In today’s Gospel Story (Matthew 22:1-14) Jesus tells a parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son”. Since the invited guests choose not to come, he sends his servants to invite everyone they meet, so the feast is full. Then comes a sort of zinger: the king sees a guest who is not wearing a wedding garment, and orders him to be thrown out. Jesus ends the parable with “Many are invited, but few are chosen”. The big question becomes what does this mean. The majority report has many theories, as does the minority report insofar as I let it.
Living as disciples of Jesus involves a lifelong journey of conversion as we try to become like Jesus in our every day living. Something that is very obvious about Jesus is his compassion for everybody he met. Might it be that the wedding garment is a metaphor for compassion, that as a follower of Jesus I am called to be compassionate? We are surrounded these days by people who are hurting for any number of reasons: government sanctioned violence, weather events, wars, violent polarization, innumerable publicly expressed untruths, the economy, physical abuse, the perception that “nobody cares about us”, Gaza, Ukraine, just to mention a few. It is in these settings that we are called to live the gospel, to imitate Jesus. Compassion is a necessary part of this.
One thing I need to be careful of though is being so concerned about people suffering throughout the world that I overlook and am not aware of the suffering in the people I am with every day. There is a popular saying these days to the effect that “everybody I meet is carrying a burden or fighting a battle that I know nothing about; so be kind”. No doubt this is true. Thomas Merton: “The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another”.
One way of looking at compassion is awareness of another person’s distress and a desire to help them deal with it, even to relieve it. Judy Cannato: ”The realm of God that Jesus preached and died for was one that was known for its kindness and generosity, its compassion and healing. There was no one deemed outside the love of the Holy One whom Jesus called ‘Father.’ No one was excluded from fellowship.” How can this impact my every day living, my journey of conversion? I can’t simply make up my mind that I am going to be compassionate today. Like everybody, I have my own issues that I have to deal with.
Compassion is a consequence of prayer that opens me to Abba happening my life in unexpected ways, in ordinary situations and relationships. We don’t so much choose to be compassionate, as recognize and consent to it happening. A worthwhile gift to pray for is a heart that is wise and understanding, humble, and compassionate. We are all together on a journey from Abba, with Abba, to Abba. While our journey is personal, it is by no means private. We are journeying with each other, together. Rohr: “What Jesus calls ‘the Reign of God’ we could call the Great Compassion”. Compassion doesn’t always mean being nice and comforting. Some people hurt so bad that they inflict their pain on others, causing more hurt. It may mean confronting others on their choices and behavior. Always an unpleasant experience. But what ever I do has to come from my own experience of Abba loving me.
Strange as it may seem, I need to give myself permission to be compassionate to myself, to look at my own life and feelings, become aware of Abba happening in me. When I let it, my own self compassion leads me to become aware of Abba happening in others, and so I become aware of Abba happening in us together. And compassion begins and grows. I don’t make any of this happen by choice, but I consent to it, and go where it takes me, which is always in Abba and to others. This is part of a life long journey in prayer.
I need to be careful that I don’t come to see my way of looking at things as the only “right” way. There is already too much of that sort of thing these days. Without any labeling, there are many who take that position. Folks don’t mind a loving and forgiving God as long as they get to determine who God is loving and forgiving to. Many like the parables of the kingdom as a feast, as long as they can determine who can and cannot get in. Many too identify themselves by who they oppose and keep out, along the lines of “if god knew these people as we do, he wouldn’t let them in either”. This is especially true in judging and condemning our sisters and brothers for how they see themselves and whom they love. I also need to be careful about choosing not to be compassionate with someone, often because of my bruised ego and out of joint nose, I am refusing the wedding garment, and deserve to be tossed out. So I can see, this is serious stuff. I need to pay attention.
Compassion is a way of living that leads me to be aware of Abba happening in every person I meet on my life journey. People come into my life, stay for a time, then go. We are gifts of Abba to each other, at times perhaps difficult to realize. The Welcome Prayer helps a lot: “I welcome everything that comes into my life today because it is of you”. If we are serious about living this, we will have to be ready to be surprised, as we see every day happenings and encounters in a wholly new way. Abba really is a verb, and we are part of this. We are in exactly the right place for this to happen, and the only thing that has to change is my willingness to be open, to say “yes” to Abba in what is. No matter where I am on this lifetime journey, I am always a beginner. Just sayin . . .