Ordinary Time 
Pause
“Compassion is the sometimes fatal capacity for feeling what it's like to live inside somebody else's skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too.”
Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking, 1973
We serve a God who knows what it’s like to walk in our shoes. We follow Christ, who looks at us with compassion and says, “Go in peace.” And, we find joy in the embrace of God’s Spirit.
Will you accept God’s compassion for you? Will you share such compassion with those around you?
Pause. Breathe. Soak it in. God’s compassion is yours. Today and every day.
Listen
My Lord definitely won’t reject forever. Although he has caused grief, he will show compassion in measure with his covenant loyalty. He definitely doesn’t enjoy affliction, making humans suffer.
Lamentations 3:31-33
Think
Today is a day of celebration, my friends! God is with us. The Lord’s compassion shines brightly today, overwhelming all our grief.
Each day, God renews the covenants made with Noah and Abraham, Moses and David, promising to care for us and not to harm us. We are God’s children, and this is worthy of celebration!
God’s faithfulness to us began thousands of years before our births and will continue long after we pass on from this life. God’s love for us knows no boundaries. We are children of a God who suffers with us. And we find joy in a God who does not enjoy affliction.
Today is a day of celebration, my friends! Our loyal, compassionate God is with us. Let the Lord’s compassion overwhelm you today, that you might be a light that shines brightly, telling the story of our good God.
Emily Holladay
Pray
Compassionate God, I celebrate you this day. May I be a witness to your steadfast love today and every day. Amen.
Go
What would happen if you believed God’s compassion is deep enough and wide enough for you? Would you accept it? Would you share it?
Go today, confident in this: The God who made you came to Earth to walk in your shoes, that you might know the overwhelming peace and joy made just for you.
What are you waiting for? Go! Share this wonderful news!
