READINGS FROM HOLY SCRIPTURE:
Genesis 2:7-17
Romans 6:19-23
- St. Mark 8:1-9
Dear Saints, Grace to you all and Peace from God our Father
and our Lord Jesus, the Christ.
Who speaks to you today, from His Gospel heard in His Church, saying:
Today, Jesus talks about His compassion. And in that compassion, we understand three things: 1) that God has feelings like us, 2) that He has genuine affection for us, and 3) that He not only shows compassion, but He embodies compassion, such that, when Jesus shows compassion, there is no longer a need for compassion, because He has perfected it, even in us.
In that perfected compassion, we show compassion.
On our compassion, our synodical president has said:
The Church and individual Christians who are forgiven show mercy and compassion to each other and to their neighbor near them. Christians show mercy to others because Christ has first loved them. The ancient pagans remarked of Christians, “See how they love one another.” The love and concern Christians showed to each other also extended to their neighbors in need. The acts of mercy individual Christians show to their neighbor is a powerful witness to the world about the love of Jesus. (M. Harrison. Journal of Lutheran Mission: Feb 2015. Vol. 2. No. 1)
And yet your compassion is limited. It is limited by who you like and who you look down upon. Those are the only two groups who receive your compassion.
In the compassion of God, which He gives to us, you do not give your own compassion, but His. When that happens, then you show true compassion.
On the Compassion of God we can say that:
Very little is given when we give compassion, but knowledge of salvation is given when God has compassion, in the forgiveness of sins. And when Zechariah sang the Benedictus about his son, John the Baptist in St. Luke 1, he was prophesying that this knowledge and compassion would be given and shown through a man: first through Himself in Jesus and then through the men He chose, the Apostles. In other words, when God has compassion, things happen.
First God has compassion on us. We were languishing in our sin and death, having unmerciful compassion (Prov 12:10). At the right time, He took a body and reasonable soul, to show true compassion, and then purchased and created godly compassion, for man, to be accomplished through men.
But what is compassion? We surely hear about it every day. In the word itself, you can hear “passion”, as in passion of the Christ, another word mis-defined all the time. Compassion means to suffer together.
But for us sinners, all it is is a feeling that arises when you are confronted with another's suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering, maybe.
How nice, but also how very condescending. Especially when done from a state of privilege, such as if you were God or something. In fact, this is one of the world’s main accusations against God: if He is such a compassionate God and feels motivated to relieve suffering, why not do it? Just end all suffering and show Your compassion, now.
But He doesn’t, so either He is an incompetent god, not worth worshiping, or He doesn’t really want to show compassion and still not worth worshipping. James 5:11, however, tells us that the Lord was compassionate and merciful to Job, restoring him to a greater position than before. You know, after everything, even family members taken away, stolen, murdered. Compassion after something like that isn’t much, don’t you think?
Likewise, in today’s Gospel: sure Jesus feeds the crowds miraculously, but didn’t He allow them to get hungry in the first place? Not just by leading them around by the nose with His fancy words for three days, but also being God and in charge of their bodies and souls, which He promised to take care of!
Repent! Suddenly Jesus is not the compassionate God we thought He was or claimed to be. When we looked for relief in our lives, it was FEMA to the rescue. When we looked for compassion, it was feelings that saved the day. Yes, this world does not need a God Who has compassion after causing suffering. Therefore, should God show up in any form, lets kick Him out and give Him a taste of His own medicine.
You trust your gut feeling, that what God is doing is very wrong and how He is doing it is wrong, but your guts are what restrict you, says St. Paul (2 Cor 6:12). The true meaning of compassion is literally spilling ones guts out for someone. May be a bit vulgar, but what is the use of abstract compassion? None. In fact, your god is your belly (Phil 3:19) and what comes out of it is what defiles you (Mt 7:19).
This is why we find Jesus in two places today. The first place, of course, is His compassion not only in feeding the crowds, but in opening Himself up, literally, in compassion, in His wounds of His suffering and death.
The second place we find Jesus is in the guts, or in the belly of His mother, St. Mary. The Mother of God becomes the point at which Jesus redeems us from our sinful compassion by participating in the same thing we do, only without sin.
