Luke 13:10-14 "On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, 'Woman, you are set free from your infirmity' Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straighted up and praised God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, 'There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath."
Do you guys ever get the feeling that the crap you're going through right now is specifically designed for a greater purpose? Or maybe you're on the flip side, where you're wondering what all of this crap is really for? I think living in a sin-fallen world can be just plain tough. Being Christian sometimes makes that tough into a freaking pole and impales you in the behind....(sorry for being so graphic)...but that kind of tough can only be explained in such a way.
Of course, I started off with this verse from Luke and what stands out is the fact that Jesus seem to take everybody's tough situation to heart. He doesn't blow them off, or give them example of how His situation is completely more difficult, but instead, He meets with them with a heart-felt empathy that seems to be lacking so much in my life right now.
As I look into this passage, I see a man that isn't worried about his own agenda, but has eyes to see people. Jesus isn't afraid of what others think, but is more concerned about the people that need His love and help. I also see a selflessness that exudes by merely the fact that I would be much more concerned trying to teach these Pharisees how pharisaical they're being (which ironically probably didn't become a full-fledged term until ....years past) ha ha ha...*I digress* I would do a quick cost-benefit analysis and come to the realization that the quicker these hearts of the Pharisees change, the more effect it'll have on the surrounding community. Instead, Jesus looks deep into the heart of a "no-body" to hear and heal her situation. That's truly the beauty of this passage....
I come to realize that I have to let go of "my agenda." The irony is that when ministry is your calling, you think that people would be the agenda, and in many ways, they become the agenda. Instead of seeing people, you see checkmarks, you see the necessity to do what needs to be done, and so the people slowly morph into tasks and other props that are self-contained in this narcisitic world I've created so perfectly...almost like my own etch and sketch picture..
And that random thought leads me to the title of the blog....creating pockets of empathy.... I think life is so much more than just checking off the box and finishing are "to do lists..." There is a joy in really being able to interact and listen to someone with a genuineness. You learn more and life becomes so much more meaningful. I have found the dullest moments in my life have been when I'm stuck hanging out with myself and thinking of things that are so selfish.... These moments are like liter on the street just causing me to fill up with unnecessary garbage. But life was meant to live with connection and depth with those that we encounter. In it, we might find those opportunities to be Christ and to reflect love onto those that need it the most. Perhaps, other times we will find others sub-conciously doing the same, and all in all.....what we will see is the thing that we really need. This great and awesome God....who has time to come and spend time with me, and heal some of the deepest hurts of my life.
His greatest empathy comes with His greatest pain bore on the cross.... in those moments of deep separation, He understood a pain that all of humanity could never comprehend and I believe that those moments of pain gave Him the unique ability to infinitely create pockets of empathy....and so it is, that through those He loves, He will do the same work in our lives and some of the deepest pains are only moments of creating beautiful pockets of empathy that will be filled with some of the most fulfilling experiences this life can offer.
Thank you Jesus...and thank you Jason Oh for inspiring this journal..
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