FOCUS: Jesus was not primarily a teacher of correct beliefs or right morals. He was a teacher of a way that transforms people from legalistic rule-followers into compassionate disciples who put people first.
Compassion Above All Things
Considering the witness of the gospels, you wouldn’t be thought strange to claim that the essence of Jesus’ ministry might be distilled down into one word: compassion. The three synoptic gospels record Jesus identifying the most important commandment – and he was not the only one in his time to quote Deuteronomy in lifting up the priorities of loving “God with your whole heart, soul, strength, and mind, and to love your neighbor as you love yourself." Jesus made it clear throughout his ministry that the standard of behavior he expected of his followers was not only love of neighbor, but love of outcasts and enemies, as well – genuine love, acted upon even at a cost and risk to oneself.
To understand Jesus’ commitment to the practice of compassion, it helps to know a little about the world into which he was born. Roman annexation of Palestine in 63 B.C.E. created an unsettling mix of religious, political, and economic conflict. With the Roman presence affecting almost every aspect of life, the task of remaining a faithful Jew became increasingly challenging. The response of some Jews in Jesus’ time was to commit themselves to the Torah’s holiness code and submit to God’s mandate to “…be holy as I the Lord your God am holy.” (Leviticus 19.2)
Unfortunately, the concept of holiness carried with it the notion of achievable perfection. As a result, this particular group of Jews emphasized the portions of the Law that stressed separateness. Jewish life was polarized into clean and unclean, pure and defiling, sacred and profane. People, too, were divided into
categories of clean or unclean, righteous or sinner.
Jewish movements like the Essenes, copyists and creators of the “Dead Sea Scrolls,” are thought to be an extreme example of this philosophy. They formed an isolated, monastic-like community in the desert, completely separating themselves from others. Perhaps most familiar to readers of the New Testament as practitioners of the holiness code were the Pharisees. Although they are represented as his main opposition in the Gospels, Jesus identified with the Pharisees more than with the Sadducees. While the Sadducees were the literalist Priests bound to the temple, the Pharisees were out in the countryside doing their best to make Judaism “doable” for the people of the land. Jesus, however, pushed beyond even their comfort level in making Jewish practice and principles accessible. The stress on adherence to purity laws and refusing table
fellowship with sinners by some Pharisees evidently created a large group of outcasts and set the stage for the Gospel writers to portray them as Jesus’ villainous opposition.
Into what was a rigid, legalistic environment for many stepped Jesus, flying in the face of the Pharisees’ prime directive: separation from anything unclean. Although Jesus identified with the Pharisees who were trying to humanize the law, he still parted company with them on their interpretation of holiness and their strict adherence to separation. Jesus’ “M.O.” was healing on the Sabbath and dining with sinners and outcasts. He invited his disciples to look beyond the conventional attitudes of his day and see how the way we treat one another is more important than the way we adhere to a set of rigid rules.
Far from ignoring the law or possessing a “lack of moral standards,” such behavior would include giving up things like oppression, exploitation, coercion, and greed – not to mention the tyranny of having to believe what is “correct.” By putting behavior ahead of belief in a hierarchy of values, Jesus’ disciples are held to a standard that transcends the rules. Followers of Jesus are duty-bound to treat their fellow human beings with kindness, respect, and mercy – no matter the circumstance. Our actions of love are more important than the expression of our beliefs or keeping of the law.
Although the Gospel of John is clearly not a literal recounting of Jesus’ life, the emphasis of John’s interpretation offers us a picture of discipleship that centers around experience of God, not information about God. It’s not about faith (the word doesn’t even appear in the book) or right beliefs, but about “knowing” God. Throughout Hebrew scripture, to “know” God is to have an intimate experience of the Divine. Adam “knew” his wife and she conceived. Likewise, from John’s perspective, to know God is to enter into intimacy with God.
Similarly, our word “compassion” comes from the Latin and literally means “to bear or feel the suffering” of another – not just intellectually, but viscerally. Language scholars point out that the Hebrew and Aramaic root word for compassion (racham)! is a plural form of the singular noun “womb.” From the singular noun “womb” you move to the plural “compassion.” Jesus makes the abstract notion of a plural womb concrete by modeling and teaching the nourishing, life-giving, all-embracing practice of compassion above all things. If
laws, rules or customs get in the way of acting with compassion, then away with them.
To receive a complete copy of the text used for the session, please contact Pastor Marj at daytonfirstcong@gmail.com. It will be sent as an email attachment for your perusal as opposed to printing multiple pages, a stewardship practice. Because of copyright law, we are not able to make the materials available here. Another option would be to purchase a copy of Felten and Procter-Murphy's newly-released book, Living the Questions: The Wisdom of Progressive Christianity from your local bookseller.
Questions to be considered in light of the video and readings:
Share how Carcaño’s story of experiencing her mother’s compassion compares to Jesus’ expression of compassion.
What does the story of the woman with the flow of blood and the power “going out of” Jesus say about our call to compassion?
How would you describe the call to compassion as a “Summons?”
According to Jesus’ message to John the Baptist, what are some of the practical expressions of compassion being practiced?
Jesus a law-breaker?! Explain.
What does the story of the woman with the flow of blood say about Jesus’ opinion of the 1st Century Jewish purity laws?
Spong says that, according to Jesus, the Sabbath was created for a particular purpose. Explain.
What is the secret name of God?
When Brueggemann says, “When that kind of body and that kind of presence walks into pain, it has transformative power,” what are the implications for us?
Compare the two kinds of compassion that Carcaño describes.
What are some of the ways in which a society is put together that might “profoundly affect the lives of people?”
How might Jesus’ “Family Values” be an expression of compassion?
How does compassion “evolve?”
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