Life’s Challenges

Last week, we discussed the path of life and discovered that…
Life is full of challenges.  And… Sometimes they arrive with little warning.
Maybe it’s the sudden loss of a job, a diagnosis you never expected, or a fractured relationship with someone you love. Sometimes the challenges are smaller, but no less irritating: perhaps it’s a difficult day at work, or the car breaks down when you’re already late, or maybe it’s the endless demands that leave you emotionally, physically, and spiritually exhausted.

So, let me ask you this. When challenges come our way…what do they bring out of us? Do they bring out frustration? Or perhaps self-protection? Maybe sadness, anxiety, or anger? Or do they reveal our love?

The Call to Love Above All

Apostle Paul tells us in our scripture for today that in Christ, love must come above all things. But here’s the truth of the matter, friends: love doesn’t just float down from heaven like a gentle snowfall or a warm, cozy blanket to cover us and comfort us. No… Love takes work! Love takes practice! And the practice of authentic love must begin with empathy.

After all, empathy is the willingness to step into someone else’s shoes, to see with their eyes, and to feel with their heart. And friends, this is love without conditions. It’s authentic love that moves us out of our self-centeredness into action.

Theologian Augustine once described what love looks like. He stated, “Love has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and the needy. It has the eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of humankind. That is what love looks like.”

What Is Empathy, Really?

But I must admit, it’s not always easy to love like this. Sometimes it’s nearly impossible to feel what another person feels. Because even when we experience the same experience, we bring all of our own life experiences into the situation. You see, my life experience can be similar to your life experience, but at the same time, my experience is unique — my life differs from yours. So, I can sympathize with you about your situation, but I cannot feel exactly what you are feeling. To show empathy, I must take the time to listen to your story.

It’s true: empathy is different from sympathy. Sympathy is a detached feeling of concern, like feeling sorry for someone or having pity for them, looking at their situation from your perspective.

Empathy is having the ability to meet someone where they are in life; to try to understand things from their point of view. And this emotional resonance goes beyond sympathy by connecting with others on a deeper level. Friends, empathy is achieved by active listening and something called perspective-taking, which is considering another person’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences with a deep desire to grasp their perspective.

Jesus as the Model of Empathy

If we look to Jesus, we see empathy everywhere.
Matthew 9:36 tells us that Jesus was moved with compassion for the crowds of people he encountered because “they were harassed and helpless, like a sheep without a shepherd.” Instead of shaking his head and turning away, Jesus met people where they were in life. He taught them, healed them, and fed them. He had compassion on them and took care of their needs.

Jesus showed empathy at the tomb of Lazarus. He shared the sorrow of Lazarus’ death with Mary and Martha, who were Lazarus’ siblings. Even though Jesus knew resurrection for Lazarus was coming soon, he still entered into Mary and Martha’s grief by weeping along with them (John 11:1-44).

And when the woman caught in adultery was dragged through the crowd before Jesus to condemn her, Jesus knelt down, drew in the dirt, and challenged those filled with ridicule to cast the first stone if they were sin-free (John 8:1-11). Jesus stood in the gap and placed himself between the woman and her accusers because of his deep love, empathy, and compassion.

And finally, Jesus showed empathy on the cross. Even amid his own agony and suffering, Jesus still thought of others and prayed the most beautiful prayer, saying: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34). In other words, have mercy on them. Don’t condemn them. Your beloved children are lost and uninformed.

So, empathy is quite different from sympathy because it involves seeing, listening, feeling, and acting in love.

Paul’s Empathy from Prison

You know, Apostle Paul wasn’t a stranger to challenges. When he wrote this letter to the Colossians, Paul wasn’t sitting in a comfortable office or resting in his cozy home. No, Paul was in prison, most likely in Rome, in chains because of his faith in Christ Jesus. Paul was separated from the people he loved, uncertain of his future, and facing the real possibility of execution. And biblical scholars believe that Paul never visited Colossae. But he had heard of its specific situation. The church was struggling with confusion. And Colossae was a small city in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Though it wasn’t as important as Ephesus or Laodicea, it was a diverse community.

The people there had different philosophies, they had pagan practices, and strands of Jewish legalism were blending together. Religious teachers at the time were pressuring Christians to add secret knowledge, mystical visions, or rigid rules concerning food, festivals, and faith to their lives.

In short, the believers were being pulled in many different directions. They were questioning their faith and were uncertain if Christ was enough to save them.

Paul’s response was clear and very pastoral. Paul basically says, “Yes, Christ is all and in all. You don’t need secret knowledge, visions, or extra rituals to experience Christ. What you do need is to live your life in Christ — clothed with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and above all, love.”

