Compassion: A Religious Practice

Not long ago I had a conversation with a person who said she is not religious.  I asked her what being religious meant.  Like many people who claim they are not religious she said she doesn’t believe in God.  I could have pressed her by asking about the God she doesn’t believe in but there wasn’t time for a lengthy discussion.  I have heard other people say they are not religious because the Church is hypocritical, or there are too many demands on their life and they don’t have time for it.  Some people say they are simply opposed to institutions that no longer respond to their needs, and the church is one of them.

At least for me, these statements miss the point.  As I reflect on our scripture readings this morning, they warn against religious arrogance that refuses to recognize God’s presence and the Spirit of God in unexpected persons and events.  God insists on coming to us in new and unexpected ways.  Scripture calls us to reflect on our lack of hospitality to the people in our midst, those who would call us to look at ourselves in a new way.  So my point would be that anyone who views others with understanding and compassion is, by an important definition, religious.

The Book of Esther, for example, is a brief story about the escape of Jews from annihilation in Persia.  The story revolves around the royal court of King Ahasuerus who ruled from 486 to 465 BCE.  In this story Haman, an advisor to the King planned to kill all the Jews in the empire.  His plans were foiled by Mordecai and his adopted daughter Queen Esther.  As a result they celebrated a day of feasting and rejoicing.

While the book of Esther appears to be non-religious fiction (God is never mentioned by name), its message is that God saves his people in ways not found in the Law of Moses.  He is with his people, even in their exile, their separation and alienation.  Being with those who suffer by supporting and caring for them is a religious practice.

The Gospel of Mark echoes this theme by making the point that God recognizes and rewards every act of compassion that advances the reign of God.  It doesn’t matter where acts of compassion originate or who does them.  The disciples criticized someone for casting out demons because he was “not one of them” and they tried to stop him.  Jesus responded by stating a common and destructive human tendency. The disciples had either forgotten or misunderstood the radical inclusiveness of God’s reign.   Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able…to speak evil of me.”

The good news is that Jesus’ company is far more inclusive than it first appears.  Even those without explicit faith are counted among those who are “with Jesus” if their actions serve the good.  Serving the common good is a religious practice.

On the other hand, the bad news is that those who exclude themselves through unjust or uncharitable actions are worse off than those who are maimed or dead.  When Jesus said it would be wiser to destroy part of one’s self than to lose the whole, he spoke from a deep awareness that it really is possible to lose oneself.  It is possible to live so arrogantly and selfishly that the very depths of one’s being is mired in misery and chaos.

This lesson is so important that Jesus underscored it by using the body as a metaphor.  He insisted that it is better to physically remove that which inhibits the spread of the good news and “enter life lame” than to put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in him.

Our reading from the Letter of James is also about this message of God’s inclusiveness by relating it to Christian practice.  He asks, who should pray and who should sing songs of praise?  Christian faith and practice does not work if we are fragmented and concerned with promoting our individual status at the expense of others.

Religious practice and Christianity are by definition communal.  We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.  “My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.“  The point is that within Christian faith traditions, among churches and religious organizations, salvation is for the community; it is interdependent.

The Bible calls us to self-reflection, and to look at our own religious practice, our church, our country, and our world in new ways.  We are part of a worldwide community of many faiths, cultures, and traditions.  God calls us as Christians to a common worldwide family even as we acknowledge Jesus as the Christ, the anointed one of God.  As members of the Body of Christ we are members of the human family, those of every religious tradition, race and class.

What we have in common, and what unites us, is that we are together on a magnificent and uncertain journey through this earthly life.  When we reach out and help one another, encourage one other, lift up one another, there are no losers or winners, but a host of individual persons with dignity and value equal to our own.  This is what Jesus intended when he said ”Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it?  Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Being part of the wonderful diversity and pluralism of our world, the family of all God’s people, is the culmination and joy of our life.  We celebrate that in giving thanks to God in the simple act of breaking bread and sharing the cup of salvation.  Amen.