Be The Church: Be a Compassionate Church
December 18, 2019
Handing out water bottles and socks to homeless men and women in Ocean Beach; Delivering groceries and diapers to the Eloy Food Bank every month; Taking emergency offerings for Churches after the Houston flood; the Paradise fire, and the Bahamas’ Hurricane; and Packing over 7500 Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes over the past 5 years all have few things in common. One thing they all have in common is generosity. God has opened our hearts to give to meet the needs of the less fortunate. Another each of these has in common is love. Love is what motivates you to look a homeless person in the eye and listen to his story. Love is what motivates you to write a check to help Christians you’ve never met. And love is what goes into the packing of every shoe box. But there is one characteristic that connects both love and generosity together. Do you know what that is? It’s Compassion. Compassion for those in need is what motivates us to give generously and to love unconditionally. As we exist to be the Church, as we exist to be the Hands and Feet of Jesus in our world, to love like Jesus loved us, we can’t do it without compassion. And since we are in a series on what it means to be the Church, this is the next characteristic that God is looking for in His Church. God wants us to Be A Compassionate Church.
So as we return to God’s Word today, let me encourage you to open your Bibles to Romans 12:13, where Paul spells out two ways God’s people are to express compassion. First: how we are to express compassion to God’s people. And second: how we are to express compassion to the strangers around us. And it all has to do with opening our hearts to those in need. So let’s look at the first way we are called to convey compassion. I like to say it this way:
Open Hearts Open Their Hands: The first part of Romans 12:13 says, Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Sharing is one of the key characteristics of the Christian life. The word Paul uses here is the Greek word Koinonkos, which carries the idea of generosity. So then, Sharing carries the idea of generosity: sharing from what God has blessed us with and using it to bless others.
If you recall what we looked at a few weeks ago from Romans 12:9, God’s people are to cling to what is good. Only God is good. And the core of His goodness is generosity. So what we see here is that God wants to form this quality in each of us. He wants each of us to express His goodness by sharing with His people.
But this kind of sharing is more than just a contribution to assist someone, and more than just taking an active interest in that person’s need… this kind of generosity signifies actually becoming immersed in the other’s situation.
It’s like what happened in one of the first small groups I ever led. Our group was learning about how God wanted us to meet one another’s needs. That day, one of our couples had arrived late. They were late to group because they’d had a flat tire. As they shared this with us we soon learned that all of their tires were bad and in need of replacement. I remember thinking I should ask our group if we might take an offering among us to help replace their tires. But before I could do that, our host, who rarely spoke up in our group asked Corey, “What size of tires does your car take? I’ve got four good tires in my garage that I can’t use. Maybe they could fit your car.” So we went outside to see what kind of tire Corey needed. Then we all went into the garage. They were an exact match. So he immediately gave all four tires to Corey, no strings attached. Corey and Julie went home blessed with all four new tires that day.
What I loved about that spontaneous gift, is that’s precisely how the early church shared. They were immersed in one another’s lives – so much so that when anyone had a need, God’s spirit moved them to meet the need. Listen to how Luke records this: All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. Acts 4:32-34
This is what God is looking for in His people: For His grace to be so powerfully at work in us, that whenever we see a need among us, we would freely and willingly meet it.
Right now we have a Mercy Team in our Church. As a part of that team we have a few men and women who share their lives by visiting the sick or grieving. Another part of that team makes and shares meals with those who are going through difficult times. Sometimes when delivering those meals, a few will give of their time to sit and listen, and even pray for the person in need. But, if I understand what God is calling us to do here “Sharing with the Lord’s people who are in need,” then all of God’s people are part of God’s Mercy Team. Each one of us is to be in relationship with others in our church, so that when a need arises, then God can move through you to meet the need.
That’s how God wants His church to work: God desires that we’d be so full of God’s grace, and so devoted to one another, that the moment we discover someone is hurting, or needs a ride, or is grieving – then we’d simply open our hearts and our hands and do whatever is needed. Like the time we learned Bob Hasler needed rides to the cancer clinic in Scottsdale. We needed about ten to fifteen drivers who could help drive Bob and Jane to the clinic in Scottsdale. And so many of you immediately stepped up and did just that. But the beautiful part of that is what most of you never saw: Every time someone drove Bob and Jane to the clinic, it meant sharing maybe 3 to 3 and half hours of their day not just driving, but being with them in their need. That’s compassion in action. That’s the kind of generosity that gets immersed in the other’s situation. That’s the kind of sharing that’s makes us the Church. And that’s why we want to see each person who calls Rock Spring Church “family” connected in relationship with one another in a Journey Group or a Neighborhood Group, so we might be a Church family who willingly shares our lives so that no one is ever in need.
This is the first way God would have us be a compassionate Church: That we might be a people of open hearts who open our hands and share of our lives with God’s people
But God doesn’t want us to stop with just meeting the needs of our brothers and sisters. He also wants us to meet the needs of those outside the church. That’s where this second area of compassion is to be expressed by us: That we might be a people of Open Hearts Who Open Their Arms to Help the Less Fortunate: In other words, we are to Practice hospitality.
Practice hospitality: two little words, that if we can grasp their meaning will radically release the power of the gospel in our community. So let’s look at those two words. The first word “practice,” literally means to pursue. So in respect to practicing hospitality, we are the ones who are to initiate hospitality. We are not to wait around for opportunities, but are to actively pursue opportunities to help others.
