Pietā
I Care
by David Jeremiah

"Pietās"-sculptures of Mary grieving over her crucified Son-were so called because of the meaning of pieta in Italian: compassion. Other English words for pieta are mercy, pity, and piety, all of which are conveyed when one gazes upon Michelangelo's Pietā.

In practical terms, we express pietā to another when we show compassion . . . when we say, "I care for you." When looking at the tender expression on the face of Mary in Michelangelo's Pietā, we see what human compassion should look like.

Unfortunately, it's easy to mask an expression of pietā, or compassion. Like actors in a Greek drama, guests at a masquerade ball, or revelers at Carnival or Mardi Gras, masks are all too easy to come by in a world where superficiality often reigns. Even as Christians-those who are the recipients of the true and tender compassion of God-we are tempted to appear compassionate when our heart is facing another direction altogether.

Let me contrast the Pietā Mask with true compassion.

The Pietā Mask
While appearing to be sincere, compassionate, loving, and committed, in reality Casanova was a man wearing a Pietā Mask. His compassionate appearance was nothing but a front for a self-indulgent lifestyle.

Pietā Personified
On the other hand, there are people who wear no mask at all-people who are pietā personified. We encounter such a man in the Bible, the subject of a story told by Jesus.

The story, in Luke 10:30-37, is about a man who was beaten and robbed by thieves. A Jewish priest came along. Sadly, he wore the face of compassion-a Pietā Mask-a face not animated by a true heart of compassion, and he looked the other way and passed by.

The next person to come along was a Levite, one set apart in Israel to serve God alone. But when the Levite came upon the dying traveler, he "looked, and passed by on the other side" (Luke 10:32). He wore a Pietā Mask.

Finally, along came a Samitan. There was no love or compassion lost between Jews and Samaritans. And this became the point of Jesus' story, for it was the Samaritan who saved the Jewish traveler's life. This compassionate Samaritan wore no mask. Instead, he was pietā personified-the compassionate neighbor Jesus calls us all to be.

The Compassionate Christ
No one has ever accused Jesus of wearing a mask-of being self-serving, duplicitous, hypocritical, or two-faced. He is the eternal template for the marriage of a compassionate heart with compassionate hands. With Jesus, "What you see is what you get"-true compassion.

Think of all the ways Christ was compassionate:
• Compassionate toward the spiritually lost (Matthew 9:36). Jesus was brokenhearted over the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
• Compassionate toward the sick (Mark 1:41). He healed innumerable individuals of their physical afflictions, releasing them to a new life.
• Compassion toward the needy (Matthew 15:32). Hunger, weariness, grief-Jesus was compassionate toward all who were missing out on basic necessities.
• Compassionate toward widows and mothers (Luke 7:13). Jesus felt the grief of a widow whose only son had died, and He gave her back the one she had lost.

The Compassionate Christian
The world has a right to expect the followers of Christ to be like their Master. For that reason, Peter admonishes us to "[have] compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous" (1 Peter 3:8). That doesn't mean we are to act impressively or look intensely compassionate-we are to be compassionate. Beginning in the heart and flowing through the hands, we are to be like the compassionate Christ.

He expects us to be a genuine channel of His compassion to those who need Him today. But you can't do it by wearing a mask. You can only do it by having a true heart of compassion that comes from Christ living in your heart. When He fills your heart, any Pietā Mask will disappear forever.

If you have been wearing a Pietā Mask-living with a veneer of compassion instead of the real thing-why not take it off today?

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This article was excerpted from Turning Points, Dr. David Jeremiah's devotional magazine. Call Turning Point at 1-800-947-1993 for your complimentary copy of Turning Points.

Thursday, October 01, 2009