08 jesus' ministry compassion

8/7/2019 08 Jesus' Ministry Compassion

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Saving Jesus 2006 Living the Questions Jesus Ministry of Compassion - 1

jesus ministry of compassion

Active Listening Concepts and Vocabulary

transformative power: ______________________________________________

womb-like: ______________________________________________________

stuff happens: ___________________________________________________

Were the enemy: ________________________________________________

Backs against the wall: __________________________________________

Matthew 10.25-28 (NRSV)Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do toinherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you readthere?" He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, andwith all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and yourneighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have given the right answer; do

this, and you will live."

Orientation ReadingJesus called the disciples to see beyond the conventional attitudes of his

day that they might be compassionate as God in heaven is compassionate.(Luke 6.36) He was not primarily a teacher of either correct beliefs or rightmorals but of authentic human relationships. Instead, Jesus demonstrated a wayor path that led to the transformation of those whom he encountered.

Compassion is the way of transformation -- for both the one suffering andfor the oppressor. To be compassionate is to recognize our utterinterdependence in Gods world and to see another person, be they stranger or

outcast, as sister or brother.Perhaps voicing Ezekiels sentiment: O God, give us hearts of flesh to

replace our hearts of stone (Ezekiel 36.26) is an apt reminder to go beyondbeing open even to those who seem unlovable to being open especiallytothosewho seem unlovable or who are excluded for whatever reason.

-- Living the Questions


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And thus I think this two-fold focus of our life centered in spirit and wisdomand a life centered in compassion and justice does correspond with somethingthat runs very deep within the human spirit and the Christian task of course isto build on that, to raise consciousness about that, consciousness both aboutwhat our life with God is about and consciousness about how the way a society

is put together profoundly effects the lives of people.-- Marcus Borg, Living the Questions

The way we behave toward one another and toward other people is thefullest expression of what we believe.

-- Point 5 of The Center for Progressive Christianitys 8 points

I think compassion has at least two roles. Compassion towards someonewho is hungry comes in one form. Compassion for one who is an oppressorcomes in another form. And so for me the role of compassion varies from contextto context, from situation to situation, from person to person, and so for the one

who is hungry physically, I want to feed them and encourage others to dolikewise. I am very mindful of the fact that Christ walks among the poor. And socompassion in that situation is being open to see the face of Christ and receivingthe blessings of being in communion with someone who hungers, who probablyknows God in very deep and profound ways.

Compassion for one who is an oppressor comes in a very different form. Itis challenging them to break away from their sin and being made well. It isencouraging them to leave behind that which is neither good for them or forothers. It is holding that person accountable in love, and yet it is compassionbecause it is yearning for their well being, their spiritual well being, and theirwholeness completely in all of their life, just as much as being compassionate inthe feeding of one who hungers for daily bread.

-- Minerva Carcao, Living the Questions

While liberation from bondage for the Hebrews was a practical matter ofgetting away from the Pharaoh, bondage today is no less real: Political,economic, religious, psychological, and spiritual bondage is the stuff of everydaystruggle for countless millions.

-- Living the Questions

For many years of my life I detested the text of Isaiah 53.10 It haspleased the Lord to bruise the servant. So I decided to go to the JerusalemBible to see if the Catholics could help me out. They read it, "It has pleased theLord to crush the servant! But then Ive lived long enough to discover that theonly people who have really made any difference in my life are the people whoGod has taken and sand-papered the cockles of their hearts until they were sosensitive they could not walk by a hungry child, a crying woman, or a hardenedman without responding. It has pleased the Lord to bruise the servant. And Ithank God for what is: in many ways, the ultimate maturity of the spiritual life.

-- Harrell Beck, Sermon 1986


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O God,make me discontented with things the way they are in the world,and in my own life.Make me notice the stains when people get spilled on.Make me care about the slum child downtown, the misfit at work,

the people crammed into the mental hospital,the men, women and youth behind bars.Jar my complacence, expose my excuses,get me involved in the life of my city and world.Give me integrity once more, O God,as we seek to be changed and transformed,with a new understanding and awareness of our common humanity.

-- adapted from Robert Raines

Questions for Personal Reflection

How is compassion a way of transformation?

How might compassion and liberation intersect in practice?

Discussion Questions (following each DVD chapter or entire program)Chapter 1

Describe the difference between praxis and belief.

What are the implications of Aquinas definition of salvation: topreserve things in the good?

What role did the holiness code likely play in Jesusexpression of compassion?

Chapter 2What was so radical about the community Jesusinaugurated?


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Chapter 3What do compassion and prejudice have to do with one another?

What do compassion and liberation have to do with one another?

Prejean and Spong suggest that acceptance and reconciliation arethe prerequisite for the deepest of spiritual journeys. Explain.

Additional QuestionsWhere is the practice of compassion manifested most clearly in yourexperience or community? Where is it lacking?

If we were to take Jesus at his word and advocate practicing love of ourenemies -- never doing them harm or hurting them -- what kind of counter-argument is likely? Is Jesus teaching defensible or is he just an idealisticcrank?

Saving Jesus Theme QuestionWhat element or learning from todays session will be most important in SavingJesus in the 21

stcentury?

Contributors in DVD Session 8Walter Brueggemann: Old Testament professor, author of "The Prophetic Imagination" & "Finally Comes the Poet"James Forbes: Senior Pastor of Riverside Church in NYCMatthew Fox: Episcopal priest, author of "Original Blessing," "Creation Spirituality" & "The Coming of the Cosmic Christ"Helen Prejean: Roman Catholic Sister, author of "Dead Man Walking"Bernard Brandon Scott: New Testament professor, author of "Hear Then the Parable"Luther Smith: Church and Community professor, Howard Thurman scholarJohn Shelby Spong: Retired Episcopal Bishop, author of "Rescuing the Bible fromFundamentalism" & "Why Christianity Must Change or Die"Jim & Jean Strathdee: Internationally popular singers & songwritersEmilie Townes: Social Ethicist, American Baptist minister, author of "Womanist Theology"

08 jesus' ministry compassion

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