More from Hazel Thompson

It has been at least 2 years since I wrote this meditation.  I had been a widow for about a year.  As I look at it again now, how I empathize with the widow in Luke 7.  What if one of my sons should die?  The compassion of Jesus shines through so brightly to me. He cared deeply about the widow as well as about the death of a young man and acted to bring new life and hope to both of them, raising the son and giving him back to his mother.  

The calendar picture also spoke to me of compassion – the compassionate love of that mother for her sick child, and equally the compassionate love of a couple from my Church who repeatedly visited and worked in that hospital over several years, giving medical care, painting and cleaning the wards to bring it up to a good standard and when at home raising funds to finance better facilities.  It was largely due to them that that child could receive treatment and recover and grow healthy - given back to his mother.

Similarly, the food in the school cupboard was provided by the giving of other Christians who learned of the need and did what they could to resolve it.

We all have opportunities to show the compassion of Christ.  I am Tearfund representative in both of the Churches I belong to.  They, and every mission I know of, present their information and appeals through personal stories because this is how we can understand and relate to them as real people and identify with their  need. The message reaches our hearts as well as our minds and moves us to do what we can to show Christ’s compassion for them, by praying, by giving and by action.  Some may feel a call to go and join those Christian workers, or to work in another capacity to help the needy close at hand.  All of us can pass on the story to someone else who can also respond with compassion.