To give you a picture of this idea – this is what we are doing right now with our Eloy Mission Team. One of the purposes of this team is to discover what different organizations are doing right now to minister to the needs of the people of Eloy. So part of our team has met with the Mayor; part of our team is meeting with the Veterans; another with the Police Department; still another with CARHA, and still others with the Schools and the Churches. And what we are seeking to discover are the needs of the less fortunate of Eloy; what is currently being done to meet those needs; and seeing if there are any needs that are currently not being met. Once we take all this in – we are praying for God to lead us to either partner with an organization or initiate a new ministry to help meet the needs of the less fortunate. We are looking to initiate hospitality.
Now, let’s look at the second word: Hospitality Hospitality means caring for vulnerable strangers in your midst. Christine Pohl in her book, Making Room, Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition expands on this definition of hospitality. She writes: Hospitality means extending to strangers a quality of kindness usually reserved for friends and family. The focus, however, is on strangers in need, the “lowly and abject,” those who, on first appearance, seem to have little to offer.
In describing the role of the hospitality in church history, she says that hospitality has always been a response to the physical needs of strangers for food, shelter, and protection, but also a recognition of their worth and common humanity. So then if we are to narrow this down to a simple definition, it would be this: To Practice Hospitality means to actively pursue opportunities to minister to the needs of strangers.
What’s great about this definition is that, God has always called His people to care for strangers. This is how the community of Israel was instructed to take care of strangers in their midst: The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 19:34 And God’s people did this. Outsiders were always welcomed and cared for in Israel. Refugees were welcome at their tables and in their homes. For instance, the book of Ruth is about a widow from the tribe of Moab who chooses to accompany her mother-in-law, Naomi, back to Israel and live there with her. In Ruth 2:10 we see her ask Boaz, in whose field she is gleaning, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me — a foreigner?” She understands her status as being outside the tribe of Israel. This stranger to Israel was welcomed by Boaz and eventually became his wife. And if you know the genealogy of Jesus… The Bible tells us that Boaz was the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. Matthew 1:5-6 Hence, Ruth, a stranger to Israel became part of kingly line of Jesus, the Messiah.
This was a clear value in Jesus’ life. Jesus, who depended on the hospitality of others during much of his earthly travels, also served as a gracious host in his words and actions. Jesus urged his human hosts to open their banquets and dinner tables to more than family and friends who could return the favor, to give generous welcome to the poor and sick who had little to offer in return. So in the same way God calls us to do the same – to practice hospitality.
So for the Romans, receiving this instruction to practice hospitality – they knew what this meant. This meant that they were to pursue strangers in their midst to give them food and shelter. Now, this was pretty easy to apply in first century Rome. Although travel was slow in those days, many people traveled from city to city, especially to Rome. And as they traveled they didn’t have the convenience of booking a hotel room. So most travelers would enter a city and have no lodging for the night. When they arrived in town, they’d set up camp near a river or park – or anywhere they could get out of the elements and away from danger.
For these Romans this meant searching the parks and riverbanks to find strangers and inviting them home and giving them dinner and a place to sleep. Now you would think that they would see this as a great risk. But they did not. Rather for them, This act of pursuing strangers was seen as an opportunity to receive and entertain Christ: They took the words of Jesus to heart when he said, “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” Matthew 10:10
Isn’t this what God did for us? All of us were foreigners to His family. We were outsiders. None of us naturally sought out God. Rather, God pursued us with His love. That’s the message of Christmas. He became one of us and came to us with open arms and offered us a seat at His table. And the moment we accept His invitation, He gives us way more than a seat at His table, He adopts us into His own family. Talk about practicing hospitality! Jesus is the model for practicing hospitality. He took us in just as we are, with nothing to offer Him. And now we are called to express this same compassion on those who are unable to return the favor. Compassion – practicing hospitality to strangers is the gospel in action!
What might that look like for us in the near future? I’ll let Christine Pohl’s words describe it for us: When we offer hospitality to strangers, we welcome them into a place to which we are somehow connected – a space that has meaning and value to us. This is often our home, but it also includes church, community, nation and various other institutions. In hospitality, the stranger is welcomed into a safe, personal, and comfortable place, a place of respect and acceptance and friendship. Even if only briefly, the stranger is included in a life-giving and life-sustaining network of relations. Such welcome involves attentive listening and mutual sharing of lives and life stories. It requires and openness of heart, a willingness to make one’s life visible to others, and a generosity of time and resources.
You see, we don’t know exactly where God will lead us to open our hearts and open our arms to the less fortunate in the days ahead. But I do know this: there are many who are less fortunate living nearby in Eloy. The needs are great. There is a high rate of poverty, there is need for food and good housing. There’s need for drug rehabilitation, job training, student mentoring. There’s even a community of Somolian Refugees who are making Eloy their new home. I don’t know who God will lead us to welcome, house or feed. But I do know this:
Whenever God’s people are willing to practice true hospitality; whenever God’s people are willing to open their hearts and open their arms:
friendships will be forged between the least likely of people,
dignity and value will be given to those who have lost theirs,
families will be nourished with more than just food,
and hope will be rekindled to those who have lost hope,
for we will show that love is possible by loving them with the love of Jesus.
For whenever God’s people practice true hospitality the church becomes the Hope of the world.
So, even though we’ve served strangers in Ocean Beach, sent thousands of shoe boxes around the world, and fed thousands through the Food Bank, we are just getting warmed up to what God would have us do right here in our community. So let me ask you to do something with me today:
Would you pray with me that God would continue to open our hearts to the less fortunate. And would you pray that God would show us not only who He wants us to pursue with His love, but how we might become His arms to those who need a safe, personal and comfortable place to belong. Would you pray that with me, that we might become the compassionate Church God wants us to become. Let’s pray.
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