Keeping an Open Heart in Troubled Times

“Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.” (Romans 12: 15) This verse is from a section in Romans that describes the “marks of a true Christian.” It is part of a section of Romans that proscribes how to be “in harmony” with others. As our world becomes entrenched in war after war, atrocity after atrocity, corruption and mistrust, these verses may seem impossible to follow. But consider how peaceful our world would be if every person had someone who was empathetically there with them, in joy and in sorrow. How different would our world become if each of us took it upon ourselves to find someone in need of empathic companionship and walked along their journey of life for awhile? Just imagine what a wonderful world it could be!

Walking alongside someone with love and showing your care by rejoicing or crying with them has the potential to change their whole lives! There are people in the world with no one to share their joys and their sorrows. As a result they may become hardened, hopeless, angry, and depressed. The next step in the downward spiral is often violence, on others or on themselves. And the spiraling of violence can have a traumatizing effect that ripples around the world.

Jesus is calling us to change the world by being open hearts in troubling times for one another. We are to answer the call to trust, love, and respect each other; to be the presence of Christ here on earth as much as we are able. We are NOT to conform to the hate and distrust in this world, but to show the transformative power of love and hope in the midst of darkness and evil.  A caring gesture is contagious and it can ripple around the world and multiply the love.

I just completed a Princeton seminar entitled: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Trauma. One of the readings included a paper by our professor, Dr. Deborah Hunsinger, entitled: “Keeping an Open Heart in Troubled Times: Self-empathy as a Christian Spiritual Practice.”  In this paper she describes ways to prepare our hearts and minds when we reach out to others with compassion. When we openly listen and feel deeply the pain of the other, we take some of the trauma onto ourselves. As a result it can take a toll on us as care-givers while helping to heal the one who shares their painful experience. To deal with this effect of “weeping with those who weep” Hunsinger suggests remembering that all compassion arises out of God’s love for the world and all therein. To remain in balance we must stay in touch with God about our own needs while being empathic towards the other.  Staying connected to this transcendent source of compassion (God) enables us to keep our hearts open in troubled times. 

I appreciate Dr. Hunsinger’s inspiration to practice self-empathy because without it, those who compassionately enter into the pain of another can be dragged down into a pit of despair. By taking on the burdens of another, we may lose hope for the world and distrust God’s promises. If we nurture ourselves by being aware of how the empathy towards another is affecting our own state of mind and spirit, then we can seek strength for ourselves allowing us to be instruments of peace.

Jesus demonstrated an awareness of his needs by going away regularly to pray, to reconnect with his Creator, sustainer, loving-parent God. So may you stay connected through prayer to the source of our strength and love as you “rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep”.