Luke 7:11-17

           Schadenfreude ?

          11 Soon afterward he went to a city called Na'in, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and  a large crowd from the city was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep." 14 And he came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." 15 And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all; and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen among us!" and "God has visited his people!" 17 And this report concerning him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

          One of the characteristics of my life has been that I have had great empathy for the down trodden, minorities, the marginalized. While this is a wonderful gift to feel this way, I had no idea that perhaps it was part of an internal struggle for me trying to admit to myself that I too was part of a minority, a marginalized citizen as a gay man. It took almost my entire life to accept who I am. I am happy to say I still have a great capacity to empathize with so many people and groups.

           In this reading Jesus shows a great deal of sympathy for the widow whose son has died. From what I have read, the original words in Hebrew are not adequately conveyed. Jesus actually is filled with a great amount of emotion that rises from deep inside his gut. It is an intense emotion that Jesus is feeling that causes him to bring this young man back to life. Does he have a foreshadowing of how his own mother will feel when he himself is dead? 

          I know that many people I have spoken to despise Gov. McGreevey as a man who only came out because he was going to be outed. To me, there is a lack of empathy for the this man who underwent horrible internal turmoil trying to be everything he was supposed to be, all that he was lead to believe he had to be and the person that was hiding inside, too afraid to come out in the daylight. Our subconscience is capable of incredible gymnastics to keep us safe. I would think almost any gay person would have great empathy for Jim McGreevey.

             As we go through our day and see someone in turmoil it is very telling what we say and feel.  Our reaction is a testament to our faith and what we believe.  Do we believe in schadenfreude (happiness at the misfortune of others) or do we truly care deep in our gut as Jesus did? Sympathy and empathy are not part of the Ten commandments but there sure are part of the two great commandments.

             As funny as the song Schadenfreude (from Avenue Q) is, it highlights how we should really live our lives just as this story of Jesus shows us. 

           In caring and loving others we are loving God.