He had just heard that his good friend, who lived in another town, was seriously ill. It was another two days before he could set out to pay him a visit. When he reached the home of his friend’s sisters, there were many people gathered. He saw the sisters crying and many other friends mourning the unfortunate death of his friend – he had arrived too late!
As he saw the great sorrow borne by the man’s sisters and friends he became deeply troubled, because he felt that if he had arrived earlier he might have been able to lend a hand with his friend’s illness. And in John 11:35 we read, “Jesus wept”. In this experience we see demonstrated a compassionate Jesus, a quality we are all encouraged to develop.
I have been overwhelmed over the past few years by the number of people I have been in contact with, who are suffering for many and varied reasons: friends dying from cancer; three acquaintances who have been bashed; a couple who are homeless; parents separated from their children; addiction to alcohol; broken relationships because of insensitive words spoken - and I could go on!
When the Guildford Homestead Community Café was operating, I used to sit and chat with the clients who attended. As I spoke with them I sensed the loneliness and isolation some of them were feeling living on their own or with little contact from the outside world. When I mix with the folk who attend the Open Door congregation and talk with them about their life’s situations, I recognize my own weaknesses in coming up with solutions to assist them with their anxieties and problems. All I can offer is a listening ear and the spirit of compassion.
When it comes to dealing with society’s problems, we are called to act as Christ would do; to reach outside the church walls to people who are different or less fortunate than us and make connections. Do you know a person or family who is suffering? If so, can you reach out and establish a compassionate relationship with them?
Compassion is the most powerful antidote for bringing healing and peace into a person’s life. It is the one way to restore love to a broken relationship. Members of the Community of Christ are called to bring to those who are suffering the assurance that Christ heals, that God loves them and is available to support them through their difficulties.
The call to serve others has come down to us through the ages in the words of King Benjamin when he said: “And, behold, I tell you these things that you may learn wisdom, that you may learn that when you are in the service of your fellow beings you are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 1:49).
This way of life is brought out in the words of the hymn written by Barbara Howard, “Bear Each Other’s Burdens”. The hymn calls us to meet human need through “the strength of our caring” that can heal the pain others are suffering. The call of God to each of us is to the path of compassion and healing – to reveal the divine love of God through our caring.
In Section 163:1, 2 of the D&C, President Stephen Veazey has counselled the church to embrace the name Community of Christ recognizing it as our identity and calling. He challenges the church to “Generously share the invitation, ministries, and sacraments through which people can encounter the Living Christ who heals and reconciles through redemptive relationships in sacred community. The restoring of persons to healthy or righteous relationships with God, others, themselves, and the earth is at the heart of the purpose of your journey as a people of faith”.
The Russian born novelist Vladimir Nabokov tells of an experience when he was staying in Utah. Nabokov was a collector of butterflies and moths and one evening he returned from his day’s excursion saying that during a hot pursuit of a butterfly, he heard someone groaning most piteously down by the stream. “Did you stop?” he was asked. “No, I had to get the butterfly,” he responded. The next day beside the stream, the corpse of an aged prospector was discovered.
While people around us are suffering, how often are we off chasing butterflies?
Bill Gillard