It is not enough to suffer together with someone. They still have to suffer. It is not enough to want to relieve their suffering, either. God does not just say He will have gut-wrenching compassion for you, but He comes to give it Himself both abstractly and concretely.
Jesus is conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He heads straight to the place that makes you unclean, uncompassionate, and unable to do anything about it. He enters into the guts of humanity and sanctifies it with His very presence. He does not just “appear on the scene”, He gets there and contorts His own guts out of compassion.
As He matures, offers miracles, and finally is crucified, He goes through all of life to make it holy, to make it worthwhile, eternally worthwhile. If you are maturing as a human, it is not a waste of your time. If you are serving others, it is not a waste of your time. If you are suffering and dying for your faith, it is not a waste.
Jesus, in His infinite mercy, came to do all of that. And He does so to show compassion to you. God’s compassion matters. It matters that He suffered and died on the cross to purchase and win redemption, reconciliation, and holiness for you.
On your own, you had none, but because of the work of Christ, you can now find forgiveness for the uncleanness that comes from your compassion. In Christ, when your own guts are wrenched and twisted at the suffering of others, you now get to rush to their aid, providing all you can, because now even two pennies worth of aid is a holy and righteous work.
The Compassion of Jesus brings about compassion. Most importantly, it brings about the compassion that He is searching for. At His Word, compassion works where and when He wills. That same Word we possess, for He has given it to us. Thus, we have the same power of compassion our Lord does and yet, even moreso now. For if we cannot relieve the suffering of our neighbor in this life, eternity has been secured for all, where there is no more suffering.
In the perfection of Compassion, suffering is defeated. In the perfection of compassion, God gives His compassion by allowing His saving Word to be heard by whoever may speak it and it still save. In the perfection of compassion, that perfect compassion is placed in us and nurtured by Christ’s own compassionate Body and Blood, which continues to cleanse our sinful guts.
If we give Christ’s compassion, what comes out of us is no longer sinful and unclean, but holy and righteous, even faith-giving! Because what comes out is no longer from us, but from God. And to be sure that we are giving the correct compassion, we return often to the Word and Sacrament which strengthens and preserves compassion in us.
In other words, Christ comes for the uncompassionate, in order that He may make them compassionate, in His Body and Blood.
Who speaks to you today, from His Gospel heard in His Church, saying:
“I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been
with me now three days and have nothing to eat”
Today, Jesus talks about His compassion. And in that compassion, we understand three things: 1) that God has feelings like us, 2) that He has genuine affection for us, and 3) that He not only shows compassion, but He embodies compassion, such that, when Jesus shows compassion, there is no longer a need for compassion, because He has perfected it, even in us.
In that perfected compassion, we show compassion.
On our compassion, our synodical president has said:
The Church and individual Christians who are forgiven show mercy and compassion to each other and to their neighbor near them. Christians show mercy to others because Christ has first loved them. The ancient pagans remarked of Christians, “See how they love one another.” The love and concern Christians showed to each other also extended to their neighbors in need. The acts of mercy individual Christians show to their neighbor is a powerful witness to the world about the love of Jesus. (M. Harrison. Journal of Lutheran Mission: Feb 2015. Vol. 2. No. 1)
And yet your compassion is limited. It is limited by who you like and who you look down upon. Those are the only two groups who receive your compassion.
In the compassion of God, which He gives to us, you do not give your own compassion, but His. When that happens, then you show true compassion.
On the Compassion of God we can say that:
Very little is given when we give compassion, but knowledge of salvation is given when God has compassion, in the forgiveness of sins. And when Zechariah sang the Benedictus about his son, John the Baptist in St. Luke 1, he was prophesying that this knowledge and compassion would be given and shown through a man: first through Himself in Jesus and then through the men He chose, the Apostles. In other words, when God has compassion, things happen.
First God has compassion on us. We were languishing in our sin and death, having unmerciful compassion (Prov 12:10). At the right time, He took a body and reasonable soul, to show true compassion, and then purchased and created godly compassion, for man, to be accomplished through men.
But what is compassion? We surely hear about it every day. In the word itself, you can hear “passion”, as in passion of the Christ, another word mis-defined all the time. Compassion means to suffer together.
But for us sinners, all it is is a feeling that arises when you are confronted with another's suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering, maybe.
