Stand By Me (5)
Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, Philippians 2:1 NASB
Compassion – Sympathy comes last. Oiktirmoi is the Greek term for “sympathy.” Translating it “compassion” might be stylistically acceptable, but it obscures the fact that the real word for compassion has already been used. Of course, oiktiro is used in the LXX for the Hebrew raham (compassion) but it is also used for hanan (grace) and in a lot of instances, there is no Hebrew original. Interestingly, the use in the LXX is almost always about God’s compassion, sympathy and pity. But things change in the apostolic writings.
“The verb oiktírein occurs in the NT only in Rom. 9:15 (quoting Ex. 33:19), where it is parallel to eleeín. The noun oiktirmós is always in the plural and denotes God’s compassion in Rom. 12:1 and 2 Cor. 1:3. In the latter verse God is the Father from whom all compassion comes and is then imparted to all. Human sympathy is at issue in Phil. 2:1 and Col. 3:12, specifically the mercy of the judge or the law in Heb. 10:28.”[1]
What do we learn from Bultmann’s analysis. First, we notice that this word is plural. It is not “sympathy” but “sympathies.” Secondly, we see that Paul connects directly with the Hebrew. Here compassions are attributed to something regarding the Messiah, the divine representative of the Kingdom on earth. Community has a foundation “not of this world,” as Yeshua said to Pilate. It is rooted in YHVH. Next we see that all real oiktirmoi come from God. He is the author, suzerain and judge of the koinonia. He provides the way. We provide the will. On this basis, we demonstrate oiktirmoi. We show sympathy in the same way, and of the same quality, as the Father. We represent Him.
What does this mean? How do we show the sympathies of the Lord in the fellowship of the Kingdom? By exhibiting mercy. Ah, but eleos connects us to hesed, doesn’t it? Mercy is not empathy. It is not a feeling of understanding another’s feelings. Mercy is action just as hesed is action. To exhibit sympathies (oiktirmoi) is to do something about the situation. It is to accept the mutual, reciprocal, transitive obligation to act as God would act. It is to view the other with the eyes of the Lord and create righteousness. Now that doesn’t mean you will always come across as empathetic. In fact, sometimes being empathetic is pathetic. What is called for is acting on God’s behalf. Exhorting. Admonishing. Teaching. Uplifting. Fulfilling. Reproving. Carrying. Think of the ways that God demonstrates His commitment to Israel. Then do them.
Plural action means the involvement of the many. Don’t delegate when you can do. Don’t demonstrate oiktirmoi by proxy. Pick up the stick and stir the pot.
Topical Index: oiktirmoi, sympathy, empathy, hesed, mercy, Philippians 2:1
[1] R. Bultmann, oirtiro, TDNT, Vol. V, pp. 159-161.
Isn’t this sorta like raising children? To react to the world around us like the Father would act? I know I surely did do all that “exhorting, admonishing, teaching, uplifting, fulfilling, reproving, carrying” with my children! To have the heart of the Father. That would mean to look at the world around us through the eyes of a parent, essentially: to stop ‘competing’ (there is one of those awful ways we COVET) with others; to stop fighting the world, or hiding from it(!), or acting holier-than-thou around it, and all those other childish REACTIONS, too, and start ACTING like a grownup, instead, is what I hear we are called to do. To act like we are in charge – like we own the place – is not to lord it over others, but instead, to take full responsibility not only for what is there or lacking, but also for the shape it is in. If it is in horrible shape, then the action of the one responsible should be to apologize and to say “I will fix it”. And then fix it. Doesn’t matter who messed it up! In the pagan world, the chiefs took all the authority and delegated all the responsibility to the indians. In YHVH’s world, it is the Chief Who takes all the responsibility, and gives the authority (authorization) to us indians to carry out His heart. It just takes my breath away. And we are called to act like Him. You have to serve to save. Only Heaven would dream up that kind of way to act!
It’s interesting for me it kind of seems like, “be the prayer” or in other words ‘the hands and feet’.