Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

 

Compassion that Leads to the Experience of the Kingdom of God St. Matthew 25:31-40 V.40: And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to the one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” What is compassion? In the Gospels, we see that Jesus had compassion on individuals and entire crowds of people. Compassion is more than just feeling sorry for someone. The word broken down to its parts actually means to suffer with. This is why the incarnate Christ was able to have compassion for His creation; He suffered alongside them. From birth to death, He suffered the injustices of society. He did not receive the basic requirement of a clean place to be born, He was a refugee along with His parents. He lived under political persecution of an empire. He was gossiped about, unjustly characterized and charged with crimes He never committed. And ultimately received an unjust verdict and punishment. He fully understood the various struggles people were undergoing. Despite all that Jesus faced, He submitted to the will of the Father and to the injustice he faced at our hands. As His disciples, we are required to be of that same mindset as we are reminded by St. Paul in his epistle to the Philippians 2:5, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” In Matthew 25 we see Jesus categorizing people as two groups. These groups are not split into believers and nonbelievers, rather Jesus groups them as those who saw the needs in society and acted versus those that ignored the needs in society. Jesus specifically ties the actions of one group towards the least in society as direct service to Him. This parable also reminds us that inaction is as condemnable as other move overt sin. Those who recognize the dire needs within our society and actually acts upon it with compassion is able to bring about a measure of the Kingdom of God here on earth. That type of Christian living would foreshadow and give a glimpse into the promises of what we see in Revelation 21 pertaining to a new heaven and new earth. Living and acting with compassion would be the spiritual counterbalance to the ideals of greed and selfishness that the world promotes. If we consistently remember that whenever one serves those who are considered the least in society, they are indeed serving Jesus himself. This recognition and service with the correct intention will surely bring even more people to Christ and they in turn would act in the same manner when they see others in need. The greatest witness and testimony of Christ in our lives would be to live as Christ lived and to love as Christ loved.

PRAYER Heavenly Father, we thank for showing us through Your Son how to be compassionate to others. We thank you for coming down as a man and suffering alongside us to demonstrate that you indeed understand the human condition. Help us to truly recognize You in those who are suffering around us and see the pain of others as our own pain. Soften our hearts to truly suffer alongside those who are suffering most in our society. Enable us to live a life that is worthy of your words, “‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. In Jesus name we pray, Amen. Thought for the day Compassion is a virtue that God wants all human beings should have.

Vivin Varughese The Mar Thoma Church, Staten Island