The Compassionator

Transcript

good evening everybody thank you for for x uh coming uh to the class tonight I want x to share a little bit about a really x powerful x um attribute of God that that affects x each one of us and it has some richness x behind it in uh in the Hebrew language x that that I want to kind of share x um x let me start with uh a little bit of an x introduction x um x there have been some uh babies that have x been born recently x um I didn't I wasn't able to get like x recent uh maternity picks except for one x brother Ben's sister apparently uh just x recently posted uh Dan and dassey x um who are actually in Stoughton x um not too long ago x um what did I do I broke it x well hold on one second x um x everything's broken x that's not good x let's try this again x um x so anyway Dan and dassey just recently I x think yesterday posted uh x um x a picture x um and because dassy is expecting very x soon x um x but uh this is an old picture of x um of Kara I think she was pregnant with x Joel at this time and I managed to dig x out x um and just another person that I none x of us know that x um is just very pregnant x um to get you thinking about the x following x um so mothers that are in the audience x think back uh to when you were pregnant x other women and men this is going to be x a little harder for us men especially x try to imagine try to imagine what it x must be like to be x um pregnant remember what it was like to x be pregnant x um there's a small child growing and x developing inside your womb uh you like x you have to start thinking differently x about what you eat and drink knowing x that you're eating for two is this young x life is now inside of you cradled in x this protective environment nurtured x loved x supplied with the oxygen the food the x nutrients it needs for life and growth x and there's this special bond that's x forming even before the child is born x between you and the child x and and that Bond of course continues to x grow after birth x now I do have some recent pictures of x the newborns of of uh Nora and Clara um x here so now after they're born x um now you can see that young life that x was hidden from view for so long for x nine months x um and now they're they're totally x dependent upon you for survival x you feed them you change them you clean x them you care for them you hold them x gently and rock them when they cry x you protect them and you love them x dearly x you have compassion for this fragile x vulnerable child x I want you to keep that image in mind x and and we'll see that it's actually x very well connected to the idea of of x what compassion is x um and so x uh thank you Jim for reading from Exodus x 34 x um God x revealing the attributes of his x character x um and each of these attributes x deserve not just like a whole x series of Bible School classes x um but a lifetime of study and x reflection x these attributes of God uh that he's x compat the Lord the Lord the x compassionate and gracious God slow to x anger abounding in loyal love and x faithfulness x keeping loyal love for thousands x forgiving iniquity and transgression sin x but he by no means leaves the guilty x unpunished responding to Trend the x transgression of the fathers by dealing x with the children and the children's x children to the third and fourth x generation x so among those attributes those really x really important attributes of God that x he revealed to Moses the very first x is the compassionate God the x compassionate God x um and on the context just considering x um you know with a build up to this x event uh Moses was was asking God if you x if if you're pleased with me teach me x your ways so that I may know you and x continue to find favor with you remember x that this nation is your people Moses x was seeking to be taught by God about x God's ways and x what was revealed to him x reflects you know God's glory God's x character reflects his ways and T and x that's what Moses wanted to be taught x Moses said show me Your Glory isn't it x interesting that that God's glory he he x could have x you know had a hurricane come through he x could have had lightning and thunder he x could have had all kinds of but x he chose x to show his glory x through those attributes x and those attributes and and he said the x Lord said uh I will cause all my x goodness to pass in front of you x um x and I will Proclaim my name the Lord in x your presence I will have mercy on whom x I have mercy now of compassion on whom I x will have compassion x um he's high he's highlighting actually x those first two characteristics only x instead of adjectives and in verbal form x uh and he said but you can't see my face x for no one might see my face and live x then the Lord said there's a place near x me where you may stand on a rock then x when my glory passes by I will put you x in the cleft of The Rock and cover you x with my hand until I've passed by x then I will remove my hand and you will x see my back but my face must not be seen x so that's that's kind of the a little x bit of the the context of of God's x revelation his proclamation of his x character of his glory in those x attributes and as we said he leads off x with compassion x so you know what is compassion we think x of the English word x um it comes from x uh the come part prefix means with and x potty uh means to bear or to suffer so x literally it means suffering with x another x a sensation of Sorrow excited by x distress or misfortunes of another pity x commiseration according to Webster x and in dictionary.com it says a feeling x of deep sympathy and sorrow for another x who's stricken by misfortune x accompanied by a strong desire to x