Compassion

In a former post, The Good Samaritan, we gleaned missional insights from the parable of the Good Samaritan. We found instructive and challenging truths which our Lord imparts to us, the Church, as God's means for proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom. Here's a summation of the insights:

The foundation of a missional life is a missional God who graciously gives new life to the unregenerate: those who show mercy and compassion to others were first shown mercy and compassion by the Triune God.

Mission is a sovereign movement of God and the participation of the church is entirely empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Being religious doesn’t inherently make one responsive to the needs of this world.

Anyone in need, both physically and spiritually, is a neighbor to the people of God.

The time for bandaging and cleansing the wounds of this world is now, for we do not know the hour of Lord’s coming.

In reaching the peoples of the world we are to do whatever is necessary, to give all that is needed, to pour ourselves out as Christ poured himself out for us.

In the post Touch, we examined the Gospel of account of Jesus' healing of the leper and learned that our ministry must be comprehensive, ministering to the whole person. Jesus models wholistic ministry, meeting the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs of the leper. As Jesus teaches, our compassion must be complete.

The next question is, 'to what extent are we to serve others? To care for others?' Let's take a fresh look at the Parable of the Good Samaritan to see what we can learn. Let's pick up the parable starting in verse 33:

v.33 'But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.' To begin with, compassion begins with eyes willing to see what is right in front them. In the previous verse the Levite saw the beaten man but crossed over to the other side of the street. Not only do we need to have eyes that see, we must have a heart that responds! Not a response of self-interest and self-preservation but with compassion. O' the many people God has placed before our eyes only for us to walk away from them! Father forgive us Your people.

v.34 'He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine.' I love the first four words of this verse: he went to him. Compassion is responding. We can say we care and voice concern for others but unless we go, unless we act, we are not really being compassionate at all. Compassion is the outworking of our new heart, the heart given to us by God. The work that has been done in our hearts must express itself with the hands! Our Heart Work is this: to love God and to love neighbor. Our love must meet the physical and spiritual needs of others.

In caring for others we spare not our own possessions. The Samaritan wasn't carrying oil and wine in case he came across a half-dead person. These commodities had other purposes and were personal provisions. Like the Samaritan we must not hold any possession or resource so tightly that we are unwilling to bind the wounds of others. O' Lord, may we value others above our own comforts, willingly shedding our clothing for bandages, pouring out our oil and wine the glory of God!

v.34.b 'Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.' First, the Samaritan forsakes his own comfort. In serving others we may not always be able to retain our own comfort. In fact, we must be willing to take on the uncomfortable and inconvenient burden of others. When we do this, how much are we like our savior who disregarded all earthly comfort? With no regard to himself, He suffered the brutality of the Roman state and was hung on a cross.

Up to this point, the Samaritan had certainly done more than the priest and Levite. He stopped and bound the wounds of a total stranger. He did a good thing. He certainly did his part. He could have left the man and been satisfied with what he had done. But his compassion compels him to remove the man from the vulnerability of the road, taking him to the security of an inn where complete healing can happen. Father help us to not be satisfied with our partial responses to need. May we not act to ultimately fulfill our own need to feel good about ourselves. Keep us on task until we complete the task, no matter how hard it is our how long it takes.

v.35 'And the next day he took out two Denari and gave them to the innkeeper, saying 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' The Samaritan didn't drop the man off at the inn and go about his business, rather he stayed the night with the man, stabilizing his condition and caring for him. The innkeeper is given two Denari to care for the man. One Denari was a typical days wage for a laborer. The Samaritan gives two, thus giving enough to ensure the proper care of the man. There is no indication that the Samaritan was a wealthy man yet he gives two days wages for the care of a complete stranger and entrusts it with another stranger. What we learn is that we must give freely and abundantly in our compassion for 'freely we have been given and freely we must give.' We note as well that two Denari doesn't define the the totality of the Samaritan's response. He is willing to pay much more than that- whatever it takes to completely care for the mans needs. The Samaritan will do whatever it takes and give whatever it takes no matter what the cost.

Finally, I love the commitment shown by the Samaritan. As if he hasn't already sacrificed much he is willing to stay involved in the man's life until he is satisfied with the outcome. He is willing to give even more! I often wonder what occurred when the Samaritan returned to pay the balance to the innkeeper and visit the wounded man. I suspect that the two neighbors who, on one fateful night, came in contact with a good Samaritan became much more than neighbors to him. Perhaps they even became dear friends.