- Sunday, December 28th 2025
Be Empathetic
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses.." ( Hebrews 4:15)
Empathy has been variously described as the "ability to understand and share the feelings of another"! One way to explain empathy is being in someone's shoes.
Jesus showed empathy when he visited Martha and Mary following the loss of his friend, Lazarus. It is said that when Jesus got to Bethany to mourn with Martha and Mary, when the latter approached him, and "Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled" (John 11:33). Going further, "Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.“Take away the stone,” he said" ( vv 37- 38). Note that he "was deeply moved" by the pain he felt of these sisters and other mourners to raise Lazarus from the dead.
Of course Jesus did not have had to first loose someone close before to know what Martha and Mary were going through. Though God, he was completely human to understand and appreciate the pain of the sisters. He was empathetic to them in their difficult situation. And so, may the Lord give us that grace too, without first necessarily going through the pain of other's, to be just as empathetic.
Prayer today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, as you empathised with Martha and Mary at the tomb of Lazurus, help me to have and show empathy to others through difficulty, this I pray in Jesus name.
