Prayer Vigil Thoughts

These are the thoughts that Mary and I shared about compassion at the Tidewater Region Prayer Vigil night on June 3, 2020.

Tom: 

In difficult times like this, I find it hard to put into words how I feel and I often struggle to find the right words to help heal and comfort others. But I do recognize that this is an important time for us to share our feelings and to offer words of healing and comfort to others, and we appreciate the time to share tonight. Tony (Millet, Tidewater Region Leader) asked us to focus on a few questions, first…

How have I felt and responded to the recent events? 

Watching the news and seeing the reaction has made me feel heartbroken for all who are feeling hurt and angry. It’s made me think about how I don’t fully understand how my brothers and sisters from different backgrounds than me feel – their fear, anger, frustration. I’ve spent some time reading and talking with others about this – I want to better understand so that I can find the words to help heal and comfort. I look forward to more conversations with many of you and with my neighbors and others. I still don’t know what to do or to say, but I know that communicating will help me learn and grow in my understanding.

The second question Tony suggested was this: What scripture verses have comforted and guided me?

As I thought about all of the recent events and issues, I focused on two truths: we are all made in the image of God, and we are all sinners in need of forgiveness. Because of this, God has compassion on us and calls us to have compassion for one another.

One scripture I’ve turned to is Matthew 9:35-38:

35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Compassion means “to suffer with”. It means to feel what others are feeling so much that it drives you to take action. Jesus felt compassion and took action: ultimately he took action to have our sins forgiven by being obedient to the point of death on a cross. In the moments after seeing the crowd, he took action by calling  his disciples to be workers to spread the gospel.

Today we are the workers he’s calling  to go to the harassed and helpless in the world. God wants us to show His compassion to others.

God calls us to take action – Godly action – not out of anger and frustration but out of love and forgiveness. For me, it means that I need to make the effort to better understand others who are not like me, to suffer with my brothers and sisters as we all have different hurts and feelings from the past week. And I need to seek forgiveness for my own lack of compassion and for not taking action in the past.

We are all made in God’s image and are all in need of forgiveness of our sins, every one of us. God has compassion for all and wants us to show compassion to others.

Mary:

Growing up, people used to tell me that ‘Ignorance is bliss’. I was ignorant about a lot of things growing up, but never thought I was ignorant about racial inequality. My father was bigoted, but my mother was not, and she taught us to consider everyone equal. I did and so I thought I was good. In my 20 years as a teacher, I had class after class in diversity and cultural sensitivity. I was even the diversity leader in my school for two years. Because of all my training, I never thought I was ignorant. 

Being part of this church for over 35 years, I have had, and still have, deep relationships with so many different types of people that it amazes me. Some have been harder to cultivate, but all have brought great blessings to my life. Because of all this friendship and unconditional love, I never thought I was ignorant.

Today, I don’t believe I’m ignorant about the sin, injustice and pain that surrounds us. What I am ignorant about is knowing how to be compassionate toward those being hurt or marginalized. In Colossians 3:12, Paul reminds us that “as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”  Standing by on the sidelines was not an option for Jesus, and it is not an option for me or for any of us. Compassion led Jesus to action. What I’ve learned over the past few weeks is that I need to listen, learn,  ask, & pray. But most of all, I need to act –  in whatever way, big or small, that would point people away from hate and toward the God of all compassion.