Compassion is Love in Motion

We were blessed to have a team of 7 teen girls and 1 teen boy with Pastor Matt Hennig from Living Word Lutheran Church in Montrose, Colorado join us this week as a mission team. We kept them busy. In the morning, the team ran our soccer camp at Mike Seder Park. We had 25 campers, ages 5-13 for 3 days.

The campers learned about passing, dribbling, shooting, and teamwork on the soccer pitch. In the devotion time, they learned about Zaccheus. Though he was a tax collector, Jesus had compassion on Zaccheus by calling him down from the sycamore tree and eating dinner at this house. They learned about Nicodemus, who visited Jesus at night because he was afraid of his fellow Pharisees. Jesus had compassion on Nicodemus by teaching him that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son ... who was sitting and talking with Nicodemus that night. They also learned about Elijah. Though Elijah had a great victory over Baal's prophets on Mt. Carmel, Queen Jezebel issued death threats to Eli that terrified him. God showed compassion on his fearful prophet by whispering his word into his ears and heart through the wind.

The kids loved camp! They didn't care about the cold. They didn't complain about the wind. We received lots of positive feedback from parents that their kids wouldn't stop talking about camp on the way home. One of the parents told me that her son played his first soccer game on Wednesday night and scored a goal. She said she could tell he got better during just those first two days at camp.

Except for the snack and devotion time, the campers were always in motion. They played soccer, but they also played games like wheelbarrow races, three-legged races, shepherds/sheep/and wolves, and "Ouch!". "Ouch" is where the campers try to kick the ball and hit the coach to make her yell, "Ouch!" They also enjoyed the oversized soccer ball and the pool noodles.

Jesus was a man in motion. He healed a paralytic, a sick woman, and two blind men. He raised another man's daughter from the dead. He called 12 men to be his disciples. He answered the questions posed by searchers and skeptics. All that in Matthew chapter nine! Matthew then writes, "Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness" (Matthew 9:35). Whew! Jesus was humanly busy! He was also divinely talented.

Why all this activity? Why all this urgency? Because the people were harassed by false prophets. They were harassed by forces of evil in this dark world. They were harassed by the guilt of their own sin and the fear of eternal death. By themselves, they were helpless to do anything about it. Matthew explains, "When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were troubled and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36).

We kept our missionary team of teens busy. Last week, we placed flyers on 750 homes in neighborhoods around Casper College, telling them that we would be coming by Tuesday through Thursday from 6 to 8 pm. Our team was going to the door to collect food for the Casper College students' food pantry. The team received mostly positive responses at the door. However, there were a handful of negative reactions. One young woman opened the door, saw our team of young ladies, dropped the F-bomb on them, and closed the door. There were a few who refused to open the door and were just hiding in the kitchen. There were some who slammed the door in their faces. And there was one man on Thursday night, when he saw their Lord of Lords t-shirts, not so politely said, "No, thank you".

When we talked Thursday night about their highs and lows, the team shared these stories. I reminded them that the people who responded like this are like sheep without a shepherd. I assured them that these people most likely do not have a church home or a pastor and possibly do not believe in Jesus as their Savior. Otherwise, they wouldn't act like that. So, their reactions are normal for an unbeliever. These are the lost people that Jesus specifically targets for us to find. That's hard to do! But Jesus did it. Why? He had compassion on them.

Jesus was a man in motion. But he took the time to stop and spend time with people -- the people he had come to save. With divine compassion, Jesus healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, and hearing to the deaf. But Jesus also sat and listened. He stood and taught. He certainly must have held hands, gave hugs, cried together, laughed together, and prayed with and for those who were hurting.

He did all this because of his compassion. Compassion can be defined as "love in motion". That's why Jesus was a man on the move. He had compassion for the lost, troubled, and downcast like us. His love moved him into motion.

To have compassion for someone does not mean wallowing with them in their misery. Rather, it's listening to them. Spending time with them. Helping them. Those are all action verbs. Love in motion. It's helping them by pointing them to something greater than themselves, their sins, and their problems. It's sharing Jesus with them. He is the cure for their ailments, the forgiveness for their sins, and the mercy for their mistakes.

Jesus told his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore pray that the Lord of the harvest will send out workers into his harvest" (Luke 9:37-38). Jesus sends us out to put love in motion.

On the last day of camp, I was talking to a grandmother of one of the campers. She really loved the camp. I was telling her I was new to Casper. She said, "I'll pray for you. And I'll pray for Lord of Lords." She was putting Jesus' words into action: "Pray that the Lord of the harvest will send out workers into his harvest." So, we pray for the teens from Living Word. And we pray for the teens and adults from Lord of Lords who helped with soccer camp, canvassing, meals, hosting, giving monetary donations to feed the teens on the drive home, and more. You are all workers in this harvest. We've already set it up with Pastor Hennig for him to come back next year with his teens. Lord willing, camp will be even bigger and better.

