Lately, powerful figures in the United States have suggested something astounding. Empathy is a sin. The great weakness of Western culture. To our living tradition which names Love as the heart of our faith, even as we value diverse perspectives, such a thought is simply horrible. To diminish this aspect of our being that makes us most human, that bonds each to all. What else could it be called but horrible?
Make no mistake, “Western culture” is tremendously flawed, but when empathy is rendered a sin we must all become righteous heretics. This Sunday, let us explore the roots of empathy and it’s antithesis, the all too common apathy, considering how these forces shape our lives and to what ends and by whom empathy is being attacked (spoiler: Christian Nationalism is involved). We will lift up practices for cultivating empathy within ourselves and our communities, drawing the circle of care and compassion wider and wider still in a time when the inner fire of empathy is needed more than ever.
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” – Isaiah 5:20