‘Compassionate community’

Reveren Sharon McRann

It takes a great deal of trust to risk crying out to God for healing for ourselves and for others, and yet we join with the Psalmist, and the Apostles in proclaiming - along with Jesus - that God desires to act on behalf of wholeness in human lives. I have a calendar that sits by the side of my chair called, ‘God’s Daily Blessings" - Moments of Quiet Reflection. Today’s reflection is taken from Colossians 2:2. It reads, “I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself.” William Barclay tells us that, “We have a Christian duty to encourage one another. Many a time, a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a ‘man’ on his feet. Blessed is the ‘man’ who speaks such a word.” As I walk through this life and see the pain and the sorrow and the suffering that human beings deal with on a day-to-day basis, I have come to believe that my calling . . . my reason for being is to make people’s lives a little easier, a bit more joyful. In fact, I think perhaps that is what each of us is called to do. And each of us will do that in various ways depending on the gifts and abilities God has given us. Some of us will physically offer care to others, some have the ability to be careful and active listeners and some are here to offer care and encouragement through words of truth and light. There is no age limit on those who can offer time, words of praise, encouragement or appreciation. As we know, very young children have the ability to cheer one who is sad, lonely or sick. Those who are elderly may not have the means or the ability to get out and physically bring healing or cheer to another, but they can do it where they are at . . . at home, in the lodge, or at the nursing home. Ability is not a factor either when it comes to caring and giving comfort to another. If we can reach out beyond our disabilities . . . both those that are physical and those that are emotional or spiritual, we can also answer the call to be an instrument of joy, comfort and love to others. Disability does not mean inability. Each of us is able to pick up the receiver and make a phone call or show sincerity to one who needs a listening ear. Sometimes our ability to care for, listen or help another is marred by fear, greed or unwarranted pride. These are what I call sins of the spirit or traits we have developed due to life’s circumstances or unfortunate dealings with others. These are traits that, in order to be truly loving and compassionate individuals, we continually work at eliminating from our lives. Christians believe that we come to known God . . . what God is like and what God wants for us through Jesus the Christ and the way he lived His life . . . showing compassion and love wherever He went to all he encountered. Marcus Borg, theologian and author says, “Jesus is what can be seen of God embodied in human life. He is the revelation, the incarnation, of God’s character and passion - of what God is like and of what God is most passionate about. He shows us the heart of God.” Jesus opened His heart to children and to lepers, to the poor and hungry, to people of other beliefs and of no belief. He raised people from death and granted them health, hope and wholeness. Symbolically, death can mean many things including sorrow, depression, despair, and hopelessness . . . anything that kills the spirit. Jesus gave them what they needed to move beyond death to resurrection and new life. We, too, can offer new life to those whose lives have been turned upside down, by letting Christ work through us, as we, as a compassionate community strive to uplift the lives of others and of one another in love. Some people long to be told they are important and of worth, they live so long without ever hearing those words they begin to feel as though perhaps they have no worth, and then suddenly someone tells them how much they have meant to them, and that person glows with a newfound meaning to life. Some people live all their lives without telling their “story.” Every person has a story to tell. Each one has lived a life that is unique to them alone. When someone shows some interest in another’s life story, they offer that person a release . . . a way of telling the world just who they really are. We keep our stories bottled up inside of us and many people die with no one who can tell who they really were inside. How very sad that is! What a wonderful service we offer when we are willing to just listen to one another. Invite your loved ones to share who they are inside . . . don’t assume that you know. Being a compassionate community. Being as Christ to one another means to heal and healing takes many different guises or forms of which only a few have been mentioned. Let us go out this week and be as Christ to one another. Let us be a caring and compassionate people and community!