Called to compassion
Here at First UMC Newton, we believe strongly in the compassion of Christ, as found throughout the Gospel of Luke. My personal adventure with the Christ of compassion began when I came face to face with the woman in this painting at a bookstore in Hutchinson, years ago. Immediately I knew who she was: the woman from Luke, chapter 7. Scripture calls her the "sinner woman." Apparently, nobody ever bothered to ask her name! She crashed a dinner party because she was eager to show her gratitude to Jesus, for all he'd done.
Here, we see her bent over, with her face pressed to Jesus' feet. Luke tells us she cries so many tears of gratitude, she was able to wash his feet with them. Then she dried his feet with her hair, and kissed his feet, over and over.
However, someone was not especially happy about this exhuberant display of affection. Jesus can see this, and so he tells his host, a very religious man that we can imagine tsk-tsking in the corner, “Simon, the reason she has done this is because she's allowed me to work in her life." She has outdone the religious man by doing the things for Jesus that he should've done, the minute he walked into his house, like giving him a kiss of peace on his cheeks, anointing his head with oil and having his servant wash his feet. So Jesus tells him, "Simon, you love me very little, apparently, because you haven't allowed me to do anything for you.”
This is the Good News that God imprinted on my heart and used to called me into ministry. To tell people, whenever they say, “Pastor, I could come to your church, but the walls would cave in.” No, my friend, they won't. Your distance from God, now, is no indicator of what your relationship can be. In fact, just the opposite could be true. Greater your love may be for him, if you allow him to work in your life, your heart. To heal you. To help you forgive others. To put your life back together, or make it fuller than it ever was, before.
On the surface, this might not make much sense, but this picture of Jesus tells us the more we need to hand over to him, the greater our capacity to love him!
I don't know who you're so grateful to, that you would walk up behind them and just weep, without saying a word. I’ve thought about this a lot, since I first read that part of Luke 7, and saw this scene so vividly in my mind.
This is the Jesus I've come to know and love. Who loves everyone and is filled with great compassion. He still desires to come alongside each of us in our lives, however messy or orderly they may be—listening, healing, making us whole.
Wherever you are, know that you mean the world to him! The Lord loves you incredibly—even more than all the people on earth who've ever loved you, combined. So, whether it’s been a minute since you’ve been to church, or you’ve never been, we invite you to join us and come find this same Jesus with us. Come, just as your are.
—Pastor Kim Andrews
Here, we see her bent over, with her face pressed to Jesus' feet. Luke tells us she cries so many tears of gratitude, she was able to wash his feet with them. Then she dried his feet with her hair, and kissed his feet, over and over.
However, someone was not especially happy about this exhuberant display of affection. Jesus can see this, and so he tells his host, a very religious man that we can imagine tsk-tsking in the corner, “Simon, the reason she has done this is because she's allowed me to work in her life." She has outdone the religious man by doing the things for Jesus that he should've done, the minute he walked into his house, like giving him a kiss of peace on his cheeks, anointing his head with oil and having his servant wash his feet. So Jesus tells him, "Simon, you love me very little, apparently, because you haven't allowed me to do anything for you.”
This is the Good News that God imprinted on my heart and used to called me into ministry. To tell people, whenever they say, “Pastor, I could come to your church, but the walls would cave in.” No, my friend, they won't. Your distance from God, now, is no indicator of what your relationship can be. In fact, just the opposite could be true. Greater your love may be for him, if you allow him to work in your life, your heart. To heal you. To help you forgive others. To put your life back together, or make it fuller than it ever was, before.
On the surface, this might not make much sense, but this picture of Jesus tells us the more we need to hand over to him, the greater our capacity to love him!
I don't know who you're so grateful to, that you would walk up behind them and just weep, without saying a word. I’ve thought about this a lot, since I first read that part of Luke 7, and saw this scene so vividly in my mind.
This is the Jesus I've come to know and love. Who loves everyone and is filled with great compassion. He still desires to come alongside each of us in our lives, however messy or orderly they may be—listening, healing, making us whole.
Wherever you are, know that you mean the world to him! The Lord loves you incredibly—even more than all the people on earth who've ever loved you, combined. So, whether it’s been a minute since you’ve been to church, or you’ve never been, we invite you to join us and come find this same Jesus with us. Come, just as your are.
—Pastor Kim Andrews