Tag Archives: compassion

Tiny seeds

Mustard Seeds in a Plate at Reganigudem, Visakhapatnam district
By Adityamadhav83 [CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

A friend who has cancer maintains a positive, hopeful outlook in the midst of receiving chemo treatments for her bone marrow.

“You always inspire me,” I told her recently as I coped with the anxiety of a job search.

“You just made my day,” she said. Her gracious reply energized me to banish the idol of worry and put my attention on the things of God.

Tiny seeds of appreciation, respect, encouragement, love, and compassion do grow and spread and bear great fruit.

Jesus said to the crowds: “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.” Mark 4:26-27

Family

Let us be the family of the Lord. Let us love one another. Let us pray for our enemies. Let us help the poor and the homeless, the refugees and immigrants. Let us comfort the lonely and grief-stricken. Let us welcome the rejected and abandoned. Let us show compassion to the suffering. Let us forgive those who have hurt us.

[… Jesus said,] “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” Mark 3:34b-35

Nourished by Love

JESUS MAFA. Detail of Jesus from the Lord’s Supper, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. [retrieved June 3, 2018]. Original source: Librairie de l’Emmanuel

Jesus offers us a new covenant, one that nourishes our minds, hearts, bodies, and spirits with the very essence of the Lord: Love.

Each of us needs the food and drink of love to be fully alive and human. God’s love empowers us to stand tall, rejoice with the knowledge of our unique place in God’s heart, and be aware of God’s blessings and grace even when life circumstances trouble us.

May I remember to offer God’s love to all those I encounter today.

While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. Mark 14:22-23

The language of love

JESUS MAFA. Pentecost, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. [retrieved May 20, 2018]. Original source: Librairie de l’Emmanuel

The language of God’s Holy Spirit is love. Whomever I speak with, wherever they’re from, no matter how different they seem from me: we all understand the spoken and unspoken language of love, compassion, and acceptance.

May the language I choose always express God’s Spirit of love and compassion.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Acts 2:4-6

In Love

God’s love has been planted in my heart. May I take time today to sit with Love in the quiet of my heart space. May I let Love prune and shape my life and will. May my own capacity to love grow, flourish, and bear great fruit.

God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. 1 John 4:16b

Love one another

When Jesus says to love one another, it’s not a suggestion. It’s a command.

To be a faithful follower of Jesus, I must treat all people with respect, kindness, and compassion. We are kin. You and I and all of the human family are beloved children of God.

May I walk with reverence in the presence of my sisters and brothers. May my words and behaviors prove I am a disciple of the Lord.

[Jesus said to his disciples:] “This I command you: love one another.” John 15:17

Compassion fruit

I have had the experience of trying to join a group, but no one welcomed me because I was new to the area, an unknown, someone who might not be a good fit.

With the Lord to nurture me, compassion is the fruit that grows from times of rejection: compassion for the stranger, the newcomer, the misfit, the one who is different, the one—like me—who is a child of God.

When Saul arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. Acts 9:26

In need

Camille Pissarro (1830-1903)
Landscape with Flock of Sheep
oil on canvas, 1889 and 1902
Norton Simon Museum

Today I am especially in need of the gentle guidance and tender care of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. I am grateful for his kind attention.

May I be gentle, tender, and kind towards others, too, for they may also be in need of compassion.

Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:11

Befriend the wounded

Caravaggio (1571-1610)
The Incredulity of Saint Thomas
oil on canvas, from 1601 until 1602
Sanssouci Picture Gallery

I am learning to identify and make friends with my mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual wounds. Although some are still open, these wounds are proof of my ability to survive, begin the work of healing, and live again. They teach me compassion, too, by opening my eyes and heart to recognize the wounds of others.

Today I pray for the grace to be gentle with wounded humanity. May I be willing to reach out to touch God’s holy Spirit in each of us.

Then [Jesus] said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” John 20:27

A morsel of mercy

Amish farm field, wheat up in shocks
By Nyttend (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Today I feel the need for a light touch, a dash of comfort, a grain of healing. If I am feeling this way, perhaps others are too. May I be graced with the goodness to offer compassion to each member of our human family.

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness. Psalm 51:3