Compassion grows when we are able to know ourselves and one another on a deeper level and act out of understanding.”
This weekend, we continue in our worship series on kindness. Last weekend Meredith Menius kicked off our series by helping us define kindness and consider some of the complexities around practicing kindness to others and to ourselves. Practicing kindness isn’t always easy, especially when there is disagreement, division, harm, or an imbalance of power.
While we believe in kindness and the words of Jesus in the golden rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” how do we really live them in our day to day lives? When we pause to reflect on how many times, even over the last week, we have judged others, spoken with harsh criticism, gotten angry, and reacted in an unkind way, or had others do these things to us, we might admit that we all need more practice and practical skills in being kind.
Over the next 4 weeks we will consider the practical qualities that kindness includes: compassion, humility, respect, and love. As we practice these, they will help us navigate the divisions we are experiencing in our world with the kindness that Jesus calls us to share.
First, we consider compassion as a foundational aspect of kindness. Kindness toward others grows out of compassion, first compassion for ourselves, and then others. Did you know that more than 99% of our DNA is the same from one human to another? This surely makes us kin. The word “kindness” originally developed from a root word that meant “family” or “with the feeling of relatives for each other.” What would happen if instead of spending our time feeling estranged from, and resentful toward, those whose less than 1% DNA moves them in a different direction from us, and instead felt compassion for each other?
Studies have shown that regardless of our political stance, that we all want more peace and unity and for those around us to model kindness and understanding. Even knowing that we are all suffering because of the division around us and between us can help move us to a place of compassion for each other.
In our scripture for this week, Jesus sees those around him in the crowds and is filled with compassion. Matthew writes, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (9:36).
What happens if we begin to envision ourselves in that crowd and trust Jesus and his compassion for us? I pray that we might receive that compassion, feel it for ourselves, and then like Jesus, be filled with it for each other.
The good news is that unlike the crowds, we are not without a shepherd. We have Jesus, the good shepherd, who leads us with tender care and shows us what it looks like to live lives of kindness and compassion.
Pastor Suzanne