A psalm of David.
24 The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it,
the world and its inhabitants too.
2 Because God is the one who established it on the seas;
God set it firmly on the waters.
Reflection
As we draw Compassion Camp to a close for this week, I hope you have had a good journey exploring compassion in a more focused way. Compassion is not just about donating money to a cause, or delivering food to a neighbor, or driving a friend to the emergency room, or sitting with a family member as he or she goes through one of life’s challenges, although
those things are all ways to be compassionate to others. Psalm 24 reminds us that everything within the world, as well as its inhabitants, are the Lord’s. This psalm begins with a profession of faith in the God who claims the whole universe. Therefore, if we are going to “be compassionate as God is compassionate” (Luke 6:36) we should not neglect spending today
reflecting on how we are compassionate to ALL of God’s Creation. To fulfill our goal to be compassionate as God is we must think about how we can show compassion for the land, the seas and the sky as well as every living creature contained within. Think about the pets that are carelessly discarded, or the chemicals we use on our lawns that harm wildlife and leach into the ground and the waterways, or the use of fossil fuels that make our homes warm in the winter and cool in the summer while destroying the air we breathe. The list is endless. The needs of God’s world can be overwhelming. Rather than becoming depressed by the enormity of the possibilities and doing nothing I suggest taking one thing to focus on and start there. I know of a person, whom I greatly admire, who volunteers at a wildlife refuge as well as adopting some animal rescues. You might choose an environmental issue that the US Congress is working on (or should be working on) and, after researching it, write letters to your congress person. There are countless ways that we can show compassion for God’s creation and creatures so pick one and start researching it! The next time you purchase a car, consider an environmentally friendly automobile. Become more compassionate as God is compassionate.
by Kathleen Stolz
For Pondering and Prayer
As I have been reflecting on Compassion this week, I was reminded once again that there is a real danger in becoming fatigued by being TOO compassionate. There is something called “Compassion Fatigue” and as a retired pastor I can attest to almost falling into the toll of caring too much. In Monday’s devotional on Compassion, I mentioned a graphic that I used
when training the Care Givers at some churches I served. The image is of a hole with someone needing help having fallen in it, and the caution is to not also fall into that hole by caring too much. The internet is full of suggestions of how to overcome compassion fatigue if you think you may be starting to fall into that hole. If you relate a little to closely to compassion
fatigue it might be good to do a little research on the subject and ask for some help.
Prayer: Creator God, we trust that you love us so much that you never close your eyes to our pain and suffering. We know that you are with us in the deepest darkest depths of despair as well as celebrating with us in moments of great success. Your compassionate arms wrap us in loving care no matter our situation, and you guide us toward resolution of our challenges as we walk arm in arm. Thank you for loving us no matter what, O God of Many Names. Amen