alleviate the suffering x um you know just a really really x powerful x uh thing compassion x um and x it's so important uh as an attribute of x God that God you know begins with it x and x you know the the Jews recognized just x how important that aspect of God was a x favorite name for God in the talmud was x uh rahmana the compassionate one uh that x comes from that uh that same word uh x compassionate um in in Exodus 34 6. x and it's not just the talmud which which x actually gives a name for God or a title x for God uh describing him as the x compassionate one x uh we could look in in the scriptures a x couple places in the scriptures one of x which is Isaiah 54 verse 10 which says x for the mountains made apart the hills x may be removed but my steadfast love x shall not depart from you and my x Covenant of Peace shall not be removed x says the Lord who has compassion on you x that that last line x um the literally says the one who has x compassion on you Yahweh and and that x whole part that I've underlined the one x who has compassion on you is one word in x Hebrew it's a part of Sybil uh so it's x like a noun describing God x uh coming from a verb and that's kind of x awkward to say you know all those things x so x it's x um but if I was thinking just x brainstorming okay if I could put a name x you know condense that into a one word x how would I do it x I came up with the compassionator x um God is God is uh you know the one who x shows compassion but you know it sounds x a little uh x I don't know weird so I guess that x that's not gonna probably catch on x obviously as a name but x um but God is the one who who gives x compassion we could even we could use x that as a title for God and we have x titles for God that we we have like the x Lord of hosts x um the x and and I've I've shared with uh x brother Jim you know another x uh participle describing God as you know x the Lord your healer x um God is our healer that's that's a x powerful thing it's like we could make x this list of of titles of God x um and I think we would actually find x that there's actually quite a few beyond x the the ones we normally think of x um like you know the Lord of hosts or El x Shaddai and those kinds of things x add to that list uh the one who has x compassion on you x well this word in in Exodus 34 um was uh x rahoon uh comes from a verb which this x participle x um is is taken from as well the root x verb is uh the word but x everywhere in the scriptures except for x one time it's actually in a in a more x intensive form uh and we put put it in x the construct What's called the pl x construct which is a more intensive x Forbes so it's x and yeah and those x um and those and 99.99 of the passages x um and so I put up just how does the x some of these some common versions like x translate uh Recon the verb x um x and you know to have mercy was the x dominant one in the King James and a x number of us use the King James as a x primary Bible so it's um x much to see kind of how it's uh x translated there um in the dominant ways x but also the modern versions I think of x rightly shifted the weight more towards x compassion so ESV has uh almost half the x time x um to show compassion on x and the NIV and the nasb actually go x with close to three quarters of the time x to have compassion or show compassion on x and I think that's the dominant meaning x of the word to have mercy captures part x of the meaning x um when we have compassion showing Mercy x is one aspect of that but it's it's a x much richer thing than just that x um x lexicon looking at uh the x ological workbook of the Old Testament x it says that means to it refers to a x deep love usually of a superior for an x inferior x it's rooted in some natural bond x and it's used for the Deep inward x feeling that we ver know variously as x compassion pity uh Mercy x it's also worth noting that 80 percent x of the time in the Bible this word is x referring to God God is the x compassionator the one who has x compassion x um x so just yeah well that is a background x now x back to the the pie charts for a minute x uh in the King James x a pie there the little yellow sliver x there x uh loru Hama uh x does anybody know what that is x Bob can you help us do you know where x that's from x Uncle Bobby are accidentally off of mute x what's that Aaliyah x it is it does mean without compassion x the low my daughter said doesn't mean x without commercial the low in the front x is like a negative it means not x um or without x um or no and x um you can see in the second part after x the low the rouhama there's that that x Roots the rhm letters the all Hebrew x words are usually almost always based on x a three-letter root x um and you can see that root in there x well x it comes from the the story of Hosea x uh and less importantly my personal x history exploring this word actually x starts in the book of Hosea x um back as a teen oh well so before my x heart more importantly uh Hosea the x story The the prophet lived an enacted x parable x and he takes a prostitute for a wife x according to the command of God which x was a symbol of of Israel's on x faithfulness it says in chapter one x verse 2 when the Lord began to speak x through Hosea the Lord said to him go x take for yourself an adulterous wife and x children of unfaithfulness because the x land is guilty of the vilest adultery in x departing from the Lord x so he married Gomer the daughter of De x blame and she conceived and bore him a x son x so talk about a tough job to have to x take on x um that's that's what uh you know the x Heartbreak that Hosea had to go through x because x his wife x did not remain faithful to him she went x off and and chased