JESUS THE MAN OF COMPASSION
(Jean Vanier)

After his baptism by John
and forty days spent in seclusion and fasting
in the desert, probably close to Jericho,
where he was tempted by Satan,
Jesus returned to Nazareth.
There in the synagogue of his own village
he solemnly read out a passage from the book of Isaiah:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me;
He anointed me
to announce good news to the poor
freedom to captives
sight to the blind
liberty to the oppressed." (Luke 4 and Is 6 1)

Then he proclaimed to all in the synagogue:

"This day,
this prophecy is fulfilled"

Here he announces his vision, his program.

The Spirit of the Lord is sending him
not first to the scribes and the Pharisees,
nor to the wealthy and the ruling class,
nor to the seats of power and of learning,

but to the lowly, the sick, and the poor,
the oppressed and the suffering,
to all those who have no voice,
to all those who cannot fulfill the Law
and feel lost,
to all those excluded from the Temple of Jerusalem,
to all those who are seemingly excluded from God,
to all those who are disgraced and in anguish,
to all those who feel caught up in prisons of guilt.

He will reveal to them good news:
not to be afraid
for God is close to them;
God is a forgiving and understanding God
who loves them.
They are of value.
They are precious.
That is the good news:
they are the beloved of God,
the chosen ones of God.
There is hope!

Jesus fulfills this prophecy
as he enters into those places
that are forbidden by Jewish Law.
He eats with sinners and tax collectors;
he touches and heals lepers,
proclaiming that those who are impure
in the eyes of the Law
may be pure
in the eyes of God.
He enters into close, healing relationships
with people in pain
and with women.

Unlike John, who baptized in the Jordan,
where the crowds came to him,
Jesus goes out to look for
the unclean ones, the rejected ones,
like a shepherd seeking lost sheep.
He reveals to them that they are truly important;
many are healed,
many find new confidence in themselves.

The Gospels tell of Jesus moved by compassion;
the Greek word "splanchna" implies a physical component.
It is a deep emotion that makes one's stomach turn over.
Jesus is physically and emotionally moved by suffering;
his heart obviously bleeds in the presence of poor people,
rejected, abandoned, and crushed,
who trust in God,
but are like sheep without shepherds.
He suffers with all those who are in pain,
no matter what class, religious group, or nationality
they may be.
There is something in him that cannot stand hypocrisy
and downright injustice
to the lowly, to the crippled, to sick people in need,
crippled too in their hearts, filled with guilt and shame,
crushed by those who were seen as representing God,
the priests, the high priest,
closed up in their wealth and power.
"Splanchna" can also mean anger.
Jesus is angry with the way the lowly are treated.

In all the chaos of division, hatred,
fear, and anger in Israel
Jesus appears throughout the land
as a man of compassion,
a man of goodness and of kindness
to all those caught up in the pangs of poverty
and the contradictions of life.

Jesus is a man of relationship and of communion,
seeking personal contacts, touching people, holding hands,
calling each person to trust and to faith,
looking at each one,
loving each one,
in all their pain and poverty
revealing also to them their beauty
and that they are beloved of God.

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