Devotions
Rev Gav
Compassion
Luke 8.51-56
When they arrived at the house, Jesus wouldn’t let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, James, and the little girl’s father and mother. The house was filled with people weeping and wailing, but he said, “Stop the weeping! She isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.”
But the crowd laughed at him because they all knew she had died. Then Jesus took her by the hand and said in a loud voice, “My child, get up!” And at that moment her life returned, and she immediately stood up! Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were overwhelmed, but Jesus insisted that they not tell anyone what had happened.
Reflect
Jesus was journeying to the house of a guy called Jairus to heal his daughter, however, on the way, the entourage were told that Jairus’ daughter had died. Telling Jairus to trust in him, Jesus and the others carried on, and when they got to the house, he took the parents and the disciples, Peter, John, and James inside. Despite being mocked, Jesus touched the girl, spoke to her, and she came back to life.
Jairus’ wife and relatives would have been beside themselves, distraught with the pain of losing this girl at such a young age, and yet, in the midst of it, Jairus must have been playing over the words of Jesus in his mind, “Do not fear. Trust in me.”
In this part of the story, like the earlier part about the woman bleeding, Jesus touched the dead girl. There were strict rules about Rabbis touching dead bodies, but Luke wanted us to know that Jesus touched her, but more than that, Jesus held her hand, not just as a symbol of crossing social religious boundaries, but as a gesture of compassion. Jesus was not just a ‘healing machine’ but a human being reaching out in love to another human being. He addressed the girl as ‘child’ – an affectionate title for her, and finally, in one of my favourite lines in this miracle story, Jesus asked the family to get the girl something to eat. Amongst this highly emotional, highly-charged situation, Jesus’ attention was still on the girl and her immediate practical needs. I love that.
When we are ill or feeling low, of course we want to be made well, but we also want that healing to come with compassion. We want to know that people care for us, will listen to us, will empathise with us, and will stand with us in our suffering.
Today, think of someone you know who is suffering. Reach out to them. Give them a simple message of encouragement, or perform an act of kindness to show them that you love them and are standing with them in their pain.
Pray
Holy God
Help me to be compassionate
as you are compassionate.
Give me ears to listen
and a heart that empathises.
Give me strength to stand
with those who are going
through tough times.
And may I see the world
through your eyes,
touch with your healing hands,
and speak your words of comfort.
This day and forever.
and then