Issue 13 - Compassion

Published 12/15/2025

Christmas is here! Lights brighten my neighborhood nightly, trees are being decorated, and children are excited. To be honest, I am excited too! Christmas has always been my favorite holiday (now you know one answer to my online banking security questions). I hope this holiday season is off to a delightful start. This said, I know holidays are difficult for many – I pray your season can be one of reflection and joy.

Last month, we considered empathy. Thank you for your kind comments and for those who forwarded the newsletter to others. Two hundred and seventy readers opened the issue. Again, this project is not about me. I have no goals here other than to honor my Heavenly Father. I pray before writing each issue that God will guide my efforts. Interestingly, the project is changing me – making me more aware of my need to grow in Christ.

Let us start with a simple question. Why can’t the entire year be like Christmas? I have already seen more smiles, more people holding doors for others, returning shopping carts, and even allowing lane changes without irritation. I have heard regular “Merry Christmas” greetings and witnessed atypical generosity with time and resources. All of this, and we are still 10 days away!

Does our behavior change because we hear sweet carols or reflect on nostalgic times? What makes us different? I am not sure, but I would like to bottle it – to have Christmas on hand for those tough times in the year ahead. I will admit I get caught up in the “spirit of Christmas.” This alone does not explain seasonal kindness. For Christians, there should also be a gratefulness for God’s gift of Jesus. Being grateful can be a catalyst for change in our lives – gratefulness is the key to, as the old song says, “keeping Christmas with us all through the year.”

Empathy and Compassion

As the first of each month grows near, I find myself drawn to content about the next issue’s topic. The past few days, I have pondered the relationship between empathy and this month’s topic, compassion. I have read excellent materials and spoken with a few friends about these words and their meanings. Although I am skeptical of AI, I think it summed things up for me, suggesting empathy is the ability to understand and share others’ feelings and suffering, while compassion is responding to those conditions with a strong motivation to see them change for the better. Empathy, then, is being moved to feel but not necessarily moved to act. It is possible to be empathic yet fail to respond. I have done this much too often. We can and should do better. Maybe that grateful mindset spurring Christmas kindness for Christians can promote compassion during and beyond the holiday season.

Compassion

So, in short, compassion is acting on empathy – being moved to improve the plight of someone in need or hurting. Surely, the Christian community is of like mind when it comes to compassion – maybe not.

In an article by Clint Schnekloth for Lutheran Confessions (2025), compassion is presented as a term that divides Christians. Schnekloth suggests that some consider compassion a threat to traditional Christian values – especially when it is applied to marginalized communities. He points to writing by blogger John Piper and Christian author Allie Beth Stuckey titled “The Enticing Sin of Empathy: How Satan Corrupts Through Compassion” and “Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion.” Schnekloth uses views on sexual orientation to make his point, noting that the extension of compassion to those who “don’t love like you” can unravel deeply held beliefs about perceptions of “natural order.” In turn, some fear compassion because it puts them in the crosshairs of acting with love towards all and having to reconcile this love with interpretations of perceived immutable moral teachings.

Compassion can also threaten Christians comfortable in their faith trajectories. If, for example, you are happy going to church on Sundays and leaving your faith as you exit, compassion might be a real pain. It could impact your finances, your time – it might open you to a hurting world in your immediate community. It is easier to sit in our beautiful bubbles, decorate, spend money on our families, and offer well-wishes. That is a comfortable and, dare I say, inauthentic faith.

Several years ago, Jim (a pseudonym) came to my church – he always had a sad story. Jim was constantly in crisis and was perceived as someone who preferred to lean on others rather than help himself. Many in my congregation extended compassion to Jim, but I must admit it was fatiguing. In a casual conversation with my then pastor, we spoke of this fatigue and the frustration it fed. My pastor turned to me and said, Bill, when I tire of Jim, I think, “What if when I meet Jesus, He has Jim’s face?”

I suggest that, like the argument about empathy, we turn to the life of Jesus for guidance about compassion. In the last issue, I noted that He met everyone where they were. He connected deeply and wept with the brokenhearted. These things suggest Jesus was empathetic. Here is the kicker – Jesus never left it there. He fed, healed, resurrected, and comforted. Jesus always acted – He was always compassionate.

Compassion and Christmas

Not surprisingly, the Christmas story is filled with compassion. You have Mary speaking with Elizabeth, who extended hospitality during what had to be a challenging time. There is Joseph learning of his pregnant wife-to-be, yet choosing to marry and care for her. I bet there were a few acts of compassion as the couple journeyed to Bethlehem – you know, fellow travelers helping with bags, extending a calming hand on a donkey... Finally, there was the innkeeper. He stands out because he has less invested here. He was not family; this was a businessperson – someone who did not have to extend kindness or care but chose to do so.

I once heard the story of a children’s Christmas production where a child with disability was given the role of the innkeeper. His teachers and parents drilled him for weeks on his single line – “No room in the inn.” The night of the production, this child was moved (empathy) as the story unfolded. When Mary and Joseph approached him and asked for a room, he hesitated, shuffled his feet, and was moved to tears. In his childlike voice, he simply said, “Come on in” (compassion).

That night, the script was altered – compassion does that, you know. I will close by saying be grateful for Jesus’s birth during this Christmas. Let grateful hearts open you to both empathy and compassion. Extend it to all – those who don’t look, love, pray, or vote like you. Do it till it hurts – do it till it changes your heart. Remember, Christianity is about transforming – I need God’s fire here!!!

Merry Christmas!

Closing Prayer

“Holy Spirit, trouble me and guide me. Speak to me and show me your will. I long to be obedient, responding to your call on me” (Mercado Reyes).