A COMPASSIONATE GOD?

 In today’s gospel passage (Saturday, Feb. 3) we see these words: “When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them.” (Mk 6:34).

“Moved with pity” is a form of the Greek verb splanchnizomai, which is one of my favorite  New Testament words. It also happens to be extremely important for our relationship with God. I think the word is worth a few minutes of study, if you’re up for it. What follows is a study of the word that I did some years ago. If you're ready, let's go.

 The Greek word for the parts of the body that react to emotion is the plural word splanchna. The KingJames Bible translates it as "bowels," while modern bibles usually translate it, depending on the context, as "affection" or "compassion." (e.g. in Philippians, the  KJV has "If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels (splanchna) and mercies…" The New American Bible has "If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion (splanchna) and mercy… (Phil. 2:1)" In the First Letter of John we read, "If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion (splanchna), how can the love of God remain in him? (I Jn 3:17)" This is Greek's strongest word to express compassionate love, being moved in the depths of ones "guts."

In Mary's song of praise, the "Magnificat," we read, "because of the tender mercy (splanchna) of our God by which the daybreak from on high will visit us. (Lk 1:78)" Here we come face to face with one of the most astounding revelations in Scripture: A God who is able to be emotionally moved! It's hard for us who have heard about this God all our lives to understand just how unusual this concept is. We don't see, for example, how the notion of a God who can feel emotions contradicts the idea of a God who is "perfect" and and unchanging. Being perfect, this god should really be unable to change or be changed, but rather be "from age to age the same."  

 Zeus is not our God!

In the Greek world of the NT, the stoic philosophers thought that the highest virtue was apathia, the total absence of feeling. This was the goal of the wise person, and was supposedly a characteristic of the gods themselves. No self-respecting god would ever be moved by emotions such as affection or anger. Yet the bible, both the Old and the New testaments, shows us a God who is constantly being moved by the plight of his people. The Judeo-Christian God can experience joy, anger, jealousy, and grief. We see this most easily in the NT in the verb form of splanchna -- the passive verb splanchnizomai, which the NAB translates as "moved with compassion" or "moved with pity." 

The verb appears in three familiar parables about God's compassion.. First, in Luke's story of "The Good Samaritan" a priest and a Levite walked past a wounded wayfarer, "but a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion (splanchnizomai) at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. (Lk 10:33-34)" Then in the beginning of the parable of the Unforgiving Servant, the one who owed his master ten thousand talents of silver "fell down, did him homage, and said, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.'  Moved with compassion (splanchnizomai) the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. (Mt 18:26-27)" Finally, in one of the best known parables of God's love, the story of the Prodigal Son, "While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion (splanchnizomai). He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. (Lk 15:20)"

The parables are not the only NT passages that reveal God as being moved with pity by human troubles. Several of the miracle stories begin with Christ's being "deeply moved" at someone's plight. The gospels portray Jesus as someone who is moved by the plight of people. In Matthew, for example, "At the sight of the crowds, [Jesus'] heart was moved with pity (splanchnizomai) for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.  (Mt 9:36)"

"As [Jesus] drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity (splanchnizomai) for her and said to her, 'Do not weep.' (Lk 7:13)" 

On another occasion a group of lepers called out to Jesus to have pity on them. Matthew tells us that "Jesus stopped and called them and said, 'What do you want me to do for you?' They answered him, 'Lord, let our eyes be opened.' Moved with pity (splanchnizomai), Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight, and followed him. (Mt 20:32-34)" In one final example, "A leper came to him (and kneeling down) begged him and said, 'If you wish, you can make me clean.'  Moved with pity (splanchnizomai), he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, 'I do will it. Be made clean.'(Mk 1:41)"

So, all of this background underlies the sentence we started with at the beginning of this post: “When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them.” (Mk 6:34). 

I'll leave you with this question: If Jesus feels this compassionate about the sufferings of others, might he be expecting you and me to imitate him?