Compassion I. Introduction A. A child dying of starvation B. A woman who has lost her family to war C. A family who lost everything in a natural disaster D. When you hear of these things, or see pictures of them, what do you feel inside? E. Hopefully, we feel sorrow for the tragedy…but also something more 1. Our heart, in a sense, has a desire to "reach out" to them 2. Such can be called compassion! F. Compassion an important part of the Christian life G. Let us consider the Scriptures regarding compassion II. What is Compassion? A. What is compassion? 1. Sometimes a difficult thing, since there are many words involved 2. Many times, nuances sought from meanings that aren't always there B. Compassion 1. From Latin cum and passion, "suffering with" or "feeling with" 2. Greek equivalent: sumpathos -- "sympathy" 3. Compassion: A suffering with another; painful sympathy; a sensation of sorrow excited by the distress or misfortunes of another; pity; commiseration. Compassion is a mixed passion, compounded of love and sorrow; at least some portion of love generally attends the pain or regret, or is excited by it. Extreme distress of an enemy even changes enmity into at least temporary affection (Webster's) 4. Sympathy: Fellow feeling; the quality of being affected by the affection of another, with feelings by the affection of another, with feelings correspondent in kind, if not in degree. We feel sympathy for another when we see him in distress, or when we are informed of his distresses. This sympathy is a correspondent feeling of pain or regret; An agreement of affections or inclinations, or a conformity of natural temperament, which makes two persons pleased with each other (Webster's) C. Other terms considered 1. Empathy: Identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and motives; the attribution of one's own feelings to an object (American Heritage) 2. Pity: The feeling or suffering of one person, excited by the distresses of another; sympathy with the grief or misery of another; compassion or fellow-suffering (Webster's) D. Distinctions? 1. Sympathy is generally used in situations where the sympathizer has gone through the same experience as the sympathized 2. Empathy tends to refer to the mental recognition of the suffering-- "I can understand how you feel that way"-- does not assume shared experience 3. Pity, although similar in meaning to the rest, comes with negative connotations-- the one pitied feels more humiliated, say, than one with whom is sympathized or empathized E. Compassion is an easy way to package all of these concepts together 1. In compassion, we have an internal feeling regarding another 2. That feeling may be based purely on a mental recognition of their difficulty 3. That feeling may be based on shared experiences of suffering 4. They compel us to reach out to said person in their time of need F. An attribute expected from the Christian (Colossians 3:12)! III. Jesus, Model of Compassion A. We also have in Jesus a model of compassion B. We are to heed His example (1 Corinthians 11:1, 1 John 2:6)! C. He often had compassion on the crowds 1. Matthew 9:36/Mark 6:34: they were harassed and helpless, without shepherd 2. Matthew 14:14 3. Matthew 15:32/Mark 8:2: they were hungry! D. Luke 7:13: compassion for a widow who lost her son E. Also in parables 1. Luke 10:33: characteristic of the Good Samaritan 2. Luke 15:20: feeling of the father toward the prodigal son F. James 5:11: compassion characteristic of the Lord! G. The Greek word used here for compassion is quite interesting 1. splagchnizomai 2. Literally, "movement in one's bowels or entrails" 3. The word represents the visceral action behind the feeling of compassion! 4. Have you ever seen someone in a difficult state or position and literally felt it within you? That's compassion! H. Such is what Jesus had for people and for us, and what we should feel for others! IV. Why Compassion? A. Why is it that we are to be compassionate people? B. The need for compassion speaks to both aspects of its definition 1. The ability to share in suffering 2. The willingness to mentally identify with the suffering of others C. We are to share in other's sufferings for many reasons! 1. We also have suffered, and hopefully appreciated the compassion of others 2. We are reminded that we too are sinful, undeserving of what we have been given (Titus 3:3-8) 3. We also should be reminded that only by the grace of God we are not in the same position! 4. Compassion comes naturally if we love our fellow man as we ought and desire to engage in kindness and mercy toward him (cf. Luke 10:27-37) 5. When we have opportunity to sympathize with people, having shared experiences of suffering, we represent the light that God desires us to be (Matthew 5:13-16) D. There is also great need to mentally identify with others 1. Empathy is too often a lost art 2. Far too often, we are so preoccupied with ourselves and our own perspective that we fail to accurately and fully consider the perspective of others 3. Can we identify with others? Are we willing to put ourselves in their shoes and consider their perspectives? 4. Such does not force us to agree with that perspective, or to change our own per se, but at least we should consider how others feel! 5. Hearkens back to Matthew 7:1-5 6. How can we judge or condemn others if we don't understand who they are or what has led them to be where they are? 7. How can we lead them to Christ if we refuse to consider the way they see things? 8. Empathy, therefore, is quite important for us if we are going to relate to our fellow man! E. In order to love our fellow man, we must find ways of being compassionate toward them! 1. We were all sinners (Titus 3:3-8), and all still sin (Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8) 2. We have all received love, kindness, and mercy from God (John 3:16, Luke 6:36, Romans 2:4) 3. Let us show this to others! V. Conclusion A. We have considered compassion today B. Do we have that acute feeling of compassion within our entrails? C. Do we look out at our fellow man and see them harassed with sin and helpless against it, and feel a need to do something about it? D. Are we willing to identify with others in their difficulties, or do we just stand back and condemn? E. Let us follow after the example of Jesus, and have compassionate hearts toward all! F. Invitation/songbook