I went to the capital to pick up a team last weekend and was able to tag along with Adia and Monchy in the bus. I love when I’m able to do this because I don’t get to spend much time with them and it also allows me to do things I can’t do when I’m driving. On Sundays I usually listen to a sermon on my way back to San Juan when I don’t have the opportunity to go to church.
Last Sunday, I listened to a sermon from a church I was very involved with when I was in college and was very disheartened and even angry after hearing the message and the nuances that are embedded into our American culture that flow into our faith. I have become increasingly aware of them since living and serving here in the DR.
The sermon was on compassion and based on the parable of the good samaritan. It wasn’t necessarily that I disagreed with what he said. But in my opinion, it wasn’t the full message of compassion I believe that Jesus preaches and practices.
He spent several minutes at the end talking about their goal to get 2,000 compassion children sponsored that Sunday. And don’t get me wrong, as a former educator and the current coordinator of our student sponsorship program, I am a VERY firm believer that the only way out of generational poverty is through education and meeting that need opens the door to the gospel. So I am in no way saying that people shouldn’t be invited to get involved with programs like Compassion or SRI’s student sponsorship program.
They absolutely should. My problem with the sermon was that the entire thing felt like a sales pitch leading up to sponsoring a Compassion child to check the “I’m a compassionate Christian” box rather than teaching believers to live a life of radical compassion as exemplified by Jesus and other God-fearing biblical figures. I wanted to yell through my screen, “And what about being compassionate to the people physically present in our lives?!” Because that subject wasn’t even touched in the sermon. What really unsettled my spirit wasn’t necessarily the encouragement to sponsor children. It was the implication that biblical compassion can be reduced to a financial transaction rather than a way of living.
I also recently came across an Instagram reel of a girl who refused to move from an end seat at church to make space for someone who didn’t arrive on time. Her argument was, “Why should I be punished for being on time? They should have to live with the humiliation of asking people to move to go to the center of the row since they were late.” So many people responded to it in like-mindedness. And that also made me want to scream.
Although both of these things really made me angry, maybe the Holy Spirit is using them to convict me about my own compassion. So allow me to share with you what I understand and believe the radical compassion and hospitality the bible talks about actually looks like.
I bring up hospitality because I believe that it and compassion are two attributes of God that go hand in hand. I’ve really been meditating on the hospitality of God lately.
My experience of living and serving in a culture that’s not my own has shaped and expanded my understanding of my faith and relationship with Jesus. On the whole, I think Americans are quick to be generous with their wallets. And that is a wonderful blessing. Money is needed to be able to do the things that need to be done.
However, money isn’t what shares the gospel. People do. Relationships do.
I have really been thinking over the last year about what the early church would have looked like. They gathered in homes. They broke bread together. They did life together, discipled from one generation to the next, and prayed earnestly for each other. And I think that this is something that overall lacks in our often scheduled and individualistic first-world culture.
One thing that almost every team comments on when they’re here is about Dominicans’ hospitality. People open up their homes so easily and so eagerly here. They bring out plastic chairs for you to sit in and they themselves will stand if they don’t have enough. They will offer you coffee and food, and lots of times send you home with avocados, auyamas (pumpkins), or mangoes. When someone knows you’ve got gripe (cold/flu), you’re sure to have 4-5 Dominicans bringing you their homemade gripe tea. But the thing that sticks out most to me is how when you visit a Dominican’s home, they stop what they’re doing and spend sweet, intentional time with you just talking, completely unhurried and unbothered by the tasks that need to be done.
And these experiences make me see differently the interactions Jesus has with people. How He is so relational and intentional. How he sees them as precious human beings when others see them as less than or unworthy. How he treats each of them with dignity. He takes time to listen to them and to teach them. He prioritizes his time with them over the pending tasks ahead. Jesus showed compassion right from the get go with everyone He met. He treats them like people first, asks questions and gets to know them before calling out sin or bringing about change. He doesn’t come out of the gate with all the things they need to do differently. He comes out of the gate with love, humility, and genuinely wanting to hear their heart. Then, that relationship filled with genuine love and care for their souls naturally transforms them from the inside out.
Hearing the sermon and watching the video raised a conviction in me. Compassion doesn’t just mean caring for the needs of people you don’t know, who have more clearly visible needs. Compassion means putting others above yourself. That means your family, your neighbors, your coworkers, believers, nonbelievers, people who refresh your soul, and people who drain it. Jesus calls us to be compassionate. Not just to the poor or marginalized, but to everyone He has placed in our lives. Compassion is not simply seeing physical, visible need and tending to it. It’s seeing the deeper spiritual needs that can only be met in Jesus and reflecting His heart in our interactions with others. Compassion doesn’t say, “I know what you need, let me do everything for you.” Compassion asks, “what do you need from me and how can I walk through this with you?” In the same way, hospitality doesn’t simply mean inviting people into your home. It invites them into your life. Hospitality is the art of creating a space of welcoming and belonging. Hospitality seeks intentionality in relationships, giving others a safe place to be vulnerable, to be heard, to be supported.
