A Heart of Compassion

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time June 17 & 18, 2023

Ex 19:2-6a Ps 100:1-2, 3, 5 Romans 5:6-11 Mark 1:15 Matthew 9:36—10:8

When we speak about God, we our limited with how we can describe he who is infinite and beyond our understanding and comprehension, so we use and apply human concepts, traits, and emotions to convey and express who he is to us and how he relates with us. Our readings today portray God as kind, good, loving, compassionate, even moved with pity. Can God be emotionally moved with compassion? He can be in and through the Heart of our Lord Jesus.

Back in 1982, when I went home for the summer after my first year in the Seminary, I woke up one morning and went out into the backyard while I was letting out our dogs. As I was enjoying being outside, I noticed what looked like a small pile of dried grass and trigs under one of our mulberry trees. I went over to pick it up and discovered that it was a small nest which had three small newly hatched baby birds in it. The birds had no feathers, their eyes were not open, and as I approached, they began to chip, which caught the attention of our dogs. I quickly realized I could not leave the nest on the ground because of our dogs, so I gently picked up the nest as I shewed my dogs away. I then thought of placing the nest back up in the tree but did not know where the nest actually fell from in order to put it back in its original place. And since I had picked up the nest with my bare hands, would my human scent keep the mother from returning and caring for them?

I decided to bring the nest into our home, so I grabbed a box from the garage, placed the nest in the box, and then put the box on the breakfast table in our kitchen. I then looked through our family encyclopedia to see if there was any information there about raising baby birds. Back then we did not have google, so I had to go old school. Not really finding anything helpful, I picked up the phone book and searched the yellow pages for a veterinarian that specialized in birds, as well as pet supply stores. I made several phone calls and spoke with a number of individuals about what I should do, and based on all the information I had received, decided I would raise these birds myself and release them back into the wild. Which I did, but that’s a story for another time.

Now let me ask you, would you say I was moved with pity or compassion? What about Jesus? In our Gospel from Matthew, was Jesus' heart moved with pity or compassion?

I actually don’t like the word "pity" in the context of our Gospel reading today. In fact, depending on what translation one might read, sometimes the word used is “compassion.” The actual Greek word in our reading is σπλαγχνίζομαι/splagchnizomai [pronouced: splangkh-nid'-zom-ahee] which means “to have the bowels yearn” and could be translated as to feel sympathy, or to pity, or have or be moved with compassion. So, one could then justly use sympathy, pity, or compassion for an English translation. But I personally think the word compassion is a more fitting translation; the word pity just doesn’t sit well with me as I reflect on this passage.

And so, in preparing for this homily, I decided to google the differences between the words pity and compassion, and between empathy and sympathy. Here are three quotes I got back which I believe are helpful in understanding why I believe compassion and not pity is a better translation.

First: Although many people assume that there is no difference between pity and compassion, there is a subtle difference between them. Pity only refers to the strong feeling of sorrow and sympathy whereas compassion refers to the awareness and understanding of someone's suffering as well as the desire to help them.

Second: Empathy is shown in how much compassion and understanding we can give to another. Sympathy is more of a feeling of pity for another. Empathy is our ability to understand how someone feels while sympathy is our relief in not having the same problems.

Third: While these words are near cousins, they are not synonymous with one another. Empathy means that you feel what a person is feeling. Sympathy means you can understand what the person is feeling. Compassion is the willingness to relieve the suffering of another.

Now let's look at what transpired in Mathew's Gospel leading up to this passage, and we’ll see how Jesus was aware of the need for healing and was moved with a willingness to relieve the suffering of those he encountered.

First, he heals a paralytic man after telling him his sins are forgiven, and when he rose up and went home, the crowds were struck with awe and glorified God. Next, he encounters Matthew the tax collector and calls him to follow him and later that evening in his house many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus, and in response to the Pharisees said, “I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

As we continue, we read about an official who approached Jesus about his daughter who had just died, and while on his way to the official’s house a woman suffering hemorrhaging for 12 years touched the tassel of his cloak and he says to her “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” Then at the official’s house he takes the girls hand, and the little girl arose. News of this spread throughout all the land.

Next, we have two blind men who cry out “Son of David, have pity on us!” Jesus touches their eyes and heals them and then sternly warns them not to let anyone know what happened, but they went out anyways and spread word of him throughout all the land.

Lastly, there is a demoniac mute person brought to him, and when he drove out the demon, the crowds were amazed. Nothing like this has ever been seen.

Jesus was going around from town to town teaching and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom all while curing every kind of disease and illness. Each drawing more and more attention from the Pharisees and bringing crowds of people; and upon seeing the crowds, his heart was moved!

Moved because these people were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. They have been yearning for the coming of the Messiah, the new Moses who would lead them through a new Exodus and bring back the manna, the bread from heaven. And so, hearing about all that this Jesus is teaching and doing, the people are wondering and questioning, “could this be him, could this be the Messiah?” Those of you who are reading the book “Jesus and the Jewish roots of the Eucharist” know what I’m talking about. If you’ve not read this book, I highly recommend it.

So, I submit to you, that based on all this information, Jesus’ heart was moved with compassion and not pity. His bowels yearning from deep within himself to give his people the knowledge of salvation and the forgiveness of their sins. And with that, he calls his disciples and sends them on mission to make this proclamation: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And he tells them to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and drive out demons, just as he had been doing.

But that’s not all, that’s not the end of the story. Jesus’ heart is still moved with compassion for us today! We are still dealing with sickness and suffering in our world. We are still lost in a world that is confused with relativistic ideologies and worldly not Godly values. And so, his Sacred Heart, which we celebrated as a solemnity this past Friday, continues to pour out for us. A feast that he told St. Margaret Mary he wanted to be celebrated on the Friday after the Corpus Christi octave.

It should not be a mystery to us as to why Jesus asked that this feast follow the feast of Corpus Christi. If we read about the authenticated Eucharistic Miracles, we would come to know that whenever the flesh from these miracles is tested, the results indicate it comes from human heart tissue. The heart is often used as a symbol of love; that our love pours out from our hearts. Also, the heart is what pumps our life sustaining blood throughout our bodies. So, if we think about it, Jesus is literally giving us his heart as a sign of his love poured out for us to sustain our lives. Moved with compassion, out of love for us, he feeds us and nourishes us in the Eucharist, manna come down from heaven, with his Most Sacred Heart!

Let that sink in for a bit as we begin The Year of Parish Revival as part of the overall National Eucharistic Revival.

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