Indeed, Paul himself was suffering, yet he empathized with their confusion and pressure from their surrounding culture. Instead of focusing on his chains, he focused on their hearts. And friends, that’s empathy in action. When we choose to strengthen others even when we ourselves are struggling, that’s empathy in action!

Empathy for Our Divided World

Indeed, our world today is not that different from the ancient society of Colossae. We, too, live in a time of deep divisions. Our world is divided politically, with lines drawn between us and them.
We are divided economically, where some live in abundance while others struggle to survive. Race and ethnicity divide us, and at times, we forget that we are all created in God’s image and all beloved children of God.

Just like Colossae, our world is full of competing voices, declaring we “must do” or “must believe” to find peace or worth. Just like the Colossians, people are pressured to prove themselves by rules, labels, or performance. And into that division, Paul’s words ring true for us today: “In Christ, there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised, or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free…but Christ is all and in all.” (Col. 3:11).

This reminds me of one of my professors of intercultural studies at United Seminary, who once shared her struggle with faith. Her struggle didn’t come from rejecting God but from encountering people from many different religions. She saw their reverence and their devotion. She learned from their wisdom and their sacred practices, and it shook her to her core. She thought, “If all these faiths hold beauty, what does it mean to be Christian?”

My professor’s empathy for others led her into deep wrestling with what she knew to be true. And she discovered that her faith in Christ didn’t diminish because of her empathy. Instead… her faith grew. She came to see that all people have sacred worth before God. And following Christ and discovering this truth gave my professor the grounding to embrace others with love, without losing her center.

Friends, that’s what Paul was saying. In Christ, there is no division. There isn’t us and them, right or left, Jew or Gentile. All are loved, all have worth, and it’s empathy that is the bridge that allows us to live out that truth.

Living Empathy Daily

You know, there’s something else that Paul says in today’s scripture that we don’t want to miss. Paul tells the Colossians to “Let the peace of Christ rule in their hearts, since as members of one body they were called to peace.” And the reason Paul chooses to do this is because God blesses us with peace when we choose authentic love. Ultimately, practicing empathy helps us to see life from another person’s point of view. And this doesn’t just help them — it also changes us. Because empathy softens our hearts, calms our anger, and helps us to lay down our biases and grudges that tend to divide us.

When we truly understand someone else’s story, we create space for forgiveness, which ultimately makes room for peace. And that’s not by accident, my friends. That is God’s design.

So programs like The Other TP Project matter. Not just because of the products they distribute to those in need, but because of what the donations represent. The donations let the recipients know that someone saw the embarrassment and need of young students and said, “We can do something about that.” This act of compassion, love, and kindness is empathy made real. It’s empathy in action.

Not long ago, there was a news story that caught my attention. Perhaps you saw it too. There was a young boy, just 8 years old, who heard that some children in his community would not receive Christmas gifts because their families were struggling financially. Instead of feeling sorry for these children and shrugging his shoulders and moving on, this little boy decided to do something about it. He set up a toy drive in his neighborhood and went door-to-door asking for donations. He rallied his classmates, his family, and even random people he met at the grocery store.

And did you know that by Christmas, dozens of children who would have awakened to nothing under a Christmas tree were able to receive gifts and awaken to a Christmas celebration? Why? Because one little boy chose to put himself in their place and imagine what waking up on Christmas Day without any gifts might feel like. Friends, that’s the power of empathy. It transforms compassion into action, which is the pathway to empathy that reveals the authentic love of Christ Jesus.

So how can we live out this call to empathy? How can we reveal the authentic love of Christ? Well, perhaps by calling someone who is lonely. Or listening to someone who has a different theological or political stance. Maybe it’s by sharing a meal, mentoring a child, forgiving someone who has wronged us, or standing up for the poor and underserved, or those who have been silenced.

Because as followers of Christ, we are called not just to have sympathy, nor just to feel empathy, but we are called to live it out.

So as we leave worship today, let us ask ourselves:
Who in our life is hurting? And how can we step into their shoes this week?
What needs are in our community that we can meet not with pity but with love in action?
Where is God calling us to put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and love?

Yes… The challenges of life are real. But so is the power of Christ’s love. So let’s clothe ourselves with empathy. Let’s let love above all things guide us. And let’s meet people right where they are so that, together, we will not only be touched by empathy but transformed by God’s grace into instruments of Christ Jesus’ authentic love.

Come Holy Spirit…I pray it may be so. Amen