We live in a world of unintended consequences. In our Gospel reading, the magi did nothing wrong. In fact, all their actions were righteous. From traversing many miles to see Jesus, to conferring with the governing authority upon their arrival, to bestowing precious gifts on Jesus and worshipping him, to listening to the voice of God and avoiding Herod on their way home, they did everything right. Still, fueled by his anger, Herod used the information he got from the magi to sin against the innocent.
What role does compassion play here? Undoubtedly in the coming year, there will be times when your actions are wrapped up in unintended consequences. Clearly, when we sin, we seek reconciliation with God and the community, but what about those times when we never intended to hurt anybody? What happens when we do everything right but things turn out very wrong?
These are the times that we become both the giver and the receiver of compassion. God’s grace is a free gift. We can always rely on that. What is less reliable is the gift of compassion that we give to ourselves.
Pause and reflect on giving the gift of compassion to yourself.
Do not try to earn it, deserve it, or refuse it out of a sense of unworthiness. Simply accept it.
This year, when things spin off in unexpected ways, receive compassion from God. Give compassion to yourself.
Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler’s snare.
Broken was the snare,
and we were freed.
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.