WEEPING WITH THE WOUNDED: The Orthopathos of Compassion in Gaza
2 Corinthians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia told the story of an occasion where he had to be a judge at a competition. The competition was to find the child who showed the most compassion towards other people. The winner was a four-year-old boy whose neighbour, an elderly man, lost his wife through illness. One day, the boy saw the neighbour crying and he jumped over the fence and ran to the man and went to sit on his lap. When he returned home later that afternoon, his mom asked him what he said to the neighbour to comfort him. “Nothing,” the boy replied. “I just sat on his lap and I helped him to cry.”
Three words struck a chord in my heart recently after listening to a message by Dr Yohanna Katanacho, a Palestinian Christian, explaining the situation in Gaza.
- ORTHODOXY – which refers to right DOCTRINE by emphasizing the Biblical truths and values that we as Christians believe
- ORTHOPRAXY – which refers to right PRACTICES by emphasizing the virtues of a Christian life and the practical disposition of believers.
- ORTHOPATHOS – which refers to right EMOTIONS by emphasizing the emotional authenticity and heartfelt engagement of the believer. Orthopathos is derived from Greek roots meaning “right feeling.” This concept is about aligning our emotions with the divine will of God, fostering a deeper, more genuine connection with God.
The essential teachings of our churches often revolve around orthodoxy—right belief—and orthopraxy—right action. Yet, in an age marked by outrage and suspicion, the pressing question is: how do we embody the ORTHOPATHOS of our faith, the authentic emotions and passions of our faith, in a world teetering on the edge of self-destruction?
There are countless ways to express the ORTHOPATHOS of Christianity, but for me, the virtue that encapsulates them all is COMPASSION.
If we combine 2 Corinthians 1:3 and Colossians 3:12 we read the following:
“ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”
If there is one virtue the world desperately needs to see, it is the ORTHOPATHOS of compassion. Yet to fully embrace it, we must also understand the ORTHODOXY and ORTHOPRAXY that give it depth and direction. Only then can compassion transform not just our hearts, but the world around us.
-
WHAT IS THE ORTHODOXY OF COMPASSION
We cannot embrace compassion until we identify suffering
The Latin root for the word compassion is pati, which means to suffer, and the prefix com- means with. Compassion, originating from compati, literally means to suffer together with. The connection of suffering with another person takes compassion beyond sympathy into the realm of anguish.
This also explains the difference between pity and compassion and how we can be confronted with the multitudes that suffer without feeling the anguish of those who suffer.
- Sympathy and pity are feelings for
- Compassion is identifying with
- Pity results in feelings.
- Compassion results in action.
And this is why we can live-stream the suffering in Gaza and feel sorry for the people without a grain of compassion. We can even pray for the starving children without entering into an authentic ORTHOPATHOS emotion of compassion.
When we watch children starving to death, it creates, at most, a sense of pity for the millions of people suffering. But unless we move from ORTHODOXY and ORTHOPRAXY to ORTHOPATHOS, it is impossible to feel anguish with the millions of people dying.
According to this definition, it is possible to be generous without feeling compassion, but it is impossible to feel compassion and not be generous
And this is why 2 Corinthians 1:3 is so profound.
2 Corinthians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.
When God saw the lostness of His creation and the brokenness of those in it, He didn’t just feel a sense of pity or sympathy – He had compassion on them. God is able to identify with statistics and numbers to the extent that He feels the sorrow, hardship, and pain of every individual – every individual. And from His character of compassion, heaven was moved into action. … for God so loved the world that He sent His Son…
Yes, INDISCRIMINATE COMPASSION is one of the key ORTHODOXIES of the God we confess. His ability to look at the multitudes and recognise every soul for what it is worth. Not only do we know our God is compassionate because 2 Corinthians 1:3 tells us so, but we know He is compassionate because He displayed it when He stood at the grave of Lazarus and wept (John 11:35[1]). Or in Luke 19:41[2] when He saw the city and He wept. We read about the compassion of Jesus in Luke 7:13[3] when He saw the dead son of a widow and He had compassion with her, in Matthew 9:36[4] when He saw the crowds and He was moved with anguish and also in Matthew 14:14[5] when He saw the multitudes and He was moved with empathy. His words reflect someone who deeply notices the needs of others even before He recognizes His own. In Matthew 15:32[6], when He saw the hungry, He said to His disciples, “I have compassion with them.” In Matthew 20:34[7], He saw the blind man and He had compassion, as He did with the leper in Mark 1:41[8] and those who were like sheep without a shepherd in Mark 6:34[9]. Most of all, in His biggest time of need, isolation and pain, he had compassion for those who crucified Him and with those who were crucified with Him.
But what makes this compassion so divine is that it is indiscriminately available to all. When we are confronted with people suffering, we tend to assist those with whom we can identify. We help someone who is of the same culture, or of the same country or the same faith. We tend to tend to those we belong to.
