J.C.'S STRIDE

Pouring the water of compassion on a thirsty world brings peace

By Joyce Coronel | Sept. 3, 2009 | The Catholic Sun

There’s a powerful scene in the movie “Ben Hur” in which the main character is forced to walk through the brutal desert heat, dying of thirst.

Finally, Judah Ben Hur catches a break, but it’s too late: he collapses from exhaustion. Someone takes pity on him and gently pours water into his mouth, reviving him. Although viewers never see the face, it is clearly Jesus Christ who has saved Judah.

Throughout the many twists and turns of his life, Judah never forgets the One who stooped to serve him so tenderly. A simple act of service had saved his life. Someone cared.

The scene always makes me think of the Scripture verse that says Christ “came not to be served, but to serve.” In a world dying of thirst, we are called to follow this example.

It’s a brokenhearted world in which we live, where millions thirst for compassion, thirst for understanding, thirst for some sign that they are loved. Yet how easy it is for us to go through our days, caught up in the “busy-ness” of life and its obligations.

When we realize the enormity of what God has done for us — and I don’t think we will fully comprehend that until we see Him face to face — we are moved to want to return love for love.

By this I do not refer to the fashionable statement of “giving back to the community.” That has always seemed a bit self-congratulatory to me. Everything we have — indeed every breath we draw — all of it is a gift from God. If we serve, it is to show some measure of our love the One who first loved us.

Consider for a moment the healing that would take place in families in which an attitude of humble service prevailed.

What if spouses awoke each morning and asked each other, “How can I ease your burden today?”

Or if every tired parent turned to God at the start of the day and earnestly prayed, “Lord, help me to serve my children as You would this day.”

Or if sons and daughters of all ages learned to ask, “What can I do to help you, Mom and Dad?”

Words that heal

I say this as one who has thirsted and been revived. In one of my darkest hours some years ago, when faced with troubles that seemed to have no solution, I poured out my heart to my father. I realize now that the simple, loving words he spoke to me in that moment were but an echo of what our Heavenly Father would also ask: “What can I do to help?”

These are words the people around us long to hear, words that heal and bring peace. And in a culture that doesn’t like to serve, we’re surrounded by opportunities to speak them.

Taking time to really listen to our families, friends and coworkers; reaching out to those we encounter each day, cherishing each human life as precious and altogether worthy of our undivided attention and concern: this is the stuff of which a servant’s heart is comprised. This is the stuff that makes or breaks a family or a community.

In our everyday lives, it can be as simple as listening thoughtfully to someone we meet in the course of the day and speaking a word of kindness.  In some cases, it may be the difference between life and death.

A few years ago, a woman I knew took her own life by overdosing on prescription drugs. Was it accidental or was it suicide? God only knows, but in retrospect, I wish I had reached out to her, to let her know she was loved, that someone cared. I keep her in mind day by day, wondering who else in our midst might be just as desperate.

Being a follower of Christ means that moment by moment, in every situation, we need to ask those whom we encounter, “What can I do to help?” It means, seeing those in our midst who thirst and pouring the water of compassion into their lives, reviving them — maybe even saving their lives.

He who washed the feet of the Apostles and humbly accepted death on the cross expects no less of those who call themselves His followers.

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Joyce Coronel is a regular contributor to The Catholic Sun. Send comments to letters@catholicsun.org.