Week II

Video

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Detailed Outline

God’s design of the world is so amazing that it allows every living creature to feel as though it is the center of the universe.  Every living being sees, hears and experiences the world from its own perspective or vantage point.  However, this lends to the idea and experience of separateness, when in fact we are all connected.  We are all One in the eyes of God.

It is easy to show compassion when we see great suffering, be it starvation, abuse, killing, natural disasters, etc.  The challenge is to show compassion for ordinary mistakes. When others goof up, fall short, or simply have a different way of living life, it can be easy to get frustrated and angry, thus causing the experience of separation between two people. (Why is it that anyone driving slower than us is a moron and anyone driving faster is a maniac?)

It has been said that if we could truly walk in another person’s shoes we would feel no condemnation, only compassion.  Compassion is the bridge between two hearts, and ordinary compassion is an essential practice for building relationships on a daily basis.  Everyone at one point or another will make mistakes.  In those moments we are called to be a soft place to fall.  Inevitably, we too will make a mistake and we’ll be grateful when someone else becomes our soft place to fall.

Most of us are harder on ourselves than anyone could ever be on us, and since it is impossible to give to anyone what we do not possess within, step one is showing ourselves compassion and being our own soft place to fall when we make mistakes.  Only when we practice compassion with ourselves can we truly show compassion for anyone else. 

Sermon Notes

• It is easy to show compassion for major suffering, the challenge is to practice ordinary, everyday compassion. 

• Every living thing sees the world from its own perspective or vantage point, as though it were the center of the universe.

• The Illusion of Separateness vs. The Experience of Oneness

• Compassion is the bridge between two hearts.  It is the practice of being a “soft place to fall” for one another, seeing life through their perspective and treating them as we would want to be treated.

• We cannot give away what we do not have inside, therefore having a compassionate heart begins with showing compassion to ourselves.

• Ordinary compassion, when practiced, leads to extraordinary love. 

Scripture

I Corinthians 13:4
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered…It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. “

Romans 12:2
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…”

Romans 12:14-16
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.  Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.  Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble.  Do not be wise in your own opinion.”

Matthew 18: 21-35
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

Stories

Project Everlasting: Page 52, “Don’t Blow Out the Candles.”

Quotes

• “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”  -Mother Teresa

• “Holding resentment is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” --Rev. Sally Rutis    

• “Compassion is not religious business, it is human business, it is not luxury, it is essential for our own peace and mental stability, it is essential for human survival.” – Dalai Lama

• We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way. -- Viktor Frankl

• The Chinese say, "If you want to enter into revenge you’d better dig two graves. One for the person you intend to bury and the other for yourself.  For you will in the process."

• “The dew of compassion is a tear.” -- Lord Byron 1788-1824, British Poet

• “The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the greatest intention.” -- Kahlil Gibran

Humor

• “Lord, keep me open to other's ideas, WRONG though they may be.”

• “God, give me patience, and I mean right NOW!

• Dear Lord,  So far today God, I've done all right; I haven't gossiped, haven't lost my temper, haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or over-indulgent. I'm very thankful for that.  But in a few minutes, Lord, I'm going to get out of this bed, And from then on I'm probably going to need a lot more help. Amen.

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