False compassion? Really?

There is a nauseating self-righteousness in our midst as Christians, partly implanted by various cultural influences.  The idea of “false compassion” teachings and a lack of compassion is the issue I shall address today.

 Unfortunately, as we have seen over time, Biblical teachings have been tweaked according to one's ideology, philosophy and cultural trends. There is a chilling theology around, which condemns everyone but himself or herself. We of course know of the Westboro Baptist church, and their stand on gays and lesbians and on other people such as Muslims. Unfortunately, they are not the only ones. I am encountering more and more narrow minded and self-righteous theologies. A couple of people, one on face book and another in person claimed that the Boston bombing and the Tornado damage in Moore were the wrath of God, for a people who were unbelievers. “They got to get right with God” WOE!!! Some even claim that helping them is false compassion. My heart aches when I hear this and I want to weep.

When reading signs like: “God hates fags” or “God hates Muslims” as well as other similar statements major questions come into focus: “How do you know?” and more importantly, “Have you talked to God lately?” If you had, you would not stand there with those signs of hate.  God is love.  We use pieces of scripture, known as scripture twisting, to declare the mind of God so we can justify our false righteousness. Anything taken out of context can be used to support wrongful ideas. Unfortunately, such righteousness ends up like the webpage of Westboro full of hate videos and hate slogans.

Where is there the Compassion Christ taught us? Never ever, did Christ walk into places and condemn sinners. The problem he had was with the self-righteous people and beaurocrats. He did not even condemn the demoniac! (Mark 5:1-16). He freed him and loved him. He ate with sinners and taught them about the kingdom. They were free to accept or reject his teachings. He loved them anyway (Mt 9:9-11).

The young rich man who came to him to find out what he needed to do to enter heaven, walked away when told to sell everything. Yet, Jesus never said, “See what a Jerk?” No, with a sadness he told his disciples: “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 19:16-24). When the Canaanite woman came to ask for help for her daughter, tormented by a demon, Jesus did not respond immediately. She unto him said, “Even dogs get scraps from their master's tables,” and Jesus changed his mind and attended to her (Mt 15: 21-28). Before they led him away for his trial Jesus healed the ear of the centurion that one of his followers cut off (some say it was Peter, but scripture does not say that). He healed his enemy! (22: 50-51). When people crucified Jesus, he said, “Forgive them Father, for they do not know what they are doing” (Lk 23:34). Jesus was the embodiment of compassion, how can we be otherwise if we are truly Christ’s disciples?¹

If we are, how can we use God and hate in the same sentence? When humans use God and hate in the same sentence that has brought about quite a few religious wars. History is full of them. I encourage you to do your own research on that. Can a religious war really be a so-called Holy war? How can there be such a thing when no one or maybe only a few on this earth even know exactly what defines Holy, or what God envisions for us? Those few who might know I truly believe would never engage in a war or hate slogans because hate and love cannot exist together.

Meditation:

Envision all people as flowers and all churches as gardens in God's Kingdom. Then see Christ walking among them and watering them with love. Envision each person and church touched by this love at the same time in a downpour of the Holy Spirit.  Envision especially churches who are promoting hate slogans receiving the Holy Spirit's blessing and see them transform. In Christ all hate and heaviness vanishes. In the end there is only God's love. Dwell in it.

Thanks giving:

Give thanks for all those who are so lovingly and compassionately attending to the victims of the tornado. Ask God to bless them. (There is much compassion out there but it is currently pitted against rigid and opposing forces)

1All scriptures are taken from the NRSV


© 2013 Angelika Mitchell

Continued: "The horizontal beam of the Cross, the light of community and Compassion"

There are currently several things happening in our world. Those who engage in compassionate outreach and those who do not are like two opposing poles. Many are suffering under compassion fatigue. The philosophy of Objectivism and other influences (Freud, Marx, hidden racism, religious wars and theological teachings on “false compassion”¹ etc.) have taken hold and have come to a head after many decades. The result is that we are blaming victims for their misfortune, in addition to a lack of compassion. In contrast, there is an interesting trend happening in many churches as well as in individuals. There is the urgent call to mission ministry, to reach out to those in need. True, that call has existed for some time but more and more individuals and churches are called to such ministries. Underlying motivation of these outreach ministries is compassion. The gift of compassion is the road that leads through the cross to the resurrection. That is also my answer to the questions: "How can we move into the resurrection when there is so much suffering and evil? How can we talk about resurrection when all we feel is crucified?” I am not ignoring the cross; the cross, attended in compassion, is the road to resurrection. We must not be stuck in the cross's image and its physical and mental terrors.

Many are at the cross at this moment. Likewise, many are suffering in one form or another. It is our compassionate presence, a compassion that must never fatigue, which will help those at the cross to rise above and join in the resurrection. Whether that rising above is physical or spiritual does not matter. What matters, is that we keep our hearts open, overflowing, with compassion and care for one another. When you think about it, that is what Jesus did. His compassion was so perfect and total; he went on the cross for us. He never once questioned if we deserved it. He, coming from the eternal light, brought the same together with the earthly light of community and friendship. He rose from the dead so that we too may rise. In the end, he called his disciples friends, drawing them into the light of friendship as well as the eternal light.