other lovers and and x broke his heart sure x um x but in in verse one before before she x left they they had three children x um these three children with strange x names Jezreel Lo ruhama and lo Ami x um so back when I was a x um pre-teen I guess I had a a King James x Bible given to me as an elementary x student and these weird names were there x and I I actually looked in it I still x have that that King James Bible and it x uh you know loami had a little footnote x not my people but there was no note for x load rahama x um x the story continues as a teenager I I x got myself an RSV x um to try to help me understand and x Modern English a little bit better the x the Bible and uh those names were x translated and we had uh in my Bible x then it was Jezreel not pitied and not x my people x so x that you know when translators come x across a name in in the Bible they x they have a tough decision because the x name often in Hebrew carries meanings x and I found that fascinating um as a x young person and um and continue to find x it interesting to kind of see the x meanings and the play on words that are x so often there and place names and x people names x um so what a horrible name to get I mean x imagine you're a kid and you're named x not pidied or not my people x um not really x um x the luckiest name to get you get I think x you get some x um pretty bad uh x razzing in school from from from your x schoolmates when that's your name you're x like x I'm not pitied I mean x um yeah anyway x um so the kids also you know were part x of the enacted parable x they expressed the names expressed that x God x was would did not have these uh feelings x for his people anymore because they have x they had they had abandoned him they'd x abandoned him x um and yet there was hope expressed at x the end of chapter one it says the x people of Judah and the people of Israel x will be gathered together they will x appoint for themselves one leader and x will flourish in the land certainly the x day of Jezreel will be great and into x the next chapter then you will call your x brother my people you will call your x sister pity rukama x um so x um as a side note again consuming my x personal story x um x I became interested in kind of exploring x the this word and and tracing it x throughout the scriptures a little bit x more uh when I was in university one of x my classmates in in Hebrew class chose x we get to pick a Hebrew name as well as x our English name and we just pretty much x used our Hebrew name all throughout and x the class and one of my classmates chose x rukama from this passage uh and I x recognized uh where she got her name x from and it was just now I was studying x Hebrew and learning more about it I kind x of explored it and and saw that it x really has to do with this compassion x that God had uh for his people x there's another side note she was x actually x rukama was actually the mother of one of x my high school classmates which is kind x of a weird Small World experience when x you're at a university with a day school x population of sixty thousand to end up x in a class with the mother of a high x school friend which was um interesting x but anyway x um x her choosing that name x sparked me to dig into the word a little x bit more x um and that started an interest that I x that actually keep coming back to x um every now and again things kind of x redirect me to to explore this and think x about it a little bit more x so I mentioned the RSV also the net and x the nasb use pity x um which x I don't really like that translation x um x and probably x um well we'll come back to that hold on x let's let's take a look at the naming in x chapter one verse six Gomer conceived x again and gave birth to a daughter x and then the Lord said to Hosea call her x lo ruchama which means not loved for I x will no longer show love x uhm which is our word again here to x Israel that I should at all forgive them x yet I will show love reachem to Judah x and I will save them not by Bow sword or x battle but by or by horses or Horsemen x but I the Lord their God will save them x and after she had weaned Lo rukama Gomer x had another son and the Lord said call x him Lo Ami which means not my people x or you are not my people and I'm not x your God x so x um our focus is on on that x um which again was translated pity in x the NIV here uh they and the newest NIV x they chose to like x not really make a decision they chose to x do both give the the Hebrew name and x then kind of give a little translation x right afterwards which means not loved x um but x it's a little awkward to kind of say x um I think what should be more accurate x which is one who has not received x compassion x um so not loved is a little bit more x concise and they already stretched it x out the uh to one two three four five x words x um six words so x um can't blame them for for doing that x but but again this is realize that this x underneath here is this word for x compassion to show compassion or in this x case not have compassion shown to you x um because that's the state that that x Israel was in at the time x and that really is the I think a better x translation I the pity translation is is x nice and short but x um probably because as a teenager uh in x the 80s I think my mind was poisoned by x pop culture and pity brings this to mind x um Minister T saying x um apologize for that little uh inner x introduction interjection but anyhow x um x so I think it's really about the one x who's not received compassion you know x it's an awkward phrase yeah but that's x that's I think more to the point x so we have here x um you know this current state of Israel x not receiving compassion