“When Jesus therefore
saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in
the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto
him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept” (John 11:33-35, KJV).
Imagine this Biblical scene. Jesus had delayed His coming during Lazarus’
illness and when He arrived in Bethany.
Jesus was met by an angry and grieving Martha who basically told Him that He
was too late; and if He had been there rather than delaying in His arrival her
brother, Lazarus, would not have died. Lazarus had been dead for four days, one
day too late for revival by conventional Jewish thought but not too late for God’s
resurrection power. Amazingly, even though Jesus knew what He was about to do,
He was still moved by the grief of those around Him and wept with compassion at
the tomb of Lazarus.
Compassion, a key part of spirituality, is the emotion that one feels in
response to the suffering of others that motivates a desire to help. Therefore,
we can say that compassion is usually followed by an action. Acting on our
feelings of compassion however, may be challenging when we feel inadequate,
fearful or when we lack a true understanding of the experiences of those
seeking our assistance. For many,
including Christians, never are these feelings of inadequacy and fearfulness
more pronounced then when dealing with those who are mentally ill. And,
unfortunately, stigma and misinformation has only added to our lack of
understanding and inability to show the compassion of Christ.
For instance, what type of individual comes to your mind when you hear of
mental illness? Do you immediately envision someone laughing and talking to
him/herself? Do you think of someone who is a violent “ticking time bomb” and a
potential threat to everyone else around him or her? Or do you envision someone
who is a parent, a brother or sister, an esteemed member of the community or
even you?
Historically, fear, stigma and a lack of understanding has kept those
experiencing mental illness hidden and basically dead to society as a whole.
Needlessly, thousands suffer alone in silence each year afraid of the impact
that may accompany their disclosure. Those experiencing mental illness, as well
as mental health advocates who support the mentally ill, are dismayed over and
over again as the only time that the issue of mental illness and mental health
reform is put on display and scrutiny is when one or two out of the masses of
those labelled with a mental illness commits some heinous act that the media
broadcasts over and over again. This only reinforces the perception that most
of those who are mentally ill are also dangerous.
Today, however, there is good news. Contrary to all of the misinformation
circulating about, the compassion of Christ is still able to restore, even now.
Our compassionate responses can take what appears to be a dead situation and
pull those seeking assistance out of their tombs of depression, hopelessness
and despair. We can reconnect our brothers and sisters, even though they have
been severed, due to their illnesses. They can be brought back to life despite having
been interrupted by untreated or undertreated mental illness.
© 2015 Linda A. Haywood. All rights reserved worldwide.
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