Pentecost

Sermon Series <Living in the Presence> (6)

“A Compassionate Heart”

Luke 10:25-37 / October 29, 2023

Rev Sean Kang, Pastor

Recently, there is a colleague pastor who went on a trip to Israel. On the last day of his trip, he visited the Western Wall of the Jerusalem Temple, known as the "Wailing Wall." It happened to be the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, and many people had gathered there. He squeezed through the crowd and pressed his forehead against the cold stones to pray. He said his prayer was close to a question directed towards God. He offered a solemn and heavy prayer, questioning why the sacred place had not yet seen peace, why hatred and violence in the name of God persisted, over thousands of years.

After completing his entire trip and returning home, he learned that just moments after leaving Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, thousands of rockets from Hamas had rained down on the very places he had visited a few days earlier. Instead of relief, he felt a sense of despair about humanity, and for three days, he struggled with high fever and vomiting, unable to eat anything. Even after his physical recovery, he remained emotionally shaken by the powerlessness to do anything in the face of such a great tragedy.

As you watched scenes of people who believe in Yahweh and Allah hating each other in the name of their respective gods, driving innocent people to death on the other side of the world through live news and media broadcasts, what did you feel? It must have been deeply saddening and challenging. How can we stop this long-standing conflict and tragedy? Scholars analyze the history of the protracted conflict between these two nations and their religious backgrounds, and politicians discuss diplomatic solutions, but I seek answers from Jesus Christ once again.

Today's text is the story of the Good Samaritan. Who is the Samaritan today? It's the modern-day Palestinian. Therefore, we can call the title of today's text the "Story of the Good Palestinian." In fact, emotionally, Christians feel closer to Israel than to Palestine because Israel consists of people who believe in the God of the Old Testament, while Palestinians are seen as people with a completely different faith. So, calling today's text the "Story of the Good Palestinian" may make some people uncomfortable.

However, when Jesus told this story to the people of his time, the situation was the same. The people listening to the story were all Jews, and the one who initiated the story was a teacher of the law. By portraying the priests and Levites, who were considered devout Jews, as hypocrites, and presenting the Samaritan with a different faith as good and compassionate believers, Jesus was delivering a message that was radical, strange, and uncomfortable to the Jews of his time. What was Jesus trying to convey through this challenging story?

The story of the Good Samaritan begins with a question from the teacher of the law: "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Instead of directly answering, Jesus asked how it was written in the law. The teacher of the law promptly responded with the well-known commandment, "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 love your neighbor as yourself." When Jesus affirmed his answer, the teacher of the law posed another question, "And who is my neighbor?"

Hidden within this question of the teacher of the law was a critical attitude towards Jesus. Originally, the book of Leviticus included not only orphans, widows, and marginalized individuals as neighbors to be loved as oneself but also foreigners. However, in the 1st century, Judaism had narrowly and exclusively interpreted the Levitical regulations, modifying "love your neighbor as yourself" to apply only to fellow Jews who shared the same faith and blood. The teacher of the law questioned, "who is my neighbor?" based on this modified Jewish interpretation, with the intention of criticizing Jesus for embracing non-Jews who did not qualify as neighbors within this narrow definition.

In response, Jesus intentionally recounted the parable of the Good Samaritan to challenge the rigid and exclusionary legalism prevalent among the Jews of that time. However, Jesus did not stop at criticizing legalism; he conveyed a more profound message. Embedded within this story is a remarkable spiritual message that Jews and Samaritans did not harbor mutual hatred. What could that message be? To find the answer, we need to pose one question: Why did the Samaritan assist the robbery victim? What motivated him? 

No matter how closely we examine the text, it's challenging to find a clear reason for why the Samaritan helped the victim. However, in verse 33, there is a phrase that could serve as a clue. It is the expression "When he saw him, he took pity on him." In this context, the word "compassion"is a more accurate translation than "pity," as used in the King James Version. Jesus explained that the Samaritan showed mercy to the victim because of the "compassion" in his heart. "Compassion" is the key to today's scripture.

Compassion is a compound word of "com + patio," which means sharing space, sharing joy and sorrow, and participating in life together. Compassion is different from pity. Pity involves a separation between the one who helps and the one receiving help, with the superior looking down on the inferior. But "compassion" signifies being in the same level, sharing the same space. It involves sharing the joy and sorrow of the other person from the same space. I believe that "compassion" is a precious aspect of human spirituality. Compassion has immense power to heal people and the world.

While serving the English-speaking congregation, the most challenging aspect for me is praying in English. Sermons are prepared in advance, so I can manage reasonably, and general conversations, while somewhat awkward due to my limitation, usually lead to effective communication as the other person understands what I'm saying. However, praying in English is an entirely different territory and has always been a struggle for me. Frankly, I mostly prepare and memorize my prayers in advance or read from a written script. But when I have to pray suddenly without prior preparation, I feel extremely flustered.

One day, I had an urgent matter to attend to at the home of a congregant who lived alone. She had been in excruciating pain while staying at home, waiting for a medical appointment. As I visited her and talked, I felt a deep empathy for her and a strong desire to pray for her earnestly. However, due to the urgency of the visit, I hadn't prepared a prayer. So, I honestly asked her if it would be acceptable for me to pray in Korean. She agreed, and I took her hands, offering a heartfelt prayer in Korean.

She must have been perplexed by the language she couldn't understand. But surprisingly, after the prayer, her face was covered in tears. How could this be? Did she somehow understand Korean? It was highly unlikely. Her tears were evidence of the miracle that occurs when compassion within me meets compassion within her. Compassion transcends language barriers, cultural boundaries, racial distinctions, and all kinds of divides in this world. Compassion is the most God-like quality residing in the hearts of all human beings, and it possesses the miraculous power to heal individuals, relationships, and the world.

Before performing the miracle of feeding the multitude, Jesus looked at the crowd and had compassion for them. And a miracle happened. Jesus had compassion for the woman caught in adultery, the tax collector, and the Samaritan woman, becoming their friend. And miracles occurred, transforming their lives entirely. Every time Jesus had compassion for the paralyzed, the lame, the blind, they were miraculously healed. The ultimate miracle was when Jesus had compassion for all of humanity's sin and suffered on the cross, shaking the world. The secret behind Jesus's miracles was the "compassion" within him. Please remember, compassion exists within us too. When we have compassion for others, a miracle will happen! 

You're likely familiar with the doctrine of the "Incarnation," in which God took on human flesh and came into this world. Why did God become human? The Bible tells us, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son." God loves us and deeply empathizes with our sins and suffering, coming into our space to share our joys and sorrows. God became human because of compassion for us. So, compassion is the heart of God who willingly incarnated and the heart of Jesus who sacrificed himself to the point of death. Please remember, this compassionate heart resides within us as well.

In any situation, embracing compassion, which is God's heart, can lead to the resolution of all conflicts, disputes, and grievances, bringing about reconciliation, forgiveness, and peace. This applies not only to tangled human relationships but also to relationships between nations locked in long-standing animosity and conflict. Hold a compassionate heart towards someone, and all problems can be resolved. Embrace a compassionate heart towards someone, and witness what unfolds! Miracles will happen. 

I believe that "compassion" is a game-changer in all relationships of conflict, a miracle, and magic in our lives. I hope that through the compassionate heart within us, miracles of reconciliation, forgiveness, restoration, and reconnection occur in all severed relationships, whether it's between Israel and Palestine, Russia and Ukraine, or any situation where hatred and animosity divide. I pray that each of you may possess the heart of God, the heart of Jesus Christ, that compassionate heart.

In the name of the Father, of the Son, 

and of the Holy Spirit! 

Amen!