Compassion in Action

Compassion offers directionality as we connect with feelings of compassion. The etymology of compassion contains both passion and compass. Compassion establishes “fellow feeling” and provides us with directionality. The Passion in the Christian tradition refers to the suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross and his resurrection. Passion can be understood as a willingness to suffer for what you love. Compassion for others is interconnected with the courage to act.
 
When Jesus asks, “Take this cup from me,” God sends an angel. The cup refers to his life. We are receptacles of the lifeforce, and the cup is a metaphor for lifeform that can be understand as a sacred vessel. In the artistic representations of the last supper, the cup symbolizes our communion with Jesus Christ who is risen. The Trinity, or union of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, provides the foundation for Christian theology. The reference and metaphor of the cup in the scriptures can later be found in the legend of The Holy Grail that has had an important influence on Western culture. The search of the Holy Grail and the desire to drink from the cup of eternal life provided a storyline for questing.
 
When facing life’s sufferings, we call to divine presence to ease our pain and guide us, following Jesus’ example. We seek spiritual communion and spiritual orientation. Not only can we call to angels, but Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would be sent to accompany us. Jesus explained that the Holy Spirit would be sent as a companion and teacher.
 
The Pentecost celebrates the appearance of the Holy Spirit 50 days after Easter. The Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and guided them to spread the word of Jesus Christ in the world. Pentecost is a day of spiritual baptism that allows us to have a connection with God. This anointment from the Holy Spirit brings forth a profound transformation of consciousness and spiritual awareness. It is a guiding force that activates the inner compass.
 
As seekers and pathfinders, questing in the world and searching for our pathway forward, we develop a passion for human suffering that can be felt as compassion. Our compassion guides us to do the next good thing. The Pentecost is a time of spiritual renewal and the sharing of our faith with others. In this time of spiritual reflection, we can home in and find ways to share our gifts within our relational networks. In this way, we experience spiritual transformation that allows us to walkthrough our narratives of suffering, empowered by our renewed compassion for humanity.
 
Compassion activates the inner compass. We can understand passion by following along the steps of Jesus Christ during Holy Week. The Biblical stories in the New Testament illustrate the events of the Passion, spanning from Palm Sunday to Resurrection Sunday.
 
When Mary Madelaine went to Jesus’ tomb, she met a gardener that she didn’t recognize as Jesus Christ. When she stone in front of the tomb rolled open her eyes fell on the cloth, or the Holy Shroud, left inside the tomb. She then told the other Apostles of what she had witnessed, thus becoming the first witness of the resurrection. This has given her the recognition as the ‘Apostle of the Apostles’. Her example underscores the importance of witnessing. She models the spiritual practice of seeing suffering. The compassionate way is seeing, feeling, and acting upon suffering. When we witness the suffering of others, we reinforce our spiritual connection, activating our inner compass and quest orientation.
 
Knowledge can be used for the art of living when a passion for society is at the heart of the social sciences. Kleinman, a medical anthropologist and psychiatrist and Wilkerson, an epidemiologist, address suffering using the lens of the social sciences. They say, “In this book we have tried to clear a space not only for new works of sociological and anthropological imagination but also for making the pursuit of social understanding inextricably linked to care for the human, and for its value to be judged in terms of the production of humanitarian social care in action” (Kleinman & Wilkerson, 2016, p. 205).

Here is a quote from John Philip Newell’s book “The Rebirthing of God”:
https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/book-reviews/excerpts/view/26855

Here is a story about the Good Samaritan that connects compassion with the courage to act:
https://www.goodsams.org.au/article/editors-pick-the-courage-of-the-good-samaritan