As therapist expresses empathy with a client we are going behind the curtain of the client’s world. We are potentially seeing the opportunity for change and healing, while also seeing the dark corners of a client’s experiences and attitudes. This process can lead us into a state of understanding, or a state of judgment if we are not careful. We see Jesus expressing empathy throughout his ministry. However, Jesus had the ability to enter into someone’s thoughts without the other person knowing it. The Bible has instances where people are thinking something and Jesus calls them on it. He was also able to piece together the context of a person’s life without the other person sharing a detail. What Jesus was able to accomplish outside of conversation
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The scenario is intriguing because women typically drew water in groups; however, this woman is alone. As Jesus begins speaking with her he reveals why she feels she must draw water in the middle of the day alone. He says to her in John 4:17-18, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true (2001).” This was a promiscuous woman other women did not want to associate with. Jesus was able to perceive this, and could gather her longing for love, but inability to find it. Consequently, Jesus engages this woman, and uses her as a vessel to bring the message of salvation to her whole community (John 4:28-30). In doing this, he offers her …show more content…
Jesus encounters such an attitude when confronted with the thoughts of the scribes. Jesus is in the middle of healing a paralytic when he declares in Matthew 9:2, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven (2001).” Almost immediately the scribes begin to judge Jesus’ actions, and Jesus replies to their thoughts in Matthew 9:4 with, “Why do you think evil in your hearts (2001)?” Jesus saw the ugliness of the scribes’ world and his response is not the compassion the Samartian woman received, but judgment. As I continue to grow in my ability to empathize, so will my capacity to “grasp” the emotions and motives driving my clients’ actions and attitudes (Dekeyser, Elliot, & Leijssen 2009). This ability to read between the lines in a session will reveal the darker sides of a client, which could breed a judgmental attitude in me just as Jesus had. However, the difference between my judgmental attitude and Jesus’ attitude, is his came from a place of perfect understanding. My judgmental attitude could simply be coming from a place of assumption and
The scenario is intriguing because women typically drew water in groups; however, this woman is alone. As Jesus begins speaking with her he reveals why she feels she must draw water in the middle of the day alone. He says to her in John 4:17-18, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true (2001).” This was a promiscuous woman other women did not want to associate with. Jesus was able to perceive this, and could gather her longing for love, but inability to find it. Consequently, Jesus engages this woman, and uses her as a vessel to bring the message of salvation to her whole community (John 4:28-30). In doing this, he offers her …show more content…
Jesus encounters such an attitude when confronted with the thoughts of the scribes. Jesus is in the middle of healing a paralytic when he declares in Matthew 9:2, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven (2001).” Almost immediately the scribes begin to judge Jesus’ actions, and Jesus replies to their thoughts in Matthew 9:4 with, “Why do you think evil in your hearts (2001)?” Jesus saw the ugliness of the scribes’ world and his response is not the compassion the Samartian woman received, but judgment. As I continue to grow in my ability to empathize, so will my capacity to “grasp” the emotions and motives driving my clients’ actions and attitudes (Dekeyser, Elliot, & Leijssen 2009). This ability to read between the lines in a session will reveal the darker sides of a client, which could breed a judgmental attitude in me just as Jesus had. However, the difference between my judgmental attitude and Jesus’ attitude, is his came from a place of perfect understanding. My judgmental attitude could simply be coming from a place of assumption and