Compassion is one of the virtues we are encouraged to cultivate as Christians.We should be distinct by how compassionate we are
with one another. Compassion leads us to action to minimise the suffering and pain of the other. To be compassionate is to be like Christ.
The account of the
Passion of Christ, his suffering and death, is sad and painful. He was captured in the night, by the crowd that sang hosanna for him a few days ago. He prayed and asked for a different outcome than the one he knew was set out for him. Being arrested when you are innocent is humiliating; you are presumed guilty and therefore treated with no respect, as though you are no longer human. Jesus experienced the same thing.
His arrest came after spending time in the garden, and he was exhausted. He was tossed around from one high priest to the next, questioned about his ministry and what he did and taught. He was helpless, watching as they
told lies about him expecting him to fight back. I imagine his loneliness, looking around and not seeing his friends, feeling abandoned by his Father and everyone around him at this time that was not for him. The people mocked, slapped and spat on him. People from the different places he had visited thought and acted like they had authority over Jesus. Yet, while all this was happening, Jesus knew who and whose he was, and because of this identity, he endured this
suffering.
Jesus was innocent and obedient, but remember his prayer in the garden “Your will be done”. He loved his friends and followers, he brought
back the dead to life, healed the sick and preached the good news. We are invited these last few days of Lent to decide to go to the cross with Jesus. To feel compassion for Jesus as he faces suffering. We are invited to feel compassion too for people around us.
Do you feel compassion for Jesus? Have you felt compassion for Jesus? How might feeling and showing compassion for Jesus change your relationship with God? What action might compassion for Jesus lead you to take?
