Please, Lean on Me - when you're not strong
Life Lessons from Shazam!By Pastor Adam Fox
Every summer, Andrea and I try to get away for a little trip - a nerd-cation. Chicago has a yearly comic convention every August, Wizard World. It is a time for adults of all ages to come and engage there geekiness. There are times to shop for things that you need and those that you do not need, see artist, be with celebrities, listen to the finest of nerd discussions (my favorite is which is better: Star Wars or Lord of the Ring) and of course dress up in costume.
This year my wife and I and my brother Steve went for the weekend, and had a blast. Shopping, dressing up, more shopping and of course listening to a discussion. The panel discussions are one of my favorite things to do and this year they did not disappoint. We got to sit in on a Star Wars talk, a Heroes TV show reunion and a chance to see the star of Chuck and Shazam!, Zachary Levi.
Levi is an actor that has been around for a while in the TV and Film industry and was the star of one of my favorite shows Chuck. the plot of Chuck was simple and odd, the series was about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck Bartowski, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The message embeds the only remaining copy of a software program containing the United States' greatest spy secrets into Chuck's brain, leading the CIA and the NSA to assign him handlers and use him on top-secret missions. Simple.
I loved the show and wished that I was Chuck for many a year. So while at Comic Con, getting to hear him talk about his life and long Hollywood resume which includes Thor, Shazam and Tangled to name a few blockbuster hit films.
While we were sitting and resting our tired feet, listening to so many questions from excited fans, an unusual question was asked to Mr. Levi. What is your favorite word? Okay so not a special question, but the answer shook me. Empathy.
"Empathy. You can applaud that but more than applaud - let's go live that. Let's amen that by actually going and being love, kindness, grace, understanding and empathy in the world. Let's go and make the world a better place and it all starts with loving ourselves. We have got to love ourselves. Look in the mirror in the morning and tell yourself that you are so worthy of love and then build on that. When you start feeling stronger in your love, everyone around you will love so much more competently, more beautifully, so much more holy. It feels great. We do not have to be afraid of this world and the people they're telling us to be afraid of. We need to be afraid of being disconnected from one another instead. Go hug each other."
After hearing Levi say these words of wisdom, these Godly words about how we are called to live it too k me a minute to process what just happened. Was Levi a Christian? If so, did he just witness to the thousand people in this room? Is he right?
That night I did some research and Zachary Levi is a Christian. His testimony is recorded in an interview in Relevant Magazine. The interview shares that Levi accepted Jesus as his personal savior when he was 18. While his resume includes so many acting jobs in film and television but should also include hosting a weekly Bible Study in his Los Angles home.
But are the words from Brother Levi true? Do we need to be better at being empathy? What does it even mean? Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Empathy seems an awful lot like sympathy and compassion - but there is a big difference.
Sympathy is a shared feeling, usually of sorrow, pity or compassion for another person. You show concern for another person when you feel sympathy for them. ... With empathy, you put yourself in another's shoes, often feeling things more deeply than if you just felt sympathy.
The key is we need to see things from the other's persons perspective and the Bible calls us to do the same thing. Paul calls us to do the same thing in Romans 12:15-16 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
If we are participating in the emotional joys and sorrows of the person, we as Christians are fulfilling the Greatest Commandments of loving God with our all and loving our neighbor as our self. If we are loving others as God loves them, sharing in the emotions of the person it gives us an opportunity to share the love of God with them and that is key.
We can see empathy and compassion that we need to display in the life and actions of our risen Lord, look at how Jesus interacted with a mourning mother in Luke 7: 11 Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. 12 And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man 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 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.
In verse 13, Jesus had compassion for the woman. This is HUGE, because it shows us that the God of the universe, the Creator and sustainer of all things sees, knows and understands what this woman is going through. The pain, the fear, the hurt, the worry and has compassion for her. Compassion in the original Greek is: ἐσπλαγχνίσθη(esplagchnisthe) which means for someone to be deeply affected in one's inner being, deep in the bowels.
The compassion that Jesus had for this woman, a woman that He just met, is wonderful - but it is more than that. He has empathy towards her and her problems. This is the type of deep compassion and empathy that we are to have for all of humanity - one that stirs us from the deepest spot, from the bowels.
The calling is clear, we are to show and be compassionate and empathic - just as Jesus was. But how can we do it, how can we be more compassionate and empathic? I think the first step is understanding before reacting. See why the person is reacting before lashing out and understand what they are going through before we discuss.
Look at what the prophet Micah wrote to the nation of Israel that is sound advice to us as well.
He has shown you, O man, what is good;And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8
If we take this calling to the nation of Israel from the prophet Micah and live out our lives by acting justly with people, showing mercy to everyone and living our lives humbly with our God we will be different than the world and that I hope leads to others accepting Jesus as their personal savior.
While I am not telling you to never take a stand on your beliefs, but we need to see where the person is and coming from too. Being a Christian means being examples of God - all the time. It means showing mercy and kindness to people that we disagree with politically, socially, philosophically, heck even sports wise. Being empathic, showing mercy to people, sharing Godly justice to all, being the light and salt to a world that is blinded by Satan from the truth and most importantly, seeing things from their perspective. You and I can both hear the same message, but it may move you to tears and not me. The person that displays empathy and God-like character attempts to understand why this person is moved to tears instead of just telling them to shut up or be happy more.
Let’s take a page from TV’s Chuck – Brother Zachary Levi – and be love, kindness, grace, understanding and empathy to all of mankind. And as he said, it starts with loving yourself. After all, God does an awful lot. He made you special and loves you for who you are. Share that truth with someone today.
Cheers and Excelsior!
Pastor Adam