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    08 Jesus' Ministry Compassion

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    Stephanie Vande Kraats
    Jesus called the disciples to see beyond the conventional attitudes of his day. Compassion is the way of transformation -- for both the one suffering and for the oppressor. To be compassionate is to recognize our utter interdependence in God's world.

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    08 Jesus' Ministry Compassion

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    Stephanie Vande Kraats
    124 views4 pages
    Jesus called the disciples to see beyond the conventional attitudes of his day. Compassion is the way of transformation -- for both the one suffering and for the oppressor. To be compassionate is to recognize our utter interdependence in God's world.

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    Jesus called the disciples to see beyond the conventional attitudes of his day. Compassion is the way of transformation -- for both the one suffering and for the oppressor. To be compassionate is to recognize our utter interdependence in God's world.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    124 views4 pages

    08 Jesus' Ministry Compassion

    Uploaded by

    Stephanie Vande Kraats
    Jesus called the disciples to see beyond the conventional attitudes of his day. Compassion is the way of transformation -- for both the one suffering and for the oppressor. To be compassionate is to recognize our utter interdependence in God's world.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 4

    jesus’ ministry of compassion

    Active Listening Concepts and Vocabulary

    transformative power: ______________________________________________

    “womb-like”: ______________________________________________________

    “stuff happens”: ___________________________________________________

    “We’re the enemy”: ________________________________________________

    “Backs against the wall…”: __________________________________________

    Matthew 10.25-28 (NRSV)


    Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do to
    inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you read
    there?" He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and
    with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your
    neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have given the right answer; do
    this, and you will live."

    Orientation Reading
    Jesus called the disciples to see beyond the conventional attitudes of his
    day that they might “be compassionate as God in heaven is compassionate.”
    (Luke 6.36) He was not primarily a teacher of either correct beliefs or right
    morals but of authentic human relationships. Instead, Jesus demonstrated a way
    or path that led to the transformation of those whom he encountered.
    Compassion is the way of transformation -- for both the one suffering and
    for the oppressor. To be compassionate is to recognize our utter
    interdependence in God’s world and to see another person, be they stranger or
    outcast, as sister or brother.
    Perhaps voicing Ezekiel’s sentiment: “O God, give us hearts of flesh to
    replace our hearts of stone” (Ezekiel 36.26) is an apt reminder to go beyond
    being open even to those who seem unlovable to being open especially to those
    who seem unlovable or who are excluded for whatever reason.
    -- Living the Questions

    Saving Jesus © 2006 Living the Questions Jesus’ Ministry of Compassion - 1


    And thus I think this two-fold focus of our life centered in spirit and wisdom
    and a life centered in compassion and justice does correspond with something
    that runs very deep within the human spirit – and the Christian task of course is
    to build on that, to raise consciousness about that, consciousness both about
    what our life with God is about and consciousness about how the way a society
    is put together profoundly effects the lives of people.
    -- Marcus Borg, Living the Questions

    The way we behave toward one another and toward other people is the
    fullest expression of what we believe.
    -- Point 5 of The Center for Progressive Christianity’s “8 points”

    I think compassion has at least two roles. Compassion towards someone


    who is hungry comes in one form. Compassion for one who is an oppressor
    comes in another form. And so for me the role of compassion varies from context
    to context, from situation to situation, from person to person, and so for the one
    who is hungry physically, I want to feed them and encourage others to do
    likewise. I am very mindful of the fact that Christ walks among the poor. And so
    compassion in that situation is being open to see the face of Christ and receiving
    the blessings of being in communion with someone who hungers, who probably
    knows God in very deep and profound ways.
    Compassion for one who is an oppressor comes in a very different form. It
    is challenging them to break away from their sin and being made well. It is
    encouraging them to leave behind that which is neither good for them or for
    others. It is holding that person accountable in love, and yet it is compassion
    because it is yearning for their well being, their spiritual well being, and their
    wholeness completely in all of their life, just as much as being compassionate in
    the feeding of one who hungers for daily bread.
    -- Minerva Carcaño, Living the Questions