Not so with God. Not only do we know our God does not discriminate because Romans 2:11[10] and Acts 15:9[11] tells us so, but we also know that God does not discriminate because He displayed it when He sat with the tax collector, when He defended the prostitute, when He touched the leper, when he listened to the Roman centurion, and when He answered the rich young man. He never served with a self-righteous attitude. He became a servant to all – man, woman, rich, poor, marginalized, wealthy, sick, healthy, Jew, and Gentile – no one excluded.
The ORTHODOXY of our faith is firmly rooted in the ORTHOPATHOS of a compassionate God
-
WHAT IS THE ORTHOPRAXY OF COMPASSION
We cannot embrace compassion until we recognise suffering
Hannah Arendt once said that
“The death of human compassion is one of the earliest and most telling signs of a culture about to fall into barbarism.“
These are sobering words in a season where the war in Gaza has exposed some major weaknesses within the ORTHOPRAXY – the practical living – of Western Christianity:
- The obsession of being right came at the expense of being compassionate and kind.
- The pursuit of retributive justice came at the expense of redemptive justice
- The loyalty to a geographical nation came at the expense of allegiance to a theological kingdom
- The quest for exposing the guilty came at the expense of covering the innocent
Today, the world watches in horror as hundreds of thousands are maimed, displaced, and broken. Yes, the church was not silent, but the world didn’t see Jesus. They listened to Christians explaining the ORTHODOXY of their faith, but the ORTHOPATHOS was absent
- Yes, Christians boldly stood up for the truth
- Yes, Christians argued in the name of Jesus – who started the war in Gaza and who is to blame.
- Yes, Christians shared their Biblical convictions with great confidence. Is this the nation of God or not?
- Yes, Christians identified and condemned evil in the name of Jesus. May all terrorists go to hell – at least that is what one church member told me after a sermon.
But ORTHODOXY without ORTHOPATHOS is arrogance
-
WHAT IS THE ORTHOPATHOS OF COMPASSION
We also cannot embrace compassion if we RATIONALISE suffering
The perfect example is found at the grave of Lazarus, where we find Jesus weeping.
This must surely sink in before we can really explore this.
When God is described as the Father of compassion, it means the ORTHOPATHOS of compassion is one of the key character traits of God. Yes, He is truth, He is righteous, He is holy, He is love and He is all satisfying. But, and this is the beauty of the description of His compassion, He is called “the FATHER of compassion”. He not only embodies compassion and tender-heartedness. He impregnates us with it.
Let that sink in. If we lack the ORTHOPATHOS of compassion, we can hardly be called children of God. We care not because we have to, but because of who we are. If God is the Father of compassion, then we become children of compassion. This is our DNA. If the DNA is absent, then something is wrong. ANGUISH is non-negotiable. It is our trademark.
The challenge in the church today is not wrong teachings, secularism, or self-centeredness, even though these are all prevalent in the church community – it is the absence of the ORTHOPATHOS of compassion.
A PATH TO ORTHOPATHOS
Firstly, it’s important to note that compassion is not a theology, something we learn and memorize – it’s more like the common cold, you only get it by being exposed to it. You have to catch it.
I recently came across a very a simple yet practical initiative in making compassion real. If you have children this is also a wonderful tool to teach them compassion. The initiative is COMPASSION IT[12].
In recent years, rubber wristbands have become an ever-present symbol of causes and concerns. While most of the messages are positive and inspiring, their sheer common-ness resulted in watering down important messages and many people stopped reading the various messages on friends’ wrists. Until recently.
Compassion It markets a two-tone band that is black on one side and white on the other side with the words “compassion” engraved on it. Every day the band is placed on the wrist with its black side facing outward, as a personal reminder to act compassionately toward someone else. When such an act is committed each day, the bracelet is turned to its white side.
This is a great idea – especially for children — so simple, yet such a powerful reminder to prioritize kindness and make compassion a part of everyday routine. It may turn compassion into a chore and it may even make kindness a ‘to-do’ item for kids, but, if used rightly, chances are good that the bands will turn compassion into an everyday topic of conversation in your household and could effectively elevate kindness into a priority in each of your days.
If the bracelets are not available anymore at the time of reading this book, create your own. Make the expression of compassion visible in your own way but keep the principle alive.
[1] John 11:35 Jesus wept.
[2] Luke 19:41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it
[3] Luke 7:13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”
[4] Matthew 9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them
[5] Matthew 14:14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them
[6] Matthew 15:32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people
[7] Matthew 20:34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes
[8] Mark 1:41 Jesus was filled with pity, and reached out and touched him
[9] Mark 6:34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them
[10] Romans 2:11 For God does not show favouritism.
[11] Acts 15:9 He did not discriminate between us (Jews) and them (Gentiles), for he purified their hearts by faith.
[12] http://compassionit.com/compassion-it-wristbands/