The Willingness to Give and to Receive
Compassion and Faith
Reflection By Jan Kwiatkowski
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Romans 8:38-39
Assuring those facing the end of life that nothing could separate them from God’s love was part of many conversations I frequently had with the dying. These conversations were especially powerful with those who were seeking forgiveness and relief for the guilt and shame they had been carrying for many years.
Many I tended to in hospice were terrified to die because they had accepted and internalized either what they had told themselves, or what was told to them by significant others. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, they, or others, had pointed toward misdeeds in order to prove they were inherently flawed and unworthy of God’s compassionate love. Judgmental words perhaps intended as correction became barriers not only to their ability to experience God’s compassion, but also to the compassion they were withholding from themselves. What I’ve found essential to remind those for whom I have cared was beautifully expressed by Scott Stoner last Monday: “Our capacity to offer compassion to others is directly related to our ability to open ourselves to receiving God’s compassion for ourselves.”
As we close this first week in Lent where we focused on the relationship between our faith and compassion, I invite us to reflect on how our faith supports our willingness to receive God’s compassion, as well as our willingness to extend compassion to ourselves. When we are willing to receive the gift of compassion, we have a gift we can then offer to others.
Making it Personal: What, if anything, might be a barrier to your willingness to accept compassion, from God, others, or yourself? Having reflected on faith and compassion this week, how has your understand- ing of your faith and your willingness to both receive and to offer compassion changed or deepened?