not being God's x people anymore x um but but we also have the the picture x of Hope x um So currently as it stood at this time x you know not my people that's that's x just horrible that's it and and I am not x your god x um that's really a reversal of the x promises to Abraham a reversal of God's x promise to be there gone and for them to x be his people x um it's just tragic uh and uh that would x have struck to the heart of these x children of Abraham x um so hosea's x prophecy continues in chapter two x um because God's compassion is returns x there's a call to repentance uh x Hosea says plead earnestly with your x mother or God says two x um x oh it's x um x God is saying in this enacted Parable x plead earnestly with your mother for she x is not my wife and I am not her husband x so that she may put an end to her x adulterous lifestyle and turn away from x her sexual immoral Behavior x and jumping to verse 14 of chapter two x however x in the future I will Allure her I will x lead her back into the Wilderness and x speak tenderly to her x so God's expressing his desire to win x Israel back to through love and x compassion and tenderness and kindness x to to bring them back from this x unfaithfulness that they were currently x practicing x and x he says in verse 19 I will betroth you x to me forever I will betroth you in x righteousness and Justice in love and x compassion x and I will verse 20 I will betrayal you x in faithfulness and you will acknowledge x the Lord x um x in verse 19 that compassion word is a x a related word to our to our root x um here x and it's x it's really the plural of the word x racham just the the same as our verb x with just different vowel pointings and x it's often translated Tender Mercies in x the King James which I do which I like x is a really good a translation of this x um x in the ESV you get mercy and compassion x only about nine times so x um compassion was just only four times x in the King James it's nine times the x and the uh ESV x um but again the dominant meaning this x is Shifting as you get to more modern x translations x um compassion and then in the net is x like 25 times or some flavor of x compassion x um a little more than half and close to x three quarters of the x of the NAT the nasb uh and the NIV x really capture this compassion idea x um but it's the plural it's the x compassions x um of the lord it's it's a often most x often it's in this plural form x and it captures uh the x not only the idea of compassion but it x also is an anatomical kind of a term x it's like the the core the the core of x your being x um x the idea of uh like the bowels of your x core x um which is where feelings come from in x the Hebrew mindset x um so you see we see that word again in x uh the end of the chapter x um I'll actually start back to the verb x again I will plant for myself uh of her x for myself in the land and I will the x the people of Israel and I will show my x love we come to the one I called not my x loved one and I will say to those called x not my people you are my people and they x will say you are my God this beautiful x prophecy of of God's people being x restored to their relationship with God x they're they're repenting and God x welcoming them with compassion and open x arms x so I love the story of Jose it's just a x beautiful enacted Parable that speaks of x God's God's love and compassion for his x people despite their uh unfaithfulness x and God's promise to x to win them back through through x speaking tenderly and lovingly to his x bride x Peter alludes to this beautiful story x when he says in First Peter 2 verse 9 x you are a chosen people a royal x priesthood a holy nation a people x belonging to God so you may declare the x Praises of him who called you out of x Darkness into his wonderful light once x you are a people but now you are the x people of God once you had not received x Mercy but now you have received Mercy x um x there's another husband bride image in x Isaiah 54 x um x beginning in verse 5 for your makers x your husband the Lord of hosts is his x name the Holy One of Israel is your x Redeemer x for the Lord has called you like a wife x deserted and grieved in spirit like a x wife of Youth when she's cast off says x your lord for a brief moment I deserted x you but with great compassion x um rahmanim here get only the very great x compassion I will gather you in x overflowing anger for a moment I hid my x face from you but with everlasting love x I will have compassion on you says the x Lord x your Redeemer this is like the days of x Noah to me as I swore that the Waters of x Noah should no more go over the Earth so x I was sworn that I will not be angry x with you and will not rebuke you for the x mountains made a part and the hills may x be removed but my steadfast love shall x not depart from you in my Covenant of x Peace shall not be removed says the Lord x who has compassion on you x so x uh that's that's actually the context of x that uh verse 10 that we we uh looked at x earlier which speaks of x you know this the The God Who has x compassion one who has compassion on you x almost as a title of God x um so understand this word x a little bit more this kind of the the x bowels from which feelings flow uh x there's we can look back to Genesis in x Genesis 43 in the story of Joseph x um when Jacob's sons are about to go x back to Egypt to to because they ran out x of grain uh Simon was left behind he's x he's saying Abraham said or sorry Jacob x says and may God Almighty grant you x Mercy x before the man so that he he will let x you and your other older brother x Benjamin come back to you x if I am as for me if I'm bereaved I am x bereaved x um so here