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I recently
was “forced” (“cajoled” and “shamed” might be better terms) into getting
a cell phone. Since I am required to do a moderate amount of
business-related traveling, some people
have complained they can’t contact me when I’m not in town. In
rather strong terms, a couple have suggested I am being selfish because
I jealously guard my privacy and don’t make making myself more easily accessible.
The idea of a
having a cell phone has always bothered me. For example, I’ve been out
on the golf course when members of the foursome will take (and make) calls
and conduct business on a cell phone instead of doing what we’re there
to do, namely, to enjoy a round of golf. I’m sure we’ve all observed
people—whether in restaurants, food stores, in theaters, and even while
driving their vehicles—yakking away on their cell phones when they’re
supposed to be focused upon something else and, many times, more
important. It’s even now commonplace
at many churches on Sunday—just before the Entrance Hymn is
announced—for the commentator to invite the members of the congregation
to turn off their cell phones! Just last week, thank God, the
commentator made the announcement…because I had forgotten to turn off my
cell phone!
Speaking solely
for myself, the only good reason I can conceive for having a cell phone
is in the event I would be running late for a scheduled appointment or
if I happened upon or was involved in some sort of an accident or
emergency situation. For parents, I also think it’s a good idea that
young people have cell phones, especially when they’re out in the
evening, so they can call home if something changes or happens and,
likewise, for
parents to call their children for the same reasons. In instances like
these, having a cell phone is a good thing. At least, in my
opinion.
Notice the
crucial difference, however.
Having a cell
phone so that I can make or take telephone calls whenever and wherever I
happen to be in order to yak away pre-paid program minutes isn’t
something that I need to do or have to do. All of that is absolutely and
completely unnecessary. But, like young people out late at night when
something comes up that changes plans already made with their parents,
having a cell phone to communicate what has happened or
changed and will force parents to alter their schedules, now that’s
absolutely necessary. Why? Because compassion means putting the needs
of others ahead of what I want and to do for others what I need to do
rather than doing what I want and not giving one whit for others or
their needs...sort of like teenagers when they give the lame excuse,
“Oh, I forgot to call.”
Jesus’ parable
about the robbers’ victim commended the sinner who showed compassion.
Because Jesus makes this point, those of us who struggle to be Jesus’
disciples—sinners we are—ought to consider what compassion is and what it requires of
us.
In Jesus’ day,
the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was a favorite place where notorious gangs of
thieves hid out. Because the road followed along very rugged, mountainous
terrain, it afforded plenty of places where these gangs could hide
for the purpose of ambushing unwary travelers. One common ambush technique
involved having one of the thieves fake an injury. This
fellow would lie along the roadside and, when an unsuspecting
goodhearted and generous man happened along and came to the aid of the
supposedly injured fellow, the other thieves would spring from their hiding
place, beat the goodhearted and generous man bloody, and rob him of his
possessions. The thieves would then travel to the city where
they’d spend the booty, leaving the goodhearted and generous
man to die.
Now, we’ve all
been told never to pick up hitch-hikers because of the potential dangers
they present. And, I’m sure, we’ve also all been told not to hitch-hike
because of the potential dangers we can get ourselves into. It
makes great sense to avoid hitch-hikers and hitch-hiking. It also would
have made great sense for the goodhearted and generous man to value his
safety and to account for the potential of danger posed by the supposedly
injured lying man along the roadside. But, the sinner—today we call him
the “Good Samaritan”—came to the aid of the fellow,
not fearing for his own safety or calculating any threat to his well-being.
How was the
sinner to know this wasn’t an ambush?
Well, the simple
answer is that he didn’t know whether or not it was an ambush.
Furthermore, it would not have mattered to the sinner whether it was or
wasn’t an ambush. What mattered to the sinner, because he was the Good
Samaritan, is what compassion required. That virtue—not a rational
calculation based upon what was in his self-interest—dictated what the
sinner was to do in that particular situation.