    While liberation from bondage for the Hebrews was a practical matter of
    getting away from the Pharaoh, bondage today is no less real: Political,
    economic, religious, psychological, and spiritual bondage is the stuff of everyday
    struggle for countless millions.
    -- Living the Questions

    For many years of my life I detested the text of Isaiah 53.10 “It has
    pleased the Lord to bruise the servant.” So I decided to go to the Jerusalem
    Bible to see if the Catholics could help me out. They read it, "It has pleased the
    Lord to crush the servant!” But then I’ve lived long enough to discover that the
    only people who have really made any difference in my life are the people who
    God has taken and sand-papered the cockles of their hearts until they were so
    sensitive they could not walk by a hungry child, a crying woman, or a hardened
    man without responding. “It has pleased the Lord to bruise the servant.” And I
    thank God for what is: in many ways, the ultimate maturity of the spiritual life.
    -- Harrell Beck, Sermon 1986

    Saving Jesus © 2006 Living the Questions Jesus’ Ministry of Compassion - 2


    O God,
    make me discontented with things the way they are in the world,
    and in my own life.
    Make me notice the stains when people get spilled on.
    Make me care about the slum child downtown, the misfit at work,
    the people crammed into the mental hospital,
    the men, women and youth behind bars.
    Jar my complacence, expose my excuses,
    get me involved in the life of my city and world.
    Give me integrity once more, O God,
    as we seek to be changed and transformed,
    with a new understanding and awareness of our common humanity.
    -- adapted from Robert Raines

    Questions for Personal Reflection


    How is compassion a way of transformation?

    How might compassion and liberation intersect in practice?

    Discussion Questions (following each DVD chapter or entire program)


    Chapter 1
    Describe the difference between praxis and belief.

    What are the implications of Aquinas’ definition of salvation: “to


    preserve things in the good”?

    What role did the “holiness code” likely play in Jesus’


    expression of compassion?

    Chapter 2
    What was so radical about the community Jesus
    inaugurated?

    Saving Jesus © 2006 Living the Questions Jesus’ Ministry of Compassion - 3


    Chapter 3
    What do compassion and prejudice have to do with one another?

    What do compassion and liberation have to do with one another?

    Prejean and Spong suggest that acceptance and reconciliation are


    the prerequisite for the deepest of spiritual journeys. Explain.

    Additional Questions
    Where is the practice of compassion manifested most clearly in your
    experience or community? Where is it lacking?

    If we were to take Jesus at his word and advocate practicing love of our
    enemies -- never doing them harm or hurting them -- what kind of counter-
    argument is likely? Is Jesus’ teaching defensible or is he just an idealistic
    crank?

    Saving Jesus Theme Question


    What element or learning from today’s session will be most important in “Saving
    Jesus” in the 21st century?

    Contributors in DVD Session 8


    Walter Brueggemann: Old Testament professor, author of "The Prophetic Imagination" & "Finally Comes the Poet"
    James Forbes: Senior Pastor of Riverside Church in NYC
    Matthew Fox: Episcopal priest, author of "Original Blessing," "Creation Spirituality" & "The Coming of the Cosmic Christ"
    Helen Prejean: Roman Catholic Sister, author of "Dead Man Walking"
    Bernard Brandon Scott: New Testament professor, author of "Hear Then the Parable"
    Luther Smith: Church and Community professor, Howard Thurman scholar
    John Shelby Spong: Retired Episcopal Bishop, author of "Rescuing the Bible from
    Fundamentalism" & "Why Christianity Must Change or Die"
    Jim & Jean Strathdee: Internationally popular singers & songwriters
    Emilie Townes: Social Ethicist, American Baptist minister, author of "Womanist Theology"

    Saving Jesus © 2006 Living the Questions Jesus’ Ministry of Compassion - 4

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