Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were troubled and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. — Matthew 9:36
Compassion, like love, is a word we use so often that we may forget how really powerful it is. It starts, of course, with feeling another person’s pain. After all, that’s the literal meaning behind the word compassion. It’s to “be with someone in their suffering.” It’s what empathy is all about.
But with Jesus, what makes him so amazing and compelling is that compassion was so much more. To be Jesus-compassionate, many other ingredients were not optional but required.
Humility. To make another person’s situation more important than your own.
Respect. To celebrate the other person as a unique, beloved creation of God.
Generosity/Sacrifice. To invest in the well-being of that person using resources you could have used for yourself.
Courage. To risk blowback from people who aren’t humble, respectful, or generous.
Jesus changed the world through his compassion. May we, in some small way, live so that people will see him in our small corner of it.