十四世紀錫耶納的女聖徒加大利納（Catherine of Sienna）寫道：「一根刺扎進了你的腳，因此你有時會在夜晚黯然落淚。⋯⋯這世上有些人可以把這刺拔出來，他們的這種技巧是從上帝那裡學到的。」加大利納畢生致力於培養這種「技巧」，以至如今人們仍記得她對別人的痛苦，具有非凡的同理心和憐憫之情。

痛苦就像深深扎進肉裡的一根刺，需要以溫柔和技巧才能拔除，這幅景象一直縈繞在我腦海中。這生動地提醒我們，自己是那麼複雜和傷痕累累，也讓我們深思，你我需要更深地挖掘，以培養對他人和自己的真正憐憫。

或許使徒保羅所描述的景象也提醒我們，若要像耶穌那樣愛人，不單要出於善意和關心，還需要「彼此真誠相愛」（羅馬書12章10節，新普及譯本），「在指望中要喜樂，在患難中要忍耐；禱告要恆切」（12節）。不僅願意「與喜樂的人要同樂」，也得願意「與哀哭的人要同哭」（15節）。這需要我們全心投入。

在這破碎的世界裡，沒有人能毫髮無損，因傷害和傷疤深深地嵌入我們每個人的心中。但更深的是我們在基督裡得到的愛，這愛足夠溫柔，可以用憐憫去拔掉那些刺，願意接受朋友和敵人（14節），一起尋求醫治。

“A thorn has entered your foot—that is why you weep at times at night,” wrote Catherine of Sienna in the fourteenth century. She continued, “There are some in this world who can pull it out. The skill that takes they have learned from [God].” Catherine devoted her life to cultivating that “skill,” and is still remembered today for her remarkable capacity for empathy and compassion for others in their pain. 

That image of pain as a deeply embedded thorn that requires tenderness and skill to remove lingers with me. It’s a vivid reminder of how complex and wounded we are, and of our need to dig deeper to develop true compassion for others and ourselves.

Or, as the apostle Paul describes it, it’s an image that reminds us that loving others like Jesus does requires more than good intentions and well-wishes—it requires being “devoted to one another” (Romans 12:10), “joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (v. 12). It requires being willing to not only “rejoice with those who rejoice” but to “mourn with those who mourn” (v. 15). It requires all of us.

In a broken world, none of us escape unwounded—hurt and scars are deeply embedded in each of us. But deeper still is the love we find in Christ; love tender enough to draw out those thorns with the balm of compassion, willing to embrace both friend and enemy (v. 14) to find healing together.