Unfortunately, so many things have been happening lately that many of us have become numb (dead inside); suffering from compassion fatigue. Catastrophes become often just another event to us. Not even bloody bodies seem to faze us anymore. We MUST catch ourselves. We MUST look at each suffering person. We must truly see, truly hear, and then truly empathize with their pain without blame. We know very little about other people's lives, only assumption with little knowledge. We cannot even begin to make judgment! It is only then when we let compassion take a hold of us that we are truly human and are able to aide another person. We then can truly assess their need without judgment. Only if we are able to stand at the cross with another who is suffering can that manifest within us. Only as we stand in the light of friendship and community, through prayer, and with God's grace in Christ will we join at the intersection of the eternal light. Such a moment will bring us into the resurrection and the promise of Christ's salvation.

1Http://www.christianfamilyoutreach.com (accessed on 5/7/2013). There is an article ( see webpage for example) talking about the unenlightedness of having compassion for sinners. They see it as a lowering of the standards of the Church.

The problem is that such a Church assumes that they are not sinners. Well, I disagree, there is not one person, not one Church who is not in sin and doesn't need compassion. Hence no one can condemn someone who sinned and withhold compassion. There is such a thing as "false compassion" but its not something that lowers church standards, but rather something that harms the person who is already addicted or has problems. If someone is having withdrawal symptoms from a drug and I think I am compassionate by giving them the drug then I am exhibiting "false compassion." However, I still can show compassion by sitting with them and letting them cry on my shoulder and help them through the withdrawal. The tendency is that false compassion is often cited when people suffer from compassion fatigue. I am aware of a group of churches who have linked themselves together by computer so that they all know who comes for help. People who come for help can only go to one of those four churches. Before, a person in need could go to get food at one church, get gas at another, and go for more food at the third one. They did NOT go to them to exploit them, they went because they needed more than they could get in one church. Now that is not possible anymore. Do we think it is "false compassion" if someone gets an extra morsel to survive?

 
Meditation:

Find a quiet spot where no one will disturb you. Stand or sit during this meditation. Breathe deeply. Follow your breath for a while with your mind. Then envision the vertical beam of the cross. Envision it is  a beam of light. Envision it clearly, don't forget to breathe. Then stand in the beam. After you are engulfed by its light envision the horizontal beam. Notice the horizontal beam stretching further and further out. It envelops the whole globe.  The community of compassion must grow. See the two beams of light in cross form upon each other with you standing in its light. Can you notice the vertical beam stretching downward into the earth and upward into the sky and space? Stand or sit in it as long as you can and have time, notice your feelings, your thoughts, what is happening? Breathe!

When you feel ready to leave the light cross, breathe deeply and give thanks to God for this experience, journal your experience.

© 2013 Angelika Mitchell

Church at the cross roads

Often groups and church bodies meet to elaborate on the question: “How does the church need to change?”  The more I pray and meditate about this very question the more I realize that it is not human ingenuity that will bring change into the church. For example, the Emergent Church, a human based endeavor, is an attempt to make church relevant and may partially succeed. The real change, however, must and will come from the Holy Spirit that indwells us all. Through this transformation process, and this process alone, the church will change relevance and form.

Church has become more and more separate from community. Church does her thing, her programs her liturgy with little regard to what is truly going on around her. With closer inspection it is also apparent that the current church is formatted for worshiping the cross. By doing so they also get stuck on death. Yes, Jesus died on the cross. Yes, humanity has shown selfishness. Yes, humanity has sinned, still sins, and will continue to sin. There is a season in which we were and are called to remember what happened: the betrayal, the crucifixion, our own shortcomings and need for forgiveness. What is noticeably absent in the church currently is the move into the resurrection. We, as the body of Christ, recall resurrection one Sunday a year and mention it briefly here and there. We also celebrate Pentecost one particular Sunday. The crucifixion has taken up the rest of the church year more or less. Even at Christmas, we often hear allusions to Christ's death. Tons of hymns have been written about Christ's death, His blood spilled as well as graphic movies produced. It seems our churches and much of Christianity are stuck on the cross and death event alone, which is only a part of Jesus’ life. Jesus Christ himself said, “Take up your Cross and follow me.” Nevertheless, did he mean for us to walk with long suffering faces and condemn each other all our lives knowing that in the end everyone will succumb to death because we are such sinful people? I believe there is more to this command!

The cross has two beams, one vertical, and one horizontal. The vertical beam points upward, pointing to the eternal light. The horizontal beam is relational, the light of friendship and community.¹ Whenever church starts to live in the resurrection, the beam of light of the eternal, which intersects with the light of community, will raise the community and renew it. Imagine a church within the crossing beams of light, the vertical beam of the eternal merging with the horizontal beam of community. Then imagine all churches gathered in that intersection of light. All will then be inspired by the Holy Spirit; necessitated by the horizontal beam to reach out to each other, pray for each other and support each other. The new church has no grounds for pickering, competition or trivial arguments. This newly transformed church does not strain, nor does it operate from the hierarchical point of view. The new church does not speak of people being worthless worms, nor is it separate from, but rather exists within and central to community bringing edification as fulfillment of Christ’s salvation and love.

I see the truly transformed church operating out of the center of light made of the two beams. With that, the church truly would take up the cross and follow Christ. The church might well become a network of spirit-inspired communities with resurrection at its center. If we truly follow Christ, resurrection must be at the center of our worship, after all in the end Christ rose from the dead.

The exact form of this transformation we cannot know yet. Nevertheless, I believe it will be quite different from what church is today and human power will have very little part in it.

1From a conversation with Carol Wimmer (author of “Prismatic Theology)”

© 2013 Angelika Mitchell