THE COMPASSION OF THE CHRIST

The news that she had been married five times was shocking to say the least. She didn't seem like the type of woman who would take a vow before God so lightly; and yet she had. I didn't know what to think. One marriage, maybe; but even that I would have frowned upon greatly. Five? Really? You've got to be kidding me. All I could do was shake my head. But that's not it; she also had a live-in boyfriend. I won't mention her name, because there is no need. After all, it's not her name that's as important as her deeds that serve the purpose of my point.

Funny what can come up over a cup of coffee. I was tired from a long day and had stopped at the local Starbucks for something to drink. The barista smiled as I asked for a cup of hot chocolate with mint, one of my favorites. Perhaps her smile was because there I was, standing in a place known for their espressos and lattes, and I was ordering the one thing that would be on a kiddie menu if the coffee giant had one. I noticed how tired she looked and commented on how it must have been a long day.

“Too long,” she laughed. “But, I'm about to be off, and then I have to go pick up my kids from my ex-husband.” The conversation sort of carried itself from there. I'm not sure why, but people seem to bare their souls to me sometimes.

As much as I liked her, I didn't feel sorry for her; after all she had made choices. Perhaps if she had decided differently, she wouldn't be standing there talking to me as she made my drink. She wouldn't have to bother picking up her kids from their father. While that may sound somewhat cold, keep in mind that I just met this woman and didn't know her from Adam or Eve. Yet, here she was speaking as if she were searching for something; for someone possibly. I don't know what she wanted or expected from me. I was just an average Joe who stopped in for a cup of one. She handed me my cup, and I smiled back as I turned to walk away. I didn't know what she needed; I just knew it wasn't me.

Though this story may be heavily veiled, I am of course writing about the woman at the well. The difference is that her encounter was with Christ and it turned out, well very differently than this simple parable of mine. Jesus had been on a long journey, and he sat down to rest at Jacob's well. Soon thereafter a Samaritan woman came out to draw water, and Jesus asked if he could have a drink. Forget the fact that Jews did not associate with Samaritans; here was God himself associating with a sinner he knew was guilty. He had her rap sheet. Yet, Jesus knew she was searching for something; for someone. She just didn't know this was Him sitting by the well. The woman said to Him that the Messiah would explain everything. Jesus told her that it was He. And He did explain everything. He named her sin and then, He had compassion. What happened next is amazing: the Bible reads that many others believed because of her testimony.

In the Catholic church divorces are not granted. Neither are they recognized from other institutions. You are married for life. The Vatican only permits annulments in a case where the couple can prove the marriage was never valid. Yet just because the Pope doesn't recognize it, doesn't mean that people aren't getting divorced. In protestant churches they are so recognized that you are likely to be relegated to a back pew out of view. After all, we Christians want to contain the spread of sin. God forbid we fail to judge you; better you than us. In Malachi, we take God's words, 'I hate divorce' to mean that you're unclean for all eternity.

But divorce is only one sin of which we fail to find compassion for our fellow human beings. Speaking to Moses, the Lord called himself 'the compassionate and gracious God'. David again prays those words in one of the psalms. In the New Testament we read that Christ 'had compassion' many times during his ministry. So what exactly does the word mean?

compassion n. a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering

The word compassion itself comes from the Latin compassus meaning 'to sympathize' and is combined with pati, translated 'to suffer'. Simply put, compassion means to sympathize with suffering.

One of my favorite songs is called 'Give Me Your Eyes' by a Christian artist named Brandon Heath. In it he sings, 'Give me Your eyes for just one second/ Give me Your eyes so I can see/ Everything that I keep missing/ Give me Your love for humanity/ Give me Your arms for the broken hearted/ Ones that are far beyond my reach'. How different would people appear to us if we looked at them through the eyes of Christ? Would we see someone who's made one too many mistakes or one who's never too far from grace? And would we look at the ugliness of their sin, or the beauty that is God's salvation offered to them?

In Matthew 9 we find Christ preaching to the people and healing them of disease and sickness of every kind. The Bible again reads that he had compassion on them. Then in Chapter 15 of the same book, Jesus has compassion on the crowd of 5,000 because they are hungry and in need. He saw fit to meet not only their spiritual but also their physical needs. I love in Matthew 20 that as Jesus passed by a pair of blind men on the road, they cried out to Him. The Scripture says that the crowd rebuked them, but Jesus had compassion on them. He touched their eyes, gave them sight, and they followed behind.

Christ did not simply have pity on people; He healed the hurting. Jesus not only sympathized with with them, He worked to alleviate their suffering. He wanted to lessen the pain and lighten their load. So in the end, the question is this: Do you have compassion on them?

Compassion will cure more sins than condemnation. -Henry Ward Beecher