they were in this vulnerable x situation Jacob knew they were in a x perilous situation they they had this x problem of the you know the money looks x like they stole the money you know x they have to go back they're dependent x on this man for for getting some food to x survive x they needed rahamim they needed Mercy x they needed compassion x um x and then the word shows up again in the x same chapter when Joseph uh is about to x reveal himself it says deeply moved at x the sight of his brother Joseph hurried x out and looked for a place to weep he x went into a private room and wept there x it sounds very different but it's x because it's a Hebrew idiom idioms are x notoriously difficult to translate but x it has the idea well let's look at a few x translations and how they try to to x capture it the King James Goes a little x more literal his bowels did yearn so the x rakamim referring to the the core of his x being the RSV moved it up a little bit a x little bit more modern where we think of x feelings coming from in our in our x language his heart yearned for his x brother x the SV says his compassion rewarm x capturing the fact that rahamim is has x this idea of compassion and net has x overcome by affection x now just imagine what it'd been like for x Joseph he'd this has been over a decade x perhaps as long as two decades I mean we x don't know how long he was a slave x repotifer x um x after and how long was in prison before x he meeting the Butler and the baker but x after they uh left the prison it x mentions there was two full years or x agonizingly in Hebrew two years of days x he waits no sign of his request for them x to remember him uh showing any fruit and x then finally Jacob's Pharaoh's dream x comes and and he's restored out of x prison and then you know you have the x seven years of plenty and now we're two x years into the family think how long x it's been since he's seen his brother x um and that's why these feelings are so x deep for for Joseph x the same phrase x this deep feeling that's expressed x coming from the core of one's being x is used in another familiar story in x First Kings chapter three when the the x two prostitutes come before Solomon and x it's it's a kind of a test of his wisdom x and he obviously passes it with flying x colors x um because x he said you know they both claim oh this x you know one of them one of them's son x had died uh in the night x um in their sleep x and then they started fighting over the x baby that remained and and they come x before Solomon x um and Solomon says okay take a knife x sword and split the child into and x everybody gets half and that'll solve x the problem uh and the response of the x mother the true mother is in verse 26 x the woman whose son was alive was filled x with compassion for her son x uh and she said to the king please my x Lord give the give the her the living x baby don't kill him x um but the other said neither I nor you x shall have him cut him into so very x clearly uh Solomon could tell who the x real mother was and he said nope goes to x the it goes to her x but imagine that feeling here's the the x woman who remember those feelings that I x asked you to x think about either imagining if you're x in my shoes or remembering if you are a x mother this mother had had this child in x her in her womb has she been cradling x them nurturing and protecting them x um and and both before and after birth x and x and now she's about to about to she's x about to lose him because the king is x saying cutting in half I'm just x her feelings x um are coming from deep within her uh x and trying to capture that uh in x different translations the ESV says x because her heart yearned for her son x again not literal it's bringing more to x our experience we think of our feelings x coming from up here x but the but the King James a little bit x more literally says her bowels yearn for x her son like deep down in her core or x where the in the Hebrew mindset our x feelings come from that's what she was x feeling x and this actually brings out an x interesting connection the x there's another word that uses these x same three uh letter same three letters x of a root um but the vowels have changed x a little bit and it becomes x and x uh is a word which which ties into this x this this young mother in First Kings x three x um because requiem x means Womb x so x you can see the tie-in between x compassion x uh and a womb x um a mother has this deep compassion for x the child who was in their womb who came x from their womb to the world x um this is uh our son Jacob when he was x first born x um and you can see that what was it game x yes x too okay all right forgive me I didn't x check they do look yeah they're Brothers x they look similar right so x um x so it's it's isn't it it's not x surprising that there's this fascinating x connection between the the Hebrew x concept of compassion x um x linked to the the deep love a mother has x for the child in her room in her womb so x the deep love that recognizes the x helplessness of this child this child x will not survive on their own and this x mother will do anything to protect and x nurture this delicate life x so x wreck him a beautiful word with a x beautiful connection uh it's related to x The Compassion the mother has for her x child before and after they they leave x the womb and and this really expresses x the the depth of the sense uh of this x word this yeah this word in Hebrew x and it leads to another passage that x that uh where God actually Compares his x compassion x to The Compassion of a mother's love and x it actually exceeds that compassion x in Isaiah 49 verse 15 it says can a x woman forget her nursing