Cultivating a Heart of Compassion

And when I was first asked to speak on cultivating a heart of compassion,

I thought, what a strange passage to put with it.

Because as we read about the sheep and the goats,

it seems to me to be more about the consequences of not having compassion

than it does to be about actually cultivating compassion.

However, as I prepared for the word this morning,

I discovered something that, to me,

seems like it could actually be the key to cultivating compassion.

But first of all, let's just have a brief look at what compassion actually is.

When we think of compassion, we often think of character traits

such as kindness and sympathy towards others, don't we?

But there is something deeper and more profound in its meaning than that.

The word compassion actually comes from the Latin word compati,

which means to suffer with.

Compassion means that someone else's suffering becomes your suffering,

which isn't a very pleasant thought, is it?

Maybe at times that's why we close our heart to compassion.

But today we're looking at cultivating our heart toward compassion.

So, suffering, meaning someone else's compassion, excuse me,

meaning someone else's suffering becomes your suffering,

is why when the sheep say to the Lord,

why did we ever do these things for you, Lord?

Jesus is able to reply to them,

whenever you did it for the least one of these,

you did it for me,

because he has entered into the suffering of his children,

his brothers and sisters, his people.

He had compassion on them,

and he entered into their suffering.

He has compassion on us,

and he enters into our suffering with us, doesn't he?

Jesus sees the need.

Now, someone that is very acquainted with suffering is Job.

And Job struggled to see where God was in his suffering.

And yet, he was able to say,

in the midst of his suffering,

when he couldn't actually see God,

Job was able to declare,

but God knows the way that I take.

God sees us in our suffering,

even when we can't see him.

And Jesus, all through the Gospels,

noticed the people around him,

and he had compassion on them.

We read countless occasions

where Jesus noticed needs

that the disciples had completely missed and overlooked.

Jesus had compassion on the crowds,

and he fed them when they were hungry.

He taught them when they had no one to shepherd them.

He healed them when they were sick.

And he had compassion on individuals,

and he noticed individual needs.

He noticed women,

whom he healed both physically and emotionally,

women who were generally invisible in that society.

He noticed the outcasts,

and he had compassion on them

when they were blind or when they were lepers,

and he touched them.

He had compassion on sinners,

and he noticed them when he visited with them,

and he gave them a sense of worth,

like Zacchaeus and the tax collectors

who he sat and ate with.

But notice that Jesus didn't just see people

or have a warm, mushy feeling of compassion.

He acted on it.

And once he'd noticed people and their needs,

he responded to that person

and to that need with compassion.

He didn't prioritise his own agenda

or the task that lay ahead of him

over the needs of the people that he encountered.

He allowed his compassion to motivate his action.

If compassion is just a mushy feeling,

then that's actually pity, isn't it?

We can feel pity for someone.

Pity doesn't motivate us to meet their need

or to help them change their circumstances,

but compassion does.

Compassion, according to the dictionary,

is a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow

for one another

who is stricken by misfortune,

accompanied by a strong desire

to alleviate the suffering.

Compassion leads to mercy

and acts of mercy,

and Jean testified to that fact

as the food bank

has cultivated a heart of compassion

in the lives of people in Clevedon

and the surrounding areas.

It's made people notice the need

and the people that are in need,

and it's motivated them

to do something about it.

And we're constantly exhorted

and encouraged throughout Scripture

to be compassionate.

Paul, in his epistles,

exhorts us to clothe ourselves

with compassion,

to carry each other's burdens,

to comfort those in trouble

like we ourselves have been comforted,

to be kind and compassionate

to one another,

forgiving each other

just as God has forgiven us.

And the Psalms promise us

that even in darkness

light dawns for the upright,

for those who are gracious

and compassionate

and righteous.

So the question remains,

if we understand

that biblically

we are encouraged

to be compassionate

and Jesus has set us an example

of what a compassionate life

looks like,

then the question remains,

how do we cultivate

that heart of compassion?

And this is where

the passage that we read

comes into play, I think.

So, as I was praying

and preparing,

I feel like the Lord

gave me three L's

to help us to remember

to cultivate compassion.

And the first one is look.

We need to take the time

to stop and notice

where and for whom

compassion is needed.

Often we fail to notice

other people's needs

and the situation therein

because we're consumed

with our own needs,

our own circumstances,

our own problems

or worries

or even our desires,

our wishes and our hopes.

And in failing

to see the needs

of others,

we miss

the opportunities

that God gives us

to respond

with compassion

and to be able

to serve him

by serving others.

Jesus

had

the greatest reason

I can ever think of

to be consumed

with his own need.

He knew

what he had come

to do

and he knew

that the road

he was on

was leading

to Calvary.

He knew

what was going

to happen

to him.

But he didn't

allow that

anxiety

or worry

or understanding

that awareness

of his own

circumstances

to prevent him

from noticing

other people

and feeling

compassion

toward them.

he stopped

and he noticed

as he looked

at the lives

of those

around him.

