Compassion

Not every act of apparent compassion is an act of compassion.   There are times when what seems to be an act of compassion is really an act which speaks of duty or obligation.  Compassion is not something which can be turned off and on like a light bulb attached to a switch.  Compassion requires attention to the present moment.  Perhaps, this is why it is not always an easy thing for many of us.  While the priest and the Levite of the Good Samaritan narrative may have been afraid to stop lest they become victimized by lurking bandits, it also seems that had other, more important, things on their minds. 

 

Compassion requires attention to the present moment.  What's next, tomorrow, the future is always pushing with demanding insistence upon what or who is before us.  Tending to the needs of the present moment is not always as easy for us as it ought to be.  Compassion is not something felt and expressed according to the dictates of convenience.  When the need for compassion rises, it is either present within us or it is not.  It is not something to be conjured up like some potion in a pot. 

Our compassion may express itself in a physical act; however, it is not act of duty, but an act of the heart.  Compassion is a response to human need that is filled with passion.  Compassion goes beyond the physical response to the one involving our emotions.  It is not something which springs from the head which says, "I ought to do this...duty demands it," but something which comes the heart  which says, "I can do naught else but care and act."   When Jesus saw the widow of Nain in that funeral procession, it was a compassionate heart which caused Him to see nothing in that moment as being more important than caring for one beaten and broken by the suffering so common to humankind.  So, it is for us in this day if we are to truly follow Him.