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Compassion: Faith in
Action
Matthew 8:1-4
VS.2 and there was a leper
who came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you choose, you can
make me clean.”
Jesus had just finished the Sermon on the Mount and he
was coming down from the mountain. After hearing Jesus, a large crowd was
accompanying him with passion and excitement. Jesus has concluded his
sermon by saying practice your faith through the parable of wise builder. A
person with leprosy was considered completely unclean-physically and
spiritually. He could not approach within six feet of any person including
family members (Lev. 13:45-46 says "Those who suffer from a serious
skin disease must tear their clothing and leave their hair uncombed. They
must cover their mouth and call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!' As long as the
serious disease lasts, they will be ceremonially unclean. They must live in
isolation in their place outside the camp”). Here Jesus has demonstrated
what he had taught or we can say practicing faith with compassion.
Compassion can be defined
as “your pain in my heart”. Bernard of Clairvaux said Justice seeks out
only the merits but compassion only regards the need. Here the leper seeks
not justice but compassion from the Lord. He was not having a space in the
society and it was forbidden to be in a crowd. Jesus has taken the pain of
that person in his heart and inviting him to be in the crowd or people. By
inviting or allowing that person for being with him, we could see a
compassionate heart of Christ declaring silently that he was not rejected
but having space among the people. The leper blindly believed and had faith
that Jesus can heal him completely. He was not asking for healing but for
cleansing. Healing was personal for him to be good in health and body but
cleansing was special that gives him lost status. Only a compassionate
heart could read the pain of others. The leper was considered as person
abandoned by God, but Jesus declared that lepers too have place in the
kingdom of God. Jesus welcomed the leper, gave place among the people
and touched him with compassion. And that touch transformed the life of a
leper – “the untouchable became touchable’. Human beings have five senses
and they are important in understanding of world around them. When we touch
something we got involve with it. Jesus wanted to say silently to the
religious Jews that they failed to see the pain and they lost the sense of
understanding others. God expects this compassion from us. Our faith in
action is the need of the time. A smile with compassion will give a loving
touch to the painful heart. A ‘hi’ to the ‘unattended’ will give a
cherishing experience in their lives. Let us practice our faith as our Lord
has demonstrated.
PRAYER
Almighty Lord helps us to be compassionate. Bless us to
feel the pain of the needy and to extend a transforming touch to their
lives. Amen
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Whatever we touch, we leave
fingerprints; as we touch other’s lives, we leave our identity.
Rev. Isaac P. Kurien, St. Johns
MTC, NY
Christian
Education Forum, Diocese of NAE of the Mar Thoma Church
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