Since Jesus
commended this sinner’s compassion, just what is
compassion? And: What does it mean to be compassionate?
The word
literally means “to feel deeply with another’s situation” (com -
“with”; pathos - “deep feeling”) that is, to experience what
another is experiencing. But, compassion doesn’t end there, just
feeling deeply for or with another human being as well as his or her
plight or need.
In Jesus’ day,
compassion meant something more, because the word also had significant religious
overtones. In a culture where the religious ritual required animal
sacrifice, compassion referred to the animal’s entrails—its liver,
lungs, and heart—which the priest gutted, pulled from the animal’s body, and
placed on the altar as part of the bloody sacrifice that was to be
immolated. In this particular sense, compassion might be likened to
“pouring out one’s bloodied guts” on behalf of another person—of making a selfless,
self-sacrifice for someone else—without counting the cost to oneself.
Compassion, then,
isn’t simply feeling deeply for or with another human being but, more
importantly, doing something about it. For example, the sinner didn’t
calculate what might going on as he happened upon the supposedly injured
man. Nor did the sinner calculate what this situation meant in terms of
himself, his personal safety, or completing his journey. No, because the sinner
was a man whose heart brimmed with compassion, he felt deeply for the supposedly injured
man and did everything he could to assist the man…who had been severely
beaten, robbed, and left for dead by a gang of thieves. For this sinner,
compassion—not self-interest—set the standard for decision making when
the plight of another human being’s need suddenly come to the fore.
Compassion sets a pretty high standard for decision making
as genuine human need
unexpectedly presents itself. Compassion requires not only making a sacrifice—as the
high priest would make a ritual sacrifice of the animal and its bloodied
entrails—but also, and more importantly, making a self-sacrifice by
pouring oneself out on behalf of others, as St. Paul reminded the Colossians, a self-sacrifice similar to Jesus “making peace by
the blood of his cross.” Pouring himself out on the Cross—body
and blood—Jesus
sets an extremely high standard, one seemingly impossible for ordinary
mortals—people like us—to attain.
We cannot
possibly take care of all the needs of all people across the globe.
But, we
can take care of the needs of those we people stumble upon as we go
about our lives each day. As Moses reminded the Israelites, the
law of compassion—love of God and neighbor—is “something very near to
you, already in your mouths, and in your hearts.” The challenge,
of course, is as Moses noted, “you have only to carry it out.” This standard isn’t too high nor is this
standard too distant for us to reach. In fact, it is the standard Jesus commended in the parable of the Good Samaritan.
You and I have only
to carry out this law by demonstrating compassion.
Simply put:
compassion means saying “Yes” to those people and their needs when we
really want to say “No” or when we’ve calculated that it’s not in our
self-interest to provide for their needs. These are our “neighbors” as
Jesus spoke of them in the parable of the Good Samaritan.
The word
“neighbor” comes from the old English root “nigh,” meaning “someone
near” or “close” to us. Think about it: God has drawn near by placing the law of
compassion in our hearts. Jesus has drawn near by taking flesh in the
Incarnation and by pouring his body and blood out for us upon the Cross. Like
Jesus, who drew near those in need, especially sinners, so we must draw near to those people in need we unexpectedly happen
upon each day. We do so as we anticipate their needs and reach out to them
before they ask. This is what compassion requires.
Understood in
this way, compassion is not a matter of theory or speculation but a very practical matter,
one concerning how we actually live. The question is not “Who is my
neighbor?” but “Whose neighbor can I be here and now?” As
disciples, the most important thing is not to know who our neighbors are
but to see whose neighbor we can be here and now, the person for whom we
can be a “Good Samaritan.”
So, who are those
people? Who is needy in your life? Is it a spouse? a child?
an estranged in-law or relative? a neighbor or co-worker?
“Which of these
three in your opinion was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” The
one who treated him with compassion.” Jesus said, “Go and do
likewise.”
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HOMILY
