Snow Hill News Blog

Thoughts for Compassion Sunday

Reading this morning I came across a quote by Walter Brueggemann, an Old Testament Professor and author of note. From his book, The Prophetic Imagination,

Jesus in his solidarity with the marginal ones is moved to compassion. Compassion constitutes a radical form of criticism, for it announces that the hurt is to be taken seriously, that the hurt is not to be accepted as normal and natural but is an abnormal and unacceptable condition for humanness. In the arrangement of "lawfulness" in Jesus' time, as in the ancient empire of Pharaoh, the one unpermitted quality of relation was compassion. Empires are never built or maintained on the basis of compassion. The norms of law (social control) are never accommodated to persons, but persons are accommodated to norms. Otherwise the norms will collapse and with them the whole power arrangement. Thus the compassion of Jesus is to be understood not simply as a personal emotional reaction but as a public criticism in which he dares to act upon his concern against the entire numbness o his social context.

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Compassion Sunday - Not Sympathy Sunday

Many dread Monday. Some suggest we get little done on Monday after the weekend and that leaves us scrambling on Tuesday and beyond just to catch up. This leaves some calling for a four-day work week. I fear however, that were we to move to four ten hour days, we would find ourselves feeling further behind on Wednesday with much more to do. So, here is hoping you have had a great Monday - and a productive one at that!

Sunday we will share in Compassion Sunday. Some churches who encourage "compassion" ministries took some time to do so this past Sunday. For the rhythm of Snow Hill Compassion Sunday better fits this coming Sunday. We have a number of people and Sunday School classes that help support a "Compassion Child" on a monthly or annual basis. You can read more about this great ministry here.

Our Wednesdays Are for Others ministries are "compassion ministries." Our monthly participation with First Baptist Church, Bethany, feeding the homeless is compassion ministry.

The texts for this coming Sunday paint the picture of the purpose of compassion ministries. Out of our care and love for others God will grant us an occasion to speak about our motivation for serving. We do not respond by saying, "It makes me feel good," even if it might. We do not respond by saying, "It is my obligation as a Christian," though some may make that argument. We do not respond by saying anything less than it is an expression of love for neighbor call on by Jesus himself.

Why is it not enough for me to be sympathetic? Most often we think of sympathy when someone has suffered a tragedy or the loss of a loved one. Our general response is one of sorrow. The word carries the idea of being in agreement or harmony with another person's feelings. When we sit with a friend who lost his job, her spouse, or their house, we can find agreement with their feelings. We say something like, "I know how your feel," which is better I know how you "must feel." We try to approximate how someone feels in hopes of helping during difficulty. But, compassion and sympathy part company at the point of action.

Interview Series with Brad Berryhill - Youth Ministry and Snow Hill - Snow Hill Radio #1

We want to introduce a new feature to the Snow Hill website - podcasting. For our site we will call it, "Snow Hill Radio." Already, Pastor Todd offers a weekly podcast associated with the Lectionary Texts for the coming Sunday here. Here we want to offer thoughts on various aspects of life, faith and ministry at Snow Hill. Our first episode is with Brad, our Youth Minister. Pastor Todd interviews Brad about the hope for Snow Hill and Youth Ministry.

 

Snow Hill Radio #1

from Pastor Todd's weekly email ...

Our President authored a book titled, Audacity of Hope. I found the following quote as I have not read the book,

I'm not talking about blind optimism here -- the almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if we just don't talk about it, or the health care crisis will solve itself if we just ignore it. No, I'm talking about something more substantial. It's the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a millworker's son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope!

Regardless of your politics hope would surely stir your imagination. If you can recall a time when hope "sprang eternal" for you then capturing the sentiment of the aforementioned quote will come easy. I fear our penchant to hope suffers with the constant regailing with bad news and over the top cynicism many prefer. One sure hope killer is the necessity of some verifiable, sure bit of evidence things will change.

Celebrate the Season of Easter

We will continue to celebrate the Season of Easter through to the end of May. The Christians Seasons Calendar encourages us not to move too quickly past the empty tomb. One of the themes we will consider over the next several weeks follows on the heels of "Practice Resurrection."

Since we believe the Resurrection of Jesus means something we want to consider what conversion looks like. That is, to what are we converted when we commit to trust in Jesus, his way and his life. Along the way we will celebrate Compassion Sunday, Celebrate Mothers and Children, Graduates and Pentecost on the last Sunday in May.

Come share in our ongoing celebrations!