DENNIS
Good morning everyone. I am Dennis Gossett with Central United Methodist Church.
Did you know that Jesus is moved with compassion on all those people who live on the fringe of society; those who are marginalized, outcast and ostracized. However, compassion often receives a radical form of criticism, because it announces that pain and hurt must be taken seriously, and it is not to be accepted as normal or natural. But rather, it is abnormal and an unacceptable condition for humans.
In Jesus’ time and culture, one of the most unbecoming qualities someone could demonstrate was compassion. After all, empires are never built or maintained on the basis of compassion. They are maintained by the rule or norms of law and people are expected to accommodate those norms, otherwise, the whole empire would collapse.
When Jesus pushed back against the rules with compassion, it upset his nation. He wasn’t simply acting out of an emotional response. Instead, he was criticizing the entire system for being numb to the hurt, pain, and injustice of others.
Let me encourage you today to go against the grain and show compassion.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment