Horror gripped the heart of a World War I soldier, as he saw his lifelong friend fall in battle. Caught in a trench with continuous gunfire whizzing over his head, the soldier asked his lieutenant if he could go out into the man’s land between the trenches to bring his fallen comrade back. “You can go,” said the Lieutenant, “but I don’t think it will be worth it. Your friend is probably dead and you may throw your life away.” The Lieutenant’s words didn’t matter, and the soldier went anyway. Miraculously, he managed to reach his friend, hoisted him onto his shoulder and brought him back to their company’s trench. As the two of them tumbled in together to the bottom of the trench, the officer checked the wounded soldier, and then looked kindly at his friend. “I told you it wouldn’t be worth it,” he said. “Your friend is dead and you are mortally wounded.” “It was worth it? Sir,” said the soldier. “What do you mean by worth it?” responded the Lieutenant. “Your friend is dead.” “Yes Sir,” the private answered, “but it was worth it because when I got to him, he was still alive and I had the satisfaction of hearing him say….”Jim… I knew you’d come.”
This is a true and moving story. It is a story about friendship. It is also a story about the nature of compassion. Compassion is more than doing deeds of kindness for people who are in need. It is more than fixing people. It is more than finding solutions for those who have problems. In essence compassion is about being there for people without pulling back in fear or anger.
Christmas is about compassion. At Christmas we celebrate the birthday of Jesus. In Jesus, God chose to enter into our human condition to be with us, to walk along side us. When Jesus was born into our world, God not only became one of us, God also became one with us. On that first Christmas God threw in his lot with us and risked facing the terrible consequences. The God we proclaim at Christmas is a God who is truly compassionate. Christmas is a good time to say to God, “Because you are compassion, we knew you’d come!”