So I encourage you

look

at the people

around you

and when you've

noticed them

then listen.

Once you've

noticed people

and their situations

maybe we need

to then

see if we can

imagine ourselves

in their shoes

and ask ourselves

what would life

be like for me

if I was in

their circumstances?

What would I need?

But we know

don't we

that everyone's

different

not everyone's

the same

and not everyone

responds

in the same way

so perhaps

the next step

in cultivating

a compassionate

heart

is to actually

take the time

to listen

to those people

allow them

to express

their needs

and their desires?

Even Jesus

didn't assume

that he knew

what someone

needed

or wanted.

He asked

the blind man

what do you

want me

to do

for you?

And that seems

crazy doesn't it?

When I very first

read that I thought

what a ridiculous

question

but Jesus

didn't assume

that the man

wanted his sight

restored

he took

the time

to stop

and ask him

what is it

that you want?

He listened

and the last

thing maybe

we can do

after we've

looked and

noticed

those needs

after we've

listened to

people

and what

they actually

need or want

then we need

to love

and this point

takes us

back to the

teaching on

the sheep

and the goats

there's a lot

I could say

about the

passage of

the sheep

and the goats

the significance

of the left

and the right

and all sorts

of things

but I want

to simply

draw one

point

and I think

this really

is the key

to being

a compassionate

people

and Clive's

comments

illustration

at the beginning

about

when he did

his even song

and there were

four people

on the one

side

and one

on the other

just beautifully

illustrates

and he had

no idea

what I was

speaking

what I was

going to say

illustrates

what I

discovered

as I

researched

sheep

and goats

because initially

I thought

why sheep

and why goats

what's the

difference

so I thought

well I'll

look it up

and find out

and the thing

I discovered

the most

the biggest

difference

between sheep

and goats

is that goats

are fiercely

independent

creatures

they prefer

to be on

their own

they like

to go off

and do

their own

thing

they like

to go

their own

way

and find

their own

path

like the

one

sitting

on their

own

sheep

on the

other hand

prefer to

stay

with the

flock

they like

eating

together

playing

together

living

together

they love

each other

and not

just in

that mushy

kind of

always and

everybody

wonderful

kind of

way

because I

don't know

if you've

been around

sheep lately

but they

stink

they really

stink

they choose

to love

each other

even though

they stink

and the

reason I

make that

point is

because

us

being

sheep

and being

in a

flock

together

doesn't

mean that

we're

necessarily

going to

find

every

member

of that

flock

attractive

and appealing

we might

think some

people really

stink

you might

be the

person

that stinks

I might

be

but they

choose to

love each

other because

they're part

of one

another's

flock

and in

the passage

that we

read

the sheep

notice

the needs

that are

there don't

they

they notice

that someone's

sick and needs

visiting or

someone's missing

and they're in

prison

they notice

that another

person is

hungry or

someone else

can't clothe

themselves

and this

compassion

leads to

acts of

mercy

and they

begin to

meet those

needs

but what

struck me

was that

it wasn't

one sheep

meeting the

need of

every person

the flock

collectively

met the

needs that

were arising

the sheep

weren't off

doing their

own thing

they were

aware of

the needs

and they

were meeting

the needs

together

so one

sheep said

well I'll go

and visit

those in

prison

and another

sheep said

well I'll

collect some

clothes for

those that

need to be

clothed

and another

one said

well I can

cook a meal

and feed

the hungry

collectively

the sheep

because they

stay together

in the flock

they have the

support and

the resources

to look and

be aware of

the need

to take the

time to

stop and

listen

because if

one of you

is listening

to a need

someone else

can be off

doing a job

and they

have enough

love amongst

the flock

to meet

those needs

because together

there is

support and

resources

amongst the

flock

so it seems

to me

that the

key to

developing a

heart of

compassion

is to be

a sheep

not a

goat

to stay

in fellowship

with the

flock

and not

be a goat

going off

going on

your own

thinking you

know better

than everybody

else

or wanting

to carve

your own

path and be

independent

or maybe

deciding that

they all stink

too much

I want to

go away

from that

smell

but actually

having the

time

and the

resources

to meet

each other's

needs

because you've

chosen to

be part of

this flock

you've chosen

to do life

with these

sheep

so in

closing

just ask

yourself

are you a

sheep

or are you

a goat

but don't

decide

according to

how many

needs you've

gone off

and met

individually

this isn't

a comparison

contest

it's not

about

tallying up

I've met

ten needs

you've only

met two

rather I

think we

should measure

if we're a

sheep or if

we're a

goat

according to

whether we

prefer to

just go off

on our

own

or whether

we want

to stay

in close

fellowship

with one

another

with the

other members

of our

flock

where

collectively

we can

work

together

to do

for the

least of

these

whatever is

needed

and in

doing so

know

that we

together

are serving

the Lord

the good

shepherd

of our

flock

all

like

have

gathered

together

to do

the

session