In the abstract, we feel compassion for lost sinners. In the concrete, however, compassion comes with much greater difficulty. We may help with prayers or groceries. We may lend a hand or offer some assistance. But we're busy people. We lead daily lives to meet our personal needs, earn a living, and keep our family together. Having true compassion takes time, effort, and investment that we don't really want to be part of. Oh, we may respond to a mission sermon or a plea for help. But normally, we don't think about the lost. It's not that we don't care. It's more that we don't think about taking the time to care.

How different is the single-minded compassion of Jesus for lost sheep? His immaculate conception and perfect life to replace humanity's sinful natures and imperfect lives. His baptism in the dirty Jordan River to take away the grime of humanity's sins. His temptations in the desert to defeat the power of the Devil. His redemption on the cross to pay for humanity's crimes against a holy God. His resurrection that gives the promise of eternal life to all who believe in him. His ascension puts him at God's right hand to rule all things for the good of his people's salvation. That is Jesus' divine compassion for the lost.

Jesus' compassion for us moves us to have compassion for others. So often pastors and people get stuck in mainly doing "come" strategies. Just getting people to come to the church for worship, events or activities. Notice what Jesus does with his brand-new 1st century disciples. Matthew, who is among the twelve, writes, "Jesus sent these twelve out and commanded them, 'Do not go among the Gentiles, and do not enter any town of the Samaritans. Go instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near!' Heal the sick. Raise the dead. Cleanse lepers. Drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give'" (Matthew 10:5-8).

Jesus sends us as his 21st century disciples to go into the community. Flyers on doors, social media reels and stories, a soccer camp in the park, canvassing for food, and more. When I did the training with the outreach team on Tuesday afternoon, we talked about not only collecting the food and moving on but asking what our church could do to reach out into the community. And if possible, ask for prayer requests and even pray with them at the door. That last one took a lot of courage. But these teenagers were great at it!

Despite the handful of negative reactions, the team had a lot of positive experiences. They were able to summarize their Lutheran Christianity in their conversations. They talked about what they liked about the church. One team helped an older lady get her Corgi back inside the house. One lady who works at Casper College talked about how parents will come during midterms to give hugs to all the students. She suggested we do something like that. We discussed doing something similar and encouraging ... but without the hugs. That would be a little weird.

When the team asked what our church can be doing in the community, most answered,

"This! Keep doing things like this." Though they didn't use the words, they were really talking about doing compassion ministry. Most said that what we were doing for Casper College students was important. One gentleman added that this would create goodwill in his neighborhood toward our church. One person even suggested, "Can you entice politicians to be nice?" ... Probably not. But you know me, I'll try.

Like Jesus, our team prayed for and with people on the front porch. One lady asked for a prayer for health for herself and a prayer for safe-keeping for her family that's dealing with substance abuse. They prayed with a lady for a toddler who was having surgery soon. They prayed with a woman who was having a rough night because her boyfriend is in the hospital. And they prayed with a man whose best friend had just lost his grandson.

Compassion for the lost. Only God can fill us with it. Jesus sought us out as sheep needing a shepherd. He gave his life for us on the cross. He personally binds up our wounds and forgives us. But he also constantly places before us people who need his love and forgiveness. He moves us into action to look for and have compassion for lost sheep. He wants to use us to teach, feed, and heal them. He wants us to witness through compassion.

That's what Jesus' ministry of compassion is all about. God's compassion cuts through our loneliness to join us to community within the Church. God's compassion in the words of absolution that forgives your past and gives you power for sanctified Christian living. God's compassion is the water of Baptism that gives us new life found in the flock of sheep who also bear the scars and healed-over wounds of life. God's compassion is the bread and wine of life that's served at the Shepherd's table for hungry sheep.

There is immediacy and urgency in Christ's mission: "Preach 'The kingdom of heaven is near!' Heal the sick. Raise the dead. Cleanse lepers. Drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give." Help people right where they are. Give them the healing balm of Christ's forgiveness for their wounds caused by hurt and anger. Give them hope of the resurrection in Jesus Christ as they face death. Give them the assurance of an eternal home through faith in Christ as they see their homes destroyed by divorce or violence. We are workers in the ripe harvest fields of Casper.

Compassion is love in motion. Jesus is calling you and pointing you toward the world -- toward the world he loves, the world he redeemed, and the world that is our mission field. It's time for us to get moving! Amen.