmark for compassion.

Let's look at some of Jesus' compassion,

because we can become so familiar with him, can't we,

that we almost miss how awesome that is.

So we know he magnanimously gave way to his mum

and turned the water into wine at that wedding.

He wept for his friend Lazarus, who had died,

and for the city of Jerusalem,

in all its blunt opposition to him.

He stopped and listened to beggars,

healed ten lepers, regardless of how they would respond to him.

He spoke with a questionable woman in Samaria,

of all places,

and asked her for water,

breaking all of the cultural taboos,

before offering her life.

He is moved with pity

for a widow whose son had died,

and compassion for the crowds who are lost,

hungry and suffering,

like in Matthew 9.

He fed the hungry crowd more than once,

and he spent time with tax collectors and Pharisees,

outcasts and sinners.

These are just some of the pointers

to the depth of his compassionate heart.

Jesus had and has a heart for everyone.

And that's why,

even while we were still sinners,

he willingly chose to die for us.

Jesus, just like when he stopped by the roadside

or paused his sermon for someone,

will still always make time for us too.

So if you need his help with anything or for anyone,

just ask him.

We all know this,

but I think sometimes we resist, don't we?

I think that we can sometimes get trapped

by that popular myth that says

self-sufficiency is the way,

that we have to do everything ourselves,

and somehow we are failing if we ask for help.

Christian people are swayed by this.

And also thinking that Jesus is too busy

or too important for little old me,

or else you need a pre-qualification of prayer skill

or personal holiness to be given his attention.

It's all codswallop, isn't it?

It's just not true.

God holds each of us close to the centre of his heart,

as precious and as loved.

And he's ever waiting for us to seek his face.

He always makes time.

So don't forget,

we have a prayer team here at the end of the service.

People who can ask him with you.

My favourite quote from 2025 that I found was this.

It's from 24-7 Prayer Australia.

It says,

Prayer is looking inward towards the heart of God

and then outward towards those who are on the heart of God.

I really liked that.

And it reminds us,

we are all on his heart,

the centre of his compassion.

What relief is that?

And what an example for us to follow too.

I really want to get on with the reading.

Honestly, I do.

But first,

I think we need a joke.

It was quite hard finding one

and an appropriate one

that Russell hadn't used.

But I think I've managed to find one.

It's classic in style,

but I've tweaked it

so that you have to decide,

you have to work out

which character is which.

So let's have a go.

An Englishman,

an Irishman and a Scotsman

were travelling by jumbo jet.

Suddenly there was a lot of turbulence.

The plane dipped in altitude.

The engines stuttered.

In fact,

so much so

that the pilot became really concerned

and really worried

that the plane was going to crash.

So he asked

all the passengers

to do something religious.

At once,

the first man stood up

and sang over the tannoy,

Nearer my God to thee.

Then the second recited

the Lord's Prayer.

And the third paused

and reverently taking off his cap,

went up and down the aisles

of the plane

taking up a collection.

I didn't think

it was that funny really,

but hey-ho.

I guess we all have worked out

which one of them

was the third.

I don't need to tell you.

National stereotypes

can be a bit of banter,

a bit of fun,

can't they?

Of course,

at other times,

they make those

of the target group

feel uncomfortable.

And in the world,

we do see that

the labels people

put on others

can be hurtful

or even a cover

for outright prejudice.

In Jesus' time,

the Jews had a lot

of mistrust

and dislike

of the Samaritans.

Some Jews despised them,

treating them

as second-class citizens

and would often

avoid travelling

through Samaria

rather than

encountering its people.

And the feeling

was mutual.

Jewish travellers

in Samaria

were not

always welcomed.

This is the context

for the Q&A

with Jesus

in front of a crowd

that largely

would have been Jews.

our passage

starts with

the questioner,

the expert

in the law

who wanted to know

what to do

to inherit

eternal life.

Now,

in those days,

an expert

in the law

wasn't a lawyer

but was a Bible scholar.

This man

would have spent

his life

studying the Torah.

That's the first

five books

we have

in the Old Testament.

There's a sense here

of a man

earnestly

sorry,

earnest

in wanting

to do

the right thing

who took pride

in the Jewish law.

And we know

too that he had

a really good

grasp of it

for Jesus

commended

the way

he summed up

the law

so clearly.

Love God

with all that you are

and love your neighbour

as yourself.

Incidentally,

the Greek word

for neighbour

used here

is more than

about just

the person

living next door.

In our translations

we lose

something of the

sense of community

and fellowship

that it actually

means.

So the scholar

knew his stuff

yet Jesus

saw in him

in this man

a need

to stretch

his vision.

Do this

and you will

live

challenges

the scholar's

comfort zone.

so he

seeks to

justify

himself

and in

response

we hear

one of the

most well-known

parables

of Jesus.

The traveller

presumably a Jew

was a man

on perhaps

a slightly

reckless journey

for the

Jericho

Jerusalem

road

was

through

wild country

and had

a reputation

for danger.

Attacked

and left

half dead

means

it wasn't

certain

whether he

was alive

or not.

So he

really needed

help.

But the

priest

and then

the Levite

were more

interested

in their

own

ceremonial

purity

than helping

a fellow

Jew

in his

adversity.

