One evening a rich man was riding in his
limousine when he saw two men along the road eating grass. Disturbed, he yelled
at his driver to stop and got out to investigate. He asked one man "Why are you eating the grass?"
"Well, we don't have any money for
food" the poor man replied. "So we have to eat grass." "Well then, come with me to my house
and I'll feed you" the rich man said. "But sir, I also have a
wife and two children with me. They are over there, under that tree."
"Ok, bring them along too" the rich man replied.
Turning to the other poor man he stated,
"You come with us, also." The second man, in a pitiful voice, then
said, "But sir, I also have a wife and four children with me!"
"Very well then, bring them all" the rich man answered. They all
piled into the limousine, which was no easy task.
Once under way, one of the poor fellows
turned to the rich man and said, "Sir, you are truly too kind.. Thank you
for taking all of us with you. Will it not be a bother for you to feed so many
of us?” The rich man replied, "No
problem, glad to do it. You know what? you'll
really love my place because the grass
is almost a foot high, with you all I won’t need to mow the lawn."
This
story relates much to the first reading where the prophet Jeremiah talks about
shepherds who are supposed to feed and pasture the sheep instead they drive the
sheep away and scatter them. Why?
Because these shepherds had no compassion.
Truth
is, we live in a compassion-less world and many people do not just seem to care
what happens to others. Compassion! Some
people think of compassion as weakness. Many view it as something “weak, soft
people do”. In reality, expressing compassion towards others reveals strength
of character.
The
word compassion in the Bible means, “To be moved inwardly; to yearn with tender
mercy, affection, pity and empathy.” The phrase, “moved with compassion” means
to be moved in the “inner organs”. It has the same idea as our modern
expression, “From the bottom of my heart.” Someone has defined compassion as
“Sympathy coupled with a desire to help.” Sympathy means “The capacity to share
feelings, to enter into the same feelings, to feel the same thing”. So,
compassion is “sharing the feelings of others and possessing a desire to help
them in their trouble.”
One
of the things that made Jesus so attractive was his compassion for people– the willingness to put himself in their place
and feel what they were feeling. It
moved him to reach out to them – to do something to meet their need or say
something they needed to hear.
“Filled
with compassion” is how those who knew Jesus described him. For example, in response to a man with
leprosy, pleading on his knees to be made clean, we read that “Jesus, filled
with compassion, reached out his hand and touched him.” And the man was immediately cured of his
leprosy. Likewise for two blind beggars
who shouted at Jesus to have mercy on them, we read that Jesus had compassion
on them. He touched their eyes and
immediately they could see.
After
some days spent healing sick people and teaching the huge crowds who followed
him, Jesus said, “I have compassion for these people. They’ve already been with me three days and
have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send
them away hungry or they may collapse on the way.” His concern moved him to act. He took the seven loaves and few small fish
his disciples had found and divided them over and over until, miraculously,
thousands “all ate and were satisfied.”
And
today as we hear from the Gospel of Mark (6:34): “Jesus
saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep
without a shepherd.”
This
statement continues from the first reading: “Thus says the Lord: I myself will gather the remnant of my flock and I
will bring them back to the fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them and they
shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing.”
(Jer.23:4)
Today
the liturgy invites us to be compassionate and merciful just as the Father is.
It challenges us to show this compassion by taking care of the flock- taking
care of each other, not from a distance, but by journeying right next to our
fellow human beings in our homes, in our communities, in the world. Pope
Francis in his first Angelus address emphatically says: "A little bit of mercy and compassion makes the world less cold
and more just."
Baroness
Catherine de Hueck Doherty, a holy woman who spent the rest of her life taking
care of the poor, founded the Friendship House Movement in Toronto way back in
the 1930’s. It was a Catholic interracial apostolate to help the poor
regardless of color.
One
day she was called to one of her houses that served the poor. This particular
house was experiencing internal strife and intrigues. Her staff there were fighting and arguing,
and she was called to referee.
After
listening to a couple of hours of bickering, she finally stopped them short and
concluded the meeting. She said: “I have reached a decision. I am closing this
house!” Everyone was shocked and exclaimed: “But Baroness, who will feed the poor and shelter the homeless?” Her
response was: “The government can ladle
soup, and make a bed as efficiently as we can.
We are called to do it with love and compassion. And if we cannot do it with love and
compassion, we are not doing it anymore.”
Compassion
is more than feeling sorry for someone. It is more than pity. Compassion is a
desire to reach out and make a difference in the life of someone else. In
truth, compassion is a desire to be Christ to someone else.
References:
Carr, A. (2003). “The Compassionate Christ.” The Sermon Notebook.
Hall, M. (2011). “The Compassion of Jesus.” NSW Council of Churches.
Harmon, C. (2013). “Full text: Pope Francis’ first Angelus address.” The Catholic World Report.
Dolan, M. (2000). Priests for the Third Millennium. Huntington, NY: Our
Sunday Visitor, p.51.