Passion and Compassion; Sermon on Mark 1:35-45

Rev. George Miller
Jan 5, 2020
Mark 1:35-45

Today we end the Christmas season by beginning worship with the words “We have a passion for God and compassion for all.”

It’s a saying that’s been in our bulletin for many years, although it may have gone unnoticed by most.

It is a statement about faith, emotion, and action.

But what does it mean to say we have a passion for God? What does it mean to say we have compassion for all?

As we get to discuss and explore these questions, we have today’s reading which helps to give an idea of what passion and compassion can look like.

We start the new year with Mark’s telling of the Good News.

Mark is most likely the first gospel to be written. It’s a quickly told story infused with a sense of immediacy.

It features a very human Jesus who experiences very human emotions.

1st- let’s talk about the passion.

Passion means to have an intense desire or enthusiasm for something.

Passion is what we see from the disciples today.

Our reading starts in darkness. It’s before the sun rises, most likely around 3:30 am.

It’s that time when we find ourselves stirring to use the restroom or waking up with heavy thoughts on our mind.

That in-between time when it’s not really day and it’s not really night and we can feel our most vulnerable.

Perhaps that’s why the disciples go looking for Jesus. But the disciples are not just looking for Jesus, they go hunting for Jesus.

Hunting, as you would for a deer or a misplaced set of car keys. Hunting, as you would when your dog breaks free from the yard.

The disciples are not simply sending a text message to friends saying “Hey, have you seen Jesus?” They’re not just knocking on their neighbors’ doors.

This use of the word “hunted” implies they went to every and all places they can think of to find Jesus-

The highways, the byways, the bars, the underpasses, the dark alleys, the deserted places and spaces, and they do not stop until they find him.

That’s passion. Zeal. Zest.

To seek out Jesus even when it’s dark and in-between; hunting even when you don’t know where it will lead.

That’s just one way a passion for God can look- to never stop; to never quit.

Now, let’s talk about compassion.

Compassion has its roots in Latin, meaning “to suffer with.”

Compassion means allowing ourselves to be moved by the experiences of others; to be thoughtful in our response; to feel the desire to help out some way.

Compassion is love in action. It’s about being present to another; showing up to their experience.

That’s what we see Jesus do in the next part of today’s reading.

After the disciples passionately hunt down Jesus, he takes them on a preaching tour through the city.

A man living with a skin disease comes before Jesus, seeking to be made clean.

Jesus acts and the man’s life forever changes.

…A few days ago, there was a TV show that so illuminated this story, called “Dr. Pimple Popper” on TLC.

It’s a show about a dermatologist named Dr. Lee who cares for people living with various forms of skin growths.

Dr. Lee is the walking embodiment of compassion. Every client she cares for is greeted with a smile and immediate affirmation.

She doesn’t make assumptions. She asks her patients to share their story and define what issue they’re facing.

Last week featured a young man named Daniel. He had psoriasis over 90% of his body; pinkish-white scales that covered his skin.

He shared how his skin sheds in the bathtub, how it leaves a trail on the floor, how much it affects his physical, emotional, and social well-being.

He used powerful, nearly biblical words to describe his condition- he said he felt consumed. He said he felt “entombed.”

He said he felt the skin disease had stolen his life, to which Dr. Lee, filled with compassion said, “Well let’s steal your life back.”

And through medical treatment, they do just that.

Compassion- the ability to feel for another person, and to act upon it.

In today’s reading we see Jesus exhibit great compassion.

The man living with leprosy comes to Jesus kneeling and begging.

Jesus doesn’t see this man as just a statistic, but he sees him as a person; a human sparrow, and Jesus responds.

We are told that Jesus is moved with pity. This is the first time in the Gospel in which we get a look into Jesus’ emotional life, and how he felt.

But here’s something you should know-there are at least two different written versions of this text, and they each use different words that offer insight for how Jesus felt.

In one version, the word used can mean compassion or pity; to suffer with.

But there’s another component- back when this was written, people believed we felt our emotions in our bowels.

To say that Jesus felt a response to the man meant he felt it in the pit of his stomach.

Go a step further and we may get a deeper meaning- it’s possible that Jesus felt his stomach turn or that Jesus felt like he was going to throw up.

Think of that for a moment- that Jesus met a man whose suffering was so great, it may have caused Jesus to feel nauseous or to retch.

That’s not a very sanitized depiction of Jesus, is it?

It’s a very real, perhaps a more honest depiction of Jesus-

That he saw someone whose suffering was so great that Jesus had a physical, emotional response.

Isn’t that what any of us would have?

So, one translation gives us the indication that Jesus felt a physical response.

There is another version that doesn’t use the word compassion; instead it uses the word for anger.

Can you imagine that?

A man living with a skin disease comes begging and pleading to Jesus and Jesus responds with anger.

Again, a very human trait.

It leaves us to question why anger? Why would Jesus feel anger?

Was Jesus feeling anger because he was interrupted?

Was Jesus angry that yet another person sought him out?

Was he angry at the world? That society could make things so difficult for a person afflicted with illness?

Was he angry at the concept of suffering?

Was he angry because the man felt consumed, entombed and stolen of his life?

We don’t know; we’re not told.

We don’t know which version is the correct version.

Was Jesus moved with pity? Was he moved with anger?

Was his stomach in knots? Was his face red with rage?

We don’t know.

But we know this- regardless of how Jesus felt; Jesus acted.

He saw the man; he heard the man; he reached out to the man; he offered a new chance at life to the man.

Jesus felt something and Jesus acted upon it.

Compassion.

Today’s reading is so very short yet so very rich, offering us an emotional insight into Jesus Christ, our Lord, and our Savior.

The insight that Jesus, the embodiment of God, is someone who feels, and someone who responds.

Today’s story makes it very clear that we do not worship a God who is a robot, or a Messiah who is numb to it all.

Instead we find in Jesus someone who is very much real, very much human, and very much capable of feeling what we feel, responding as we respond, and able to act with passion and out of compassion.

As we begin a new year, we have this story to help guide our way.

To help us better understand what it means to have passion-

To seek, to hunt, to find, and to not give up.

To help us better understand what it means to have compassion-

To be moved, to feel, to respond with love, to act.

As 2020 continues may we each find our passion and engage in compassion,

even when it is dark, even when we are uncertain, even when we find ourselves on our knees before the Messiah, saying “Help, help, help.”

Amen and amen.