It is generally pretty easy to practice radical compassion and hospitality on a mission trip. When you’re on a mission trip, you’re there with that purpose and the thought of these things are at the forefront of your mind. But when the frustrations of daily life and the brokenness of fallen humanity come into play and the purpose of living with compassion and hospitality slips to the back of our minds, it becomes very difficult to muster up compassion and hospitality towards those who frustrate us.
Radical compassion and hospitality as displayed by Jesus isn’t most commonly in grand gestures. It’s in ordinary everyday interactions. It costs us our comfort. It interrupts. It’s inconvenient. It moves towards people rather than creating distance and building up walls.
Thinking of all this makes me wonder. How would the world change if Christians collectively began to live lives of radical compassion and hospitality each and every day? How would God’s kingdom grow if we lived this way? What would that even look like?
I have a few ideas for how I personally can grow in radical, Jesus-like compassion and hospitality. Maybe these can be an encouragement to you, too. I just have to keep reminding myself that these do’s should be first rooted in prayer and humility with a genuine desire to reflect God’s heart toward ALL of humanity, even when (especially when) they frustrate me.
Ideas for radical compassion and hospitality in the church:
- Inviting someone attending church alone to sit with you (and maybe even inviting them to eat lunch with you after)
- Making space without grumbling and with joy on your face when someone is late to church and you have to move (bonus points if you hug them and say, “Good morning! I’m so glad you’re here!”)
- Serving behind the scenes in roles that are much needed, but hard to find help in
- Invite people from church over for coffee or a meal (and don’t forget about your pastors, elders, and deacons and their families – they’re doing lots of things behind the scenes to care for the congregation. They need to be cared for, too).
In the family:
- Clean up messes you didn’t make without seeking recognition for it. Maybe even use that time to pray over the person who made the mess because they’re fighting battles you may never even know about
- Stay off your phone and enjoy intentional time talking with family members, sharing your hearts with one another (excitements, burdens, etc)
- Be quick to seek reconciliation in humility after offenses. Admit when you are wrong and humbly ask for forgiveness
- Be slow to speak when you’re frustrated
In the workplace:
- Saying hello and acknowledging someone when they come into the room
- Saying thank you for the small things
- Doing something to help lighten someone else’s load
- Work diligently as for the Lord
So with all of that being said, I encourage you to join me in growing in radical, Jesus-like compassion and hospitality. Let’s be interruptable. Let’s be intentional. Let’s seek to know people’s hearts. Let’s live with the purpose of reflecting Jesus’ heart at the forefront of our minds. Let’s pray for the Lord to deepen our compassion, concern, and genuine love for others. Let’s live counterculturally and self-sacrificially, especially when it isn’t easy. All to the glory of God!
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April Updates:
- I have been trying to implement solitude time like I had at the retreat into my routines. A couple of Saturdays this month I have gone to the dam to have some quiet time with Jesus, reading Scripture, praying, and just marveling at creation. It has been such a beautiful thing and I hope to make this a part of my monthly routines because it’s so refreshing for the soul.
- I donated blood again!
- Christian, Madison, and I threw a birthday party for Kelsi! We had a rooftop dinner and it was a sweet time to celebrate her. I made a Key Lime cake and Madison made a berry cheesecake! Both turned out delicious.
- Kelsi, Madison, Hilda, Bianca, and I had a beach day. It rained all day, but it was still fun!
- Since Christian and Madison are currently stateside, I’m getting to do kitchen duties again for the week and I’m loving it! I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed it. I’ve been able to bake a lot and it has been great to have Riley who interned with us 2 years ago to help with things around the guesthouse!
- Both my grandma and grandpa on my dad’s side were in and out of the hospital this month. Thankfully both are fine and recovering. It’s just hard to be away from family when things like that happen and not being able to share in the load of caring for them.
- My parents celebrated 37 years of marriage!! I’m so blessed to have them as parents, examples, and friends. Even though they can get snippy with each other from time to time, they really do have a really sweet relationship that I look up to so much and pray to one day be able to experience for myself.
Prayer requests:
- Prioritizing my time with the Lord, regular solitude time in my routine
- Growth in radical compassion and hospitality
- Spending intentional time with beloved friends here in the DR and virtually with friends and family back home
- Deepened trust and dependence on the Lord
- Continued health and safety for myself and family back home
