“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 of his social context. Empires live by numbness. Empires, in their militarism, expect numbness about the human cost of war. Corporate economies expect blindness to the cost in terms of poverty and exploitation. Governments and societies of domination go to great lengths to keep the numbness intact. Jesus penetrates the numbness by his compassion and with his compassion takes the first step by making visible the odd abnormality that had become business as usual. Thus compassion that might be seen simply as generous goodwill is in fact criticism of the systems, forces, and ideologies that produce the hurt. Jesus enters into the hurt and finally comes to embody it.”
Walter Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1978, pages 85-86.
Related Posts:
Bible Note #62: Compassion & the Anger of Jesus–Mark 3:1-6
Bible Note #35: Compassion for the Weak — Job 29:14-17
Pastor Note #134/Bible Note #55: Love of Jesus, Love of Neighbor
Pastor Note #113: The Real Danger Facing the Witness of the Church
Pastor Note #132: Anger and Following Jesus
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