Join us this week as Pastor Jody Destry shares an encouraging word, beginning in Exodus 34 and concluding in Luke 15. It's a timely and necessary reminder of the compassion that God, the Good Shepherd, has for us.
Sermon Notes:
The Compassion of the Good Shepherd
08/12/2024 - Jody Destry
The first word God uses to describe himself in scripture is compassionate:
Exodus 34:5-6 — God appears to Moses on Mt Sinai
“Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”
Root and Meaning: Hebrew // Rachum
- The word rachum comes from the root רָחַם (racham), meaning “to have mercy” or “to show compassion” to be “deeply moved to action”
- The root is connected to the Hebrew word רֶחֶם (rechem), which means “womb.” This suggests a deep, nurturing love, like that of a mother for her child—intense, protective, and life-giving love.
All throughout Scripture, God’s compassion is evident: This is not theoretical; it’s deeply personal and relational.
In Creation: He formed humanity out of the dust with his own hands, lovingly breathing the very breath of life into us. (Gen 2:)
In Deliverance: He heard the cries of the Israelites in Egypt and had compassion on them and rescued them (Exodus 3:7)
In Jesus: We see the ultimate expression of God’s compassion is Jesus Christ, who entered into our suffering to bring us salvation.
In Matthew 9:36, we see this vividly:
“When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
Jesus’ compassion wasn’t passive. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, he welcomed the lonely and those on the fringes, he listened attentively, he extended grace and met our ultimate need when he laid down His life for us.
His compassion moved Him to action.
While God’s compassion is infinite and limitless – our capacity to experience and express compassion can feel so limited.
Our ability to experience and express compassion invites us to confront our vulnerabilities and our desire for comfort. oCmpassion confronts our exhaustion and our human limits. –
Barriers to compassion
1/ Compassion Fatigue
We live in an age of constant information. News feeds bring global crises to our fingertips, every time you open your feed, you are bombarded with crises and needs.
To add to that, we are surrounded by the growing needs and the personal challenges being experienced in our own communities. While these moments call for compassion, sometimes the sheer volume of need can overwhelm us. And we can find ourselves thinking – How can I care deeply about it all? It just all feels like too much!
Compassion fatigue is described as a physical, mental and emotional withdrawal caused by an extended exposure to the suffering, trauma and needs of others. Often experienced by those in helping professions but is becoming more widespread across communities as everyday pressures of life increase.
2/ Psychic Numbing
In a similar vain, researchers have coined a phrase called ‘psychic numbing’ – where we stop being able to acknowledge fully the impact of past traumatic events and even future threats.
If you’ve ever watched the news and seen war unfolding or seen an ad on TV about starving children in Africa and felt desensitised to it – this could be why.
It’s definitely easier to look away than to feel deeply isn’t it?
3/ Scarcity Mindset
This happens when we perceive a shortage of the resources we need for survival, safety and comfort. Often causes stress and anxiety about the present and the future (remember empty store shelves in lockdown). This lead to us having decreased empathy and compassion for others.
It’s a lens that makes it hard to see past our own challenges and needs to see the needs of others.
4/ Self-Compassion
Often we struggle to extend compassion to ourselves. We find it easier to forgive others, or show empathy to others than we do to ourselves. ]\
“The more we diminish our own pain, or rank it compared to what others have survived, the less empathetic we are to everyone.” Brene Brown
Overcoming The Barriers:
Q: How do we begin to overcome these barriers?
The answer to this question is another question:
Q: How do we open ourselves to experience more of God’s compassion to us so that we can express more of God’s compassion through us to others?
There’s a story Jesus tells in Luke 15 that I think might help us reflect on this: offers a vivid picture of both our need for compassion and how experiencing it transforms us.
Luke 15:11-32
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
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His Father doesn’t wait for his son to grovel or prove himself worthy. Instead, he runs to him, embraces him, and showers him with undeserved grace and love.
This extravagant display of compassion restores the son’s dignity and identity—not as a servant but as a beloved child.
Each one of us is like the Prodigal Son, desperately in need of God’s compassion.
Recognising our need for His grace requires humility—an acknowledgment that we cannot fix ourselves.
When we open ourselves to experience God’s boundless compassion, it changes us. We no longer operate from a place of scarcity or judgment but from the abundance of grace we’ve received.
God’s compassion transforms us, it expands the boundaries and the borders of our hearts overcoming the barriers that erect themselves there. It softens our hearts toward those who are hurting, lost, or difficult to love. God’s compassion to us opens our eyes to see and live in the world differently.
God doesn’t ask us to solve every problem or meet every need—He asks us to reflect His love and compassion in the small, everyday acts of care and kindness.
He asks us to imitate him who moved slowly through the crowd, who looked people in the eye, who listened well, who took time to be present with people, to pray with people, to serve people and to love people.
Reflect:
1/ How is God inviting me to receive and experience his compassion today?
2/ How is God inviting me to express his compassion to others today?
