Moved With Compassion

Devotional Reflection, Thursday, October 20, 2022

Proper 24, the week of the nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.

Key phrases for reflection from today’s reading:

30Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

(The complete reading can be found at the end of this reflection)

Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 989)

AM Psalm 37:1-18; PM Psalm 37:19-42

Ecclus. 10:1-18; Rev. 9:1-12; Luke 10:25-37

David’s Reflections

The word compassion comes from two Latin words, pati + cum, meaning “to suffer with.” In today’s Gospel three people see the same situation, the same wounded, unconscious man dying by the roadside. Two of them distance themselves and move on. The third is moved with compassion and risks involvement to care for this helpless victim of a violent robbery. What made the difference? We cannot know but that the priest and the Levite may have felt what Peter Rhea Jones once called “a tingling sensation in the gizzards.” * But, whatever they felt, those feelings did not move them to act.

The Samaritan evidently suffered with the unconscious one and could not put a lid on that suffering by moving on and remaining distant. He saw in a different way the same sight as the others, and in contrast to the others, his sense of shared pain drove him to reach out, to act. This was no mere tingling sensation in the gizzards. This was courageous caring prompted by seeing.

What makes the difference for you and me? How is it that each of us lacks compassion for different individuals and groups suffering in our world? For each that we ignore and pass by, there are other people who care and throw themselves into acts of caring. Perhaps the best question for you and me today would be, “What sorts of suffering individuals and groups do we consistently ignore or avoid?” The answer to that question may reveal the blind spots in our vision and our personal biases that choke off compassion like vines strangle a rose bush.

Henri Nouwen, in his classic work The Wounded Healer, said of compassion:

"Compassion is born when we discover in the center of our own existence not only that God is God, and man is man (humans are humans) but also that our neighbor is really our fellow man (human being)."

"For a compassionate man (person) nothing human is alien: no joy and no sorrow, no way of living and no way of dying." +

* Peter Rhea Jones, The Teaching of the Parables (Nashville: Broadman, 1982), p. 219.

+ Henri J. M. Nouwen, The Wounded Healer (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1972), pp. 40-41. (Like so many classics, Nouwen's earlier writing does not reflect sensitivity to male-dominant language.)

Collect of the Day: Proper 24, the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 235)

A Collect for Grace

Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 100)

For the Unity of the Church

Almighty Father, whose blessed Son before his passion prayed for his disciples that they might be one, as you and he are one: Grant that your Church, being bound together in love and obedience to you, may be united in one body by the one Spirit, that the world may believe in him whom you have sent, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, 255)

In the Order of Worship for Evening

Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, creator of the changes of day and night, giving rest to the weary, renewing the strength of those who are spent, bestowing upon us occasions of song in the evening. As you have protected us in the day that is past, so be with us in the coming night; keep us from every sin, every evil, and every fear; for you are our light and salvation, and the strength of

our life. To you be glory for endless ages. Amen. (BCP, 113)

A Collect for Mission

O God and Father of all, whom the whole heavens adore: Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you, and men and women everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 124)

Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, Book of Common Prayer

Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer

Compline (Night Prayer), Page 127, Book of Common Prayer

Daily Office Gospel, Luke 10:25-37

25 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ 26He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ 27He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’ 28And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’ 29But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ 30Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” 36Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ 37He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’