AUGUST: OUR HEARTS GO OUT
"Jesus is the center of our faith,
Christ-centered community is the center of our life,
and reconciliation is the center of our work."
Palmer Becker, August 5, 2005
Christ-centered community is the center of our life,
and reconciliation is the center of our work."
Palmer Becker, August 5, 2005
Concept: Reconciliation is the center of our work - and compassion is a key tool for reconciliation
In the nature vs nurture debate, compassion comes up as both. We are wired for varying degrees of compassionate response. But, like most things, the nurture we are given can help that inborn compassion to blossom, to stagnate, or to be stifled.
When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus answered with love. Love God, love neighbor, love self. Then he told a story about a traveler in need and the person, a Samaritan, who helped him. In that story, Jesus says that the Samaritan was “moved with compassion” - and the Greek word for that literally means his “heart went out” to him. This month we talk about how, inspired by that story, we can nurture the God-given compassion in our little one, living lives where our hearts go out. (Photo by Mohammad Alizade on Unsplash)
In the nature vs nurture debate, compassion comes up as both. We are wired for varying degrees of compassionate response. But, like most things, the nurture we are given can help that inborn compassion to blossom, to stagnate, or to be stifled.
When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus answered with love. Love God, love neighbor, love self. Then he told a story about a traveler in need and the person, a Samaritan, who helped him. In that story, Jesus says that the Samaritan was “moved with compassion” - and the Greek word for that literally means his “heart went out” to him. This month we talk about how, inspired by that story, we can nurture the God-given compassion in our little one, living lives where our hearts go out. (Photo by Mohammad Alizade on Unsplash)
Read It: Luke 10:25-37 The Peace Table pp 230-231
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Pray It: God, your heart goes out to us when we are happy, sad, hurt, excited, nervous, and everything in between. Help our hearts to go out to each other, to ourselves, and to you, so that we can love like you call us to. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Do It:
- Act out the story of the Samaritan, tell it with stuffed animals, or draw it. Emphasize the responses of the priest, the Levite and the Samaritan. How can you show someone’s heart going out? What does that look like? How does that feel?
- Explaining Empathy: Empathy, closely connected with compassion, happens when we “feel with” another. Pretend to yawn - and then notice how everyone else either yawns or tries to stifle a yawn! That’s how empathy works. When the Samaritan saw the injured traveler, it was kind of like that sort of contagious yawn.
- Understanding Feelings Games: These two games can help us interpret others’ feelings, put ourselves in their shoes, and express our own feelings.
- Feeling Story: One person relates a story, and the others try to guess how they felt. For example:
- I lost my tooth today.
- Did you feel pain? (No)
- Did you feel excited? (Yes)
- Did you feel scared? (A little)
- I lost my tooth today.
- Guess the Feeling: One person uses their face and body to express an emotion. The other people guess what the emotion is that they’re expressing.
- Feeling Story: One person relates a story, and the others try to guess how they felt. For example:
- Self Compassion physical practice: Do this daily practice, loosely based on yoga poses, together.
- Sit with legs crossed, hands on your heart. Say, “God loves me, and I love me.”
- Fold into child’s pose, sitting on your knees and leaning over them so that your head rests on the ground and your arms are stretched in front of you. Say, “God cares for me.”
- Rise into mountain pose, with feet parallel and shoulder width apart, standing straight, arms straight and strong by your sides. Say, “I am strong.”
- Step out into star pose, with feet slightly wider apart and arms stretched up in a high V (with your head, this makes a 5-point star). Say, “I can shine out God’s love in the world.”
- Sit with legs crossed, hands on your heart. Say, “God loves me, and I love me.”
- Table Talk: As you gather around food, take a moment to notice where you glimpsed compassion today. Call out the ways you saw each other practice compassion, or ways you noticed people in the world having compassion for each other - or for you. Ask, “When did my heart go out today?”
- Parent/Caregiver Talk: Much of what our children learn comes from what we model. Take a good, honest look at what they are learning from watching you. Are you modeling self-compassion, or do you engage in negative self-talk? Do you verbally give others the benefit of the doubt and seek to understand where they’re coming from? Do you speak in compassionate terms about each other, about the community, about the earth?
Explore It:
Who are the "travelers in need" in y/our world today? Let’s not be too caught up in our own agenda to reach out and mend their pain. Let’s be an example of empathy and compassion to the children in our care.
These resources about empathy and compassion may spur us to action: (Photo by Zoe on Unsplash)
Who are the "travelers in need" in y/our world today? Let’s not be too caught up in our own agenda to reach out and mend their pain. Let’s be an example of empathy and compassion to the children in our care.
These resources about empathy and compassion may spur us to action: (Photo by Zoe on Unsplash)