Now if

they had

stopped

and found

that he

was dead

and not

alive

this would

have meant

for the

priest

and the

Levite

they'd

been

barred

from

the

temple

for a

week

and would

have had

to

ritually

purify

themselves

through

washing

and doing

a bit

of laundry.

I'm not

sure how

much of an

inconvenience

this would

have been

but I'm

sure

surely

they could

have worked

from home

maybe had

meetings on

carry pigeon

zoom or

something.

I don't

know.

But I get

there is a

sense here

of where

the crowd

were at

this point

in the

story.

The

stuffy

religious

folk

had let

the man

down.

The

shallowness

of the

powerful

was about

to be

exposed

by a

kind

Jew.

Surely

the answer

is that

our

neighbours

are our

people,

the

community

who

think

and act

like

us.

Then

Jesus

pops

that

bubble

of

self-righteousness

and

mashes

the

boundaries

to

compassion.

It's a

Samaritan

that stops

and helps.

a grubby

misaligned

heretic.

I suppose

that's a bit

like saying

a Bristol

City fan

might help

a Bristol

Rovers

one or

maybe a

new age

traveller

helping

someone in

Clevedon or

an asylum

seeker

helping someone

in Dover

or a

trans man

helping an

evangelical.

I'm

deliberately

picking

examples

here and

I'm sure

you've

got your

own

that might

make you

feel

uncomfortable

because I

think that's

the point

of Jesus'

words.

The

compassion

of Jesus

is

universal.

Raw

compassion

doesn't

ask first

what you

think

or believe

or whether

you agree

with me.

The thing

is sometimes

we are

encouraged

to think

local

rather than

universal.

We say

charity

begins at

home

but I'm

not sure

that's

right

and it

certainly

shouldn't

stop

there.

Our

compassion

can be

limited

by our

fears

or

suspicions

of

others.

Our

assumptions

or

judgments

on their

nature

or

behaviors

even

on whether

we like

them or

not.

Going

back to

my

joke

when we

group

people

and assign

characteristics

however

minor that

is we

risk

creating

a barrier

to our

compassion.

So

defining

an

age

band

or a

subcultural

group

or any

selection

of people

as

they

can be

the first

step

of us

moving

away

from the

side

of the

road

someone

is

lying

in.

In

Jesus'

story

the

Samaritan

had no

quibbles

about

helping

and

despite

belief

differences

they

held

similar

views

to the

Jews

over

ritual

purity.

But he

took pity

on the

man

and was

prepared

to risk

it

using

his

time

and

money

to

help

him.

His

compassion

followed

through

leaving

no

doubt

over

his

recovery.

A

mark of

compassion

then

should

be

holistic

and I

think

we

know

that.

The

Samaritan

dealt

with the

immediate

need

by

binding

the

man's

wounds.

He

provided

for the

medium

term

spending

a month

or so

of

wages

paid

to

the

innkeeper

and

he

covered

any

long

term

needs

with

his

promise

to

return.

A

few

years

ago

some

friends

of ours

that

lived

near

to

my

dad

this

is

down

in

deepest

Cornwall

or it

was

down

in

deepest

Cornwall

they

agreed

to

keep

an eye

on

my

dad

so

that

as

his

dementia

kicked

in

he

could

stay

living

at

home

for as

long

as

possible.

When

my

sister

and I

asked

them

to

do

this

I

didn't

realise

just

what

it

would

cost

them

in

terms

of

their

time

and

their

patience.

Sometimes

they

had to

visit

him

daily

towards

the

end.

It

was

long

term

but

they

followed

through

on

their

commitments

and

did

this

out

of

love

willingly.

And

I'm

forever

grateful

to

those

too.

To

me

this

is

Jesus

like

compassion.

When

our

compassion

is of

Christ's

model

not

only is

it

unrestricted

it

follows

through

as

far

as

we

are

able

to

help.

Jesus

asks

of us

to

show

compassion

to

any

and

all

which

might

mean

looking

wider

than

we

expect.

He

asks

us

to

show

compassion

as

long

as

is

needed

which

might

be

longer

than

we

anticipate.

He

asks

us

to

show

compassion

in

the

ways

he

would

do

so

which

might

be

harder

and

more

costly

than

we

realise.

For

Jesus

asks

us

to

love

as

he

loved

which

cost

him

his

all

for

he

has

given

us

everything.

Let's

pray

together.

Lord

Jesus

stretch

our hearts

Lord

we pray

to be

as big

as yours

to cover

all those

you love.

Help us

to love

fully

weeping

with those

you weep

with

listening

to others

woes

helping

meet

needs

working

always

towards

restoring

lives.

Lord

may

we

do

this

fully

we pray

not

just

from

our

surpluses

of

time

or

money.

And

Lord

when

we

worry

about

our

capacity

or

fear

compassion

fatigue

show us

afresh

your

heart

Lord

point

us

to

those

who

you

carry

there.

For

when we

see

your

heart

then

we

will

know

following

you

is

enough.

And

we

can

trust

in

your

love.

Lord

you

love

so

much

you

gave

your

life

for

us.

Help

us

show

it

to

tell

it

and

like

in

Acts

2

praise

you

that

we

may

delight

in

the

good

will

of

many

who

respond

to

your

compassion

and

call.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you