How nice, but also how very condescending. Especially when done from a state of privilege, such as if you were God or something. In fact, this is one of the world’s main accusations against God: if He is such a compassionate God and feels motivated to relieve suffering, why not do it? Just end all suffering and show Your compassion, now.
But He doesn’t, so either He is an incompetent god, not worth worshiping, or He doesn’t really want to show compassion and still not worth worshipping. James 5:11, however, tells us that the Lord was compassionate and merciful to Job, restoring him to a greater position than before. You know, after everything, even family members taken away, stolen, murdered. Compassion after something like that isn’t much, don’t you think?
Likewise, in today’s Gospel: sure Jesus feeds the crowds miraculously, but didn’t He allow them to get hungry in the first place? Not just by leading them around by the nose with His fancy words for three days, but also being God and in charge of their bodies and souls, which He promised to take care of!
Repent! Suddenly Jesus is not the compassionate God we thought He was or claimed to be. When we looked for relief in our lives, it was FEMA to the rescue. When we looked for compassion, it was feelings that saved the day. Yes, this world does not need a God Who has compassion after causing suffering. Therefore, should God show up in any form, lets kick Him out and give Him a taste of His own medicine.
You trust your gut feeling, that what God is doing is very wrong and how He is doing it is wrong, but your guts are what restrict you, says St. Paul (2 Cor 6:12). The true meaning of compassion is literally spilling ones guts out for someone. May be a bit vulgar, but what is the use of abstract compassion? None. In fact, your god is your belly (Phil 3:19) and what comes out of it is what defiles you (Mt 7:19).
This is why we find Jesus in two places today. The first place, of course, is His compassion not only in feeding the crowds, but in opening Himself up, literally, in compassion, in His wounds of His suffering and death.
The second place we find Jesus is in the guts, or in the belly of His mother, St. Mary. The Mother of God becomes the point at which Jesus redeems us from our sinful compassion by participating in the same thing we do, only without sin.
It is not enough to suffer together with someone. They still have to suffer. It is not enough to want to relieve their suffering, either. God does not just say He will have gut-wrenching compassion for you, but He comes to give it Himself both abstractly and concretely.
Jesus is conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He heads straight to the place that makes you unclean, uncompassionate, and unable to do anything about it. He enters into the guts of humanity and sanctifies it with His very presence. He does not just “appear on the scene”, He gets there and contorts His own guts out of compassion.
As He matures, offers miracles, and finally is crucified, He goes through all of life to make it holy, to make it worthwhile, eternally worthwhile. If you are maturing as a human, it is not a waste of your time. If you are serving others, it is not a waste of your time. If you are suffering and dying for your faith, it is not a waste.
Jesus, in His infinite mercy, came to do all of that. And He does so to show compassion to you. God’s compassion matters. It matters that He suffered and died on the cross to purchase and win redemption, reconciliation, and holiness for you.
On your own, you had none, but because of the work of Christ, you can now find forgiveness for the uncleanness that comes from your compassion. In Christ, when your own guts are wrenched and twisted at the suffering of others, you now get to rush to their aid, providing all you can, because now even two pennies worth of aid is a holy and righteous work.
The Compassion of Jesus brings about compassion. Most importantly, it brings about the compassion that He is searching for. At His Word, compassion works where and when He wills. That same Word we possess, for He has given it to us. Thus, we have the same power of compassion our Lord does and yet, even moreso now. For if we cannot relieve the suffering of our neighbor in this life, eternity has been secured for all, where there is no more suffering.
In the perfection of Compassion, suffering is defeated. In the perfection of compassion, God gives His compassion by allowing His saving Word to be heard by whoever may speak it and it still save. In the perfection of compassion, that perfect compassion is placed in us and nurtured by Christ’s own compassionate Body and Blood, which continues to cleanse our sinful guts.
If we give Christ’s compassion, what comes out of us is no longer sinful and unclean, but holy and righteous, even faith-giving! Because what comes out is no longer from us, but from God. And to be sure that we are giving the correct compassion, we return often to the Word and Sacrament which strengthens and preserves compassion in us.
In other words, Christ comes for the uncompassionate, in order that He may make them compassionate, in His Body and Blood.
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