Mother Teresa told this story: “Once, I was visiting a wealthy family, and they had a beautiful grand piano in their living room. As I sat there, I noticed that the piano was covered in a thick layer of dust. I asked the family why they didn’t play it or clean it. They responded, ‘Well, we don’t really play the piano, and nobody ever comes to visit, so there’s no need to clean it.'”

She continued, “In that moment, I realized that compassion is like a piano. If you don’t play it, it gathers dust and loses its purpose. But when you use it, when you put compassion into action, it brings joy and beauty into the world. It’s not enough to feel compassion; we must act upon it.”

Jesus both felt and acted upon his infinite compassion for the people in need whom he met on his travels. When he encountered the paralyzed man in Capernaum, the two blind men of Jericho, or the old woman bent by a disease… his heart was filled with compassion. He cannot pass them by without doing something to relieve their suffering.

Moreover, the Gospels present him frequently with his gaze fixed on the crowds. He saw the people hungry, suffering with all kinds of diseases and sicknesses, and he felt compassion for them. But there was something else that hurt him in a special way. Matthew reminds us: “On seeing the multitudes he had pity on them for they were weak and abandoned like sheep without a shepherd”. Aside from collecting taxes and temple fees, neither the representatives of Rome nor the religious leaders of Jerusalem cared for or even acknowledged those people of the villages.

This compassion of Jesus is not a passing sentiment. It is the way he saw the people and sought to do good. It is his way of incarnating God’s mercy. His decision to call the twelve apostles and send them to the lost sheep of Israel was born of this compassion.

For the sake of his compassion, Jesus gives the apostles power and authority, but not the power to govern people and nations like the Romans did. It was a power whose purpose is to do good, driving out evil spirits and healing every kind of disease and sickness.

Jesus called the twelve to help him carry out his saving mission of liberating humanity from the slavery of sin and acquiring the true freedom which He offers: freedom from moral misery, from sin, and from the power of the devil. 

The authority Jesus gave to the apostles did not come from Jesus’ majesty, though it could have. The power he gave them was not a piece of his own power and glory. No, this authority stems from Jesus’ compassion. All the authority that is in the church derives from and is founded on the compassion of Jesus for the people. Its purpose is to heal, to alleviate suffering, and to do good. It is a gift from Jesus. Those who exercise it must do it ‘freely’ because the Church is a gift of Jesus to the world. 

Jesus gave the apostles this authority not because they were strong, or pure, or courageous. We know that they were none of those things. Nor were they conspicuous in their own compassion. Remember when James and John wanted to bring fire down on the Samaritan village? (Luke 9:54). The authority Jesus gave them was not a reward for their advanced knowledge or piety. In giving out this power Jesus was entirely focused on healing, focused on going out to the people, to do good, and not on the worthiness of his chosen instruments. By themselves, the apostles have no power. The power of Jesus’ compassion was exercised through the weakness of the apostles. 

The apostles must preach what Jesus preached and nothing else. ‘Make this proclamation: the kingdom of heaven is near’. Let the people hear this news and take part in God’s project. Jesus’ compassion gave the apostles the power and authority to participate in Jesus’ mission to do good, bringing health, life, community, and by freeing the possessed. This is what the four commands of Jesus suggest: ‘Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.’

Compassion is the way Jesus always sees us; it is an incarnation of God’s mercy. Today Jesus gives his authority and power to do good, to participate in his mission, to the whole Church. To the bishops and priests, yes certainly, but just as certainly to all the baptized. This means me and you. Jesus gives us the authority and power to do good. At our baptism we were anointed with the authority and the power to bring forth health, life, community, and freedom. The authority of the baptized reveals the great power, ability, and authority that the Lord has given to the Church, which is his body. “The Church, the universal sacrament of God’s love for the world, continues the mission of Jesus in history and sends us out so that, through our witness of faith and the proclamation of the Gospel, God may continue to manifest his love and in this way touch and transform hearts, minds, bodies, societies, and cultures in every place and time.” (Pope Francis, World Day of Prayer 2000)

How does this authority to do good come to us? Just as with the apostles, power comes from the unwavering compassion of Jesus and is exercised through our weakness. The world around us needs followers of Jesus who are humbly empowered by and through the love of God. It is our job to have compassion and to act on it for the good of the weak and abandoned. The compassion of Jesus is the past, present, and future of the Church. With the Holy Spirit coursing through our veins, we are, like the apostles, sent on mission to put compassion into action in the name of Jesus Christ. 

We have been called, anointed, and sent by our Father.

“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  

This is our baptismal right. This is the mission. 

His mission. 

Our mission.