“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7).

I told a friend recently that I’m a recovering Type-A. What I mean by this is that compassion is not my natural default! I’m visionary, motivated, task-oriented, and determined… but I’m not naturally sensitive and caring. When that shows up inside me, I know that God is in the house!

In spite of our human limitations, Jesus demonstrated what compassion looks like and speaks to the human capacity for compassion when filled with the divine. Consider the woman caught in adultery in John 8:1-11. The crowd was abuzz with blood thirst, almost riotous with violent malice. Some were focused on trapping Jesus. Others were focused on the woman, hardened by their religious fundamentalism. And probably some were simply curious bystanders.
 
But Jesus defused the mob with His calm authority and gentle spirit. His mercy did not condone bad behavior; instead it reached past behavior to the heart of this woman’s worth and identity as a child of God. His justice was restorative, calling this woman out of her bondage and into freedom. Mercy is what liberates people from bad behavior!

 

Mercy is what liberates people from bad behavior! Click To Tweet
 

How do we respond in situations where people are being criticized and judged? Do we get caught up in the mob’s self-righteous condemnation, or do we reach for the hurting soul with love and care? Jesus shows us the way to the blessedness of compassion. He is utterly consistent in His reach for the “least of these.”
 
From His gentle rebuke of the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17-22) to His weeping over the heartbreak of Lazarus’ death (John 11:1-44) Jesus exemplified mercy. He was deeply touched by the sorrows and suffering of those who crowded around him for a healing touch or kind word.
 
We all want to be on the receiving end of such mercy, don’t we! Jesus cares for us because He understands our condition. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15 niv).

 

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15 niv). Click To Tweet
 

Empathy is our modern word for the ability to place ourselves in other people’s condition and experience some of what they are feeling. This is the precursor for extending mercy. First, to feel with another and second, to extend the hand. Empathy requires action.
 
Perhaps Jesus’ best illustration of this connection is the story of the Good Samaritan—a man who had least cause to care about the plight of a mugged foreigner, beaten and helpless on the side of the road. Those who had most cause to care—the priest and the Levite (professional soul-tenders by trade) dodged the discomfort of both empathy and action. Perhaps they justified it in their minds by noting other worthy activities that would be delayed if they stopped to help.
 

This challenges me profoundly, knowing that I too encounter deep discomfort when confronted by the raw neediness of those who are hungry or homeless. God has to pry open our hearts and give us both courage and compassion to reach past that instinctive withdrawal, to empathize, and then to act in mercy. To the extent that we fail this test, we miss our true potential as children of God who live in solidarity with God’s other children who hurt.
 
God has to pry open our hearts and give us both courage and compassion to reach past that instinctive withdrawal, to empathize, and then to act in mercy. Click To Tweet
 
This is part five of the Eight Fold Path Series.. If you’ve just arrived to this blog post, you’re invited to skip back to the beginning and read them in consecutive order.
 
Back on step 2, we looked at how we process pain, how we resist pain, and how meeting God with our pain leads to true comfort. It’s pretty tough to work through step five if we haven’t worked on step two. How can we respond to the need in others if we aren’t addressing our own?
 
Our hearts soften as we receive comfort, and the true test of this process is just how well we recognize need in our fellow humans. You can think of this step as “comforting squared.” This is discipleship, or as the old song goes, “Freely, freely you have received. Freely, freely give.” There’s a joy in sharing what we have received…but receiving is the prerequisite.
 
If we’re finding it hard to feel mercy for others, it might be an indicator that we still have work to do with processing our own pain. “Blessed are those who mourn.”
 
Try this next time you’re journaling and meeting God in your need. One day, when you feel you have really received comfort, take a walk where people are and quietly notice them. Extend the comfort you’re experiencing to them. From this vantage point, you might notice your capacity for sensing their need has multiplied.
Our grief, our pain, our worry, our suffering — these are universal connecting points. Not just to God, but to others.
 
Be blessed,
Jerry

 

This blog series begins with 8-Fold Path: The Way Out of Darkness, and is excerpted from Jerry Daley’s book on the Beatitudes, entitled Following Jesus Into the Blessing.