Luke 10 v25-37
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’
26 ‘What is written in the Law?’ he replied. ‘How do you read it?’
27 He answered, ‘“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”; and, “Love your neighbour as yourself.”’
28 ‘You have answered correctly,’ Jesus replied. ‘Do this and you will live.’
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’
30 In reply Jesus said: ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half-dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. “Look after him,” he said, “and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.”
36 ‘Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?’
37 The expert in the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’
Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’
If we are to love like Jesus then it is important that we put that love into action. Taking an interest in others, putting yourself in their shoes and imagining their difficult situation is a challenge to all of us but because Jesus cared for the sick and the downtrodden, then we should do the same. Not only do we pray for them but sometimes we can actually do something about it.
Compassion is when you identify with someone’s feelings so then you may try to help and care for them.
I think that the NHS are full of compassionate people who are helping others through the tough times of Covid.
I remember seeing two runners on the news this week. One stumbled and was struggling to finish the race but the other runner in front stopped and helped the injured man. He even let him go over the line first. That is true compassion because he understood the other person’s feelings. Although he could have won the race himself, he chose to let the other person win.
It's hard to see other people’s points of view sometimes. It’s even harder to put other people first and not yourself but I’ll try to.
This week’s worship on compassion made me think about other people’s feelings and seeing their point of view- it should not be all about me.
I love the way the school put into practice the school values. It’s linked, even in lessons, in a gentle, thoughtful way. TA
Supporting a charity is a good way of helping our children experience a little of the challenges so many people in our world face. Understanding something of what someone is feeling is hard yet most of our children wish to be proactive in wanting to help. Teacher
Dear Father in heaven,
Please give us compassionate hearts so that we can offer love and care to those in need. Help us to see with eyes like yours so we can help people through the challenges they are facing. Thank you that You are a loving, compassionate God. Amen.
Dear God,
Help Herne Juniors to be a place of comfort and compassion. Help us to be like Jesus who brought love and life in difficult situations. Give us an awareness of those in need and inspire us to help them. Amen.