Compassion for All

Consider the Orange Line during the evening rush hour. Riders are compressed into the car and personal space no longer exists. Now, envision yourself on that train. A long-armed man reaches over your shoulder to grab a bar. Here is something not to say to that stranger: “You smell nice.” While he might indeed smell nice, the comment violates a social norm on crowded public transportation: view riders as things not people. Admittedly, friendly banter during an unwanted game of Orange Line Twister might not be appropriate, but let’s give pause before carrying that indifference to all aspects of our life. Recently, I heard a Christian tradwife influencer who showed such indifference. She warned against compassion, and according to this notable influencer, compassion deceives us. Thank God that our Savior Jesus Christ is nothing like this ‘Christian’ influencer. Jesus sees the hurting. Jesus feels their pain.

In Mark 5, we read about the healing of a women who suffered from bleeding. Desperate for a cure, she seizes upon an opportunity. Crowds press around Jesus (ala Orange Line at rush hour) as he travels to help a dying girl, the ailing women concludes: “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed” (v.28). She wiggles through the congestion, touches Jesus’ cloak. Instantly, she feels her body’s restoration. The woman is healed.

We then read: At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” (v.30).  Flummoxed by Jesus’ question, the disciples note the pressing crowds. Many people are touching him. Jesus persists: [He] kept looking to see who had done it (v.32).

Finally, the woman reveals herself. How will Jesus respond? He could be irritated at interruption: “I am going heal a dying girl! You’ve been sick for 12 years! Can’t you wait a few minutes?” Or, Jesus could concentrate on her deception: “Why are you skulking about? Show your face and stop hiding!” Maybe Jesus disguises his embarrassment at a healing occurring based upon timing and not his: “You’re an unclean woman. Who are you to decide when you get healed?” These are all viable options, but they all lack an important quality. They all lack compassion.

Jesus forgoes these viable options and opts instead for a compassionate response: “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering” (v.34). As we consider Jesus’ response, how will we respond to the people around us? Even on the crowded Orange Line where indifference rules, might we offer a seat to a wobbly young person? When driving and abled-bodied pedestrian saunters in front of our car, might we extend compassionate patience? When waiting to checkout, and a brazen shopper cuts to the front, might we still extend unmerited compassion?

Compassion, we find, is not just for those we think deserve it; compassion is for all. And when we become auditors of compassion, we become a forever Orange Line commuter – always indifferent to other. And further still, as auditors of compassion, we become the ‘Christian’ influencer who scolds the compassion. Let’s not do that. Let’s opt for Jesus’ path. Let’s show compassion. Let’s show it to all. Let’s show it in abundance.