child that she x shouldn't have no compassion on the son x of her womb x even these may forget yet I will not x forget you behold I have engraved you on x the palms of my hands your walls are x continually before me x uh x is it surprising that God would like him x liking himself to a woman x um x well remember God created man in his own x image and the image of God he created x the him male and female he created them x yes God is labeled with masculine x pronouns he is our father x but remember the limits of language both x both male and female according to x Genesis 1 are in the image of God and x both carry attributes of of God's x likeness x so a mother's love and compassion for a x child x mirrors x this attribute of God's glory is x compassion in a way that uh that the x male humans don't quite x um capture as fully x um so the image of God as this x uh mother who loves her child just x with with x unending compassion x uh the context of that passage also has x this has the word compassion a number of x times there are verb that we were x looking at a couple verses before they x will neither hunger not not hunger or x thirst nor will they scorching heat or x sun strike them down for he who has x compassion on them will lead them and he x will guide them x Springs of water x shout for Joy you heavens and rejoice x you Earth Break Forth into shouting x mountains x for the Lord has comforted his people x and will have compassion on his x afflicted x so that leads us to the idea of x reflecting God's character x if God is one of the most important x attributes of God is his compassion x then we should be reflecting that as x well as as people in the image of God x the tamalytic rabbi is considered x compassion be one of the three x distinguishing marks of the Jewish x people x um x so that's how important they saw it as x people having to reflect this attribute x of God this characteristic of God x um x uh another quote in in Jewish teaching x compassion is among the highest of x Virtues as is as is its opposite cruelty x among the worst of vices x so keeping all that in mind is it any x surprise that Jesus embodied compassion x we see so many passages just here's just x a few of them uh when he saw the crowds x he had compassion on them because they x were harassed and helpless like sheep x without a shepherd x when Jesus landed and saw a large crowd x he had compassion on them and healed x they're sick x God called the disciples to him and said x I have compassion for these people they x have already been with me three days and x have nothing to eat and do not want to x send them away hungry or they may x collapse on the way x Jesus the son of the Father Who Bore the x image of his father more completely than x anybody else x obviously x demonstrated compassion should not be x surprising and it shouldn't be x surprising that he taught compassion as x well x um Luke 6 36 yeah we're familiar with it x as be merciful as your father is x merciful but consider the revised x English Bible be compassionate x as your father is compassionate x and justification for that translation x is octieremon the the Greek word there x is the in the Septuagint is the mo is x the most often used word to translate x the compassions uh of x of the Lord x um x the uh modern Hebrew New Testament In x this passage translates x um using the word uh compassion as well x so you know Mercy you know captures part x of it but x I Think Jesus is calling us to x compassion as well be compassionate as x your father is compassionate that first x attribute of God should be an attribute x of our character as well x Jesus had a number of lessons on x compassion x um he not only demonstrated it in his x life he taught us about it with these x beautiful uh word pictures x like this one but he while he was still x a long way off his father saw him x and was filled with compassion for him x and he ran to his son and threw his arms x around him and kissed him x Jesus paints this moving picture of x God's deep yearning for a lost son to x return for us to return to him when x we've strayed x and in this move in this lesson Jesus x has the lesson of the older brother for x us x to remember when we see our brother x return and repent x you know we should we should be sharing x in the joy of the father who has this x compassion and and love for a son and is x willing to overlook what the son x had done because he has turned away from x that life and is returning to his father x another powerful lesson x um x whoops hold on x um x Jesus paints him no sorry forgive me x that x um another powerful lesson in this x picture x but a certain Samaritan as he journeyed x came where he was and when he saw him x he had compassion on him x he cared for his needs the Samaritan he x personally sacrificed time and money to x help one in need x and really this is a picture of Jesus x what he has done for us x Jesus the Good Samaritan x has saved us when we were as good as x dead x and has shown mercy and kindness and x love and compassion and bound up our x wounds and brought us to an end the x Ecclesia where he asks our brethren x like he asked like the Samaritan asked x The Innkeeper to care for this injured x person x Jesus as her Brethren to care for us x until he returns x and he asked us x to care for others who come into the the x house x the Inn to care for them until he x returns x he asked us to have compassion like that x Samaritan did x and another lesson on compassion x the servant's master took pity uh or the x King James moved with compassion on him x canceled the debt and let him go x you know you know the parable the x servant who owed 10 000 talents millions x of dollars in today's x um you