Today is the 8th Sunday of Pentecost. During Pentecost, we grow closer to God and closer to one another.
This week, Jesus is with his disciples and he says to them that they should go away to a quiet place to rest. But everyone recognized Jesus wherever he went.
Let’s watch this video together to hear what happened:
Jesus saw the crowds of people and he had compassion for them. Compassion is how we feel when we see other people suffering or facing difficulty and feel motivated to do something to help them. Being compassionate is being kind, showing concern, caring, and then helping others.
Wherever Jesus traveled, sick people were brought to him and he healed them. Jesus healed people because he had compassion. He knew that they were sick and what that was like and he wanted them to be well. He had the power to make them well and so he did.
As followers of Jesus today, we are loved by God. Jesus has compassion for us when we face difficulties and Jesus invites us to have compassion for others. If our neighbor’s dog runs away, we know how sad that makes them and so we would want to help look for their dog or we might make posters and hang them up saying that their dog is lost. If someone at school has no one to play with at recess, we know that could feel lonely and so we would want to see if they would want to play with us.
Jesus Loves Me. Go Fish Guys.
Thinking about compassion, consider the following situations. Act out, talk about, or draw what you could do when…
Select from this list of ideas and do one of these acts of kindness or do one of your own choosing:
God, we thank for you for Jesus who taught, healed, and had compassion. Help us have compassion for others. Thank you for loving us with a love that never ends. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Dan Fugate, Assistant to the Bishop for Discipleship in the Indiana-Kentucky Synod, ELCA, put this lesson together for Sunday School @ Home. There will be a new one for each Sunday while we are unable to gather together physically in our congregational buildings. Contact him at dfugate@iksynod.org.