know money you know of a day's x wage or Year's wages like say forty x thousand dollars that'd be 400 million x dollars even if it was you know a Year's x wage minimum wage is 25 000 or something x like we're talking x 2500 million dollars uh or sorry 250 x million dollars anyway crazy amount of x money x that's the debt x that this man forgave that the ruler x forgave the servant x and Jesus taught us to recognize that x that is a picture of our debt to God God x has shown us incredible compassion and x so we need to turn and show it to others x you know in so many passages teach x um so so that's Jesus teaching um but x and throughout the scriptures God is x teaching us x to have that kind of compassion for one x another and for those in need x so many passages teach of God's care and x concern for the vulnerable of society x the stranger the poor the Widow the x orphan x one beautiful verse at the end of Hosea x we looked at Hosea was expressed as x God's compassion for the orphan for in x you in God the fatherless find x compassion x you know in the law we have God caring x for the Sojourner the fatherless the x Widow by by telling Israelites the x Israelites that they x we're supposed to leave the gleanings of x their field so that these people who are x in need could go through and pick up the x the Stray pieces of of grain and x um the Stray olives on the vine grapes x on the vine so that they could be x sustained x God had a had a heart for these people x um x compassion one one thing I heard said x about compassion is it's recognizing x suffering x and then taking action to help x also had said the opposite of Love is x indifference compassion is x is the opposite of indifference it's x it's seeing a need and and having a x heart for that need and and doing x something about it x and and we we do there there's in the x Brotherhood there are so many examples x of in our community of how people have x showed x compassion I I can just think of a few x examples x um x I don't know how many of you know about x uh brother Alan Overton x um who's kind of called the the x um the Schindler of rugby England was a x crystal brother x um who helped hundreds of uh evacuees x from Nazi Germany x have a place a home x um and and x Refuge from the certain death that they x would have faced uh in Hitler's Germany x um hundreds of of children taken in by x Believers many with great sacrifice x um if you haven't heard a red brother x Jason Hensley's book on the Kinder x transport or heard some of his x interviews x um online look it up um do it it's it's x really really really inspiring x um x and the article mentions that it it just x touched his heart when he when when x brother Alan saw the plight of of these x these children x um who were facing certain death it x touched his heart that's that's x compassion x um another way that I see in the x Brotherhood and passion uh coming out x and Christoph and Charities like Mila x day and Agape in action x um you know we were in in Kenya and saw x the the powerful things that are being x done by with the support of people from x you know this country and elsewhere in x the Brotherhood the nutrition drink x program the care for the widows and the x widows program x um so as a Brotherhood there are things x that we are doing well uh that are x demonstrating compassion x and I want to think about both the x positives and the negatives if we close x out the class um some discussion x questions x um can you you know thinking about our x Ecclesia some positives x um and in our region you know prayer x requests I think are a great example of x compassion recognizing the needs and x having a heart for the needs of our x brothers and sisters x um the welcome that the Stoughton x Ecclesia has has given to refugees and x the care and support they've given to x the people who are Strangers In a x Strange Land as somebody who was a x Stranger in a Strange Land but without x the added burden of of being a you know x a refugee who's you know fleeing for his x life from his homeland but just being a x stranger and and you know being in a x country that's not my own or my language x is not the dominant language being x spoken I can appreciate just how x powerful that is uh to to have that kind x of x love and support of of I x depended on it when I was you know in x another country x um x you know the support in our Collegiate x for Agape in action and actually my you x know I think back on my first experience x that stood my very first visit uh was x when you invited uh brother James and x sister Deb Flint to come and speak about x Agape in action x um it was a wonderful I saw the love and x support of our brethren in Stoughton and x and it it x stuck in my heart and in my mind x um x in our you know a little bit more x extended community in New England the x Swahili program at Eastern christophian x Bible school I I recognize that people x in the community had it in their heart x that we need to recognize the needs of x our brothers that that are in a x different culture and and really could x benefit from having a little sometimes a x little bit more critical mass of x brothers and sisters who share uh x language and culture for a time having x that Fellowship x um as well as the fellowship of of the x Native Americans not Native Americans x but people who are x who grew up America x um x that that was a wonderful experience and x I'm so glad to hear that we're doing it x again this year at Eastern x um I know so discussion can you think of x other reasons other positive things that x you see you can think of uh in our body x um x in New England and in Stoughton that x that show compassion x anybody have anything to share