Thy rebuke hath broken His heart; He is full of heaviness: He looked for some to have pity on Him, but there was no man; neither found He any to comfort Him. (Psalm 69:20)

The Hebrew for pity is נוּד or nuwd. It can be translated as compassion, sympathy, empathy, or displaying grief.

This is an abstraction of the original verb. The same word is used for the flutter of wings, the wavering of water, the bending to and fro of branches.

In compassion and pity we reflect and respond to the other. Emotionally, intellectually, physically, and spiritually we sway in rhythm with the other.

The origin of so many tragedies is a sense of separation. Too often we attempt to break the rhythm rather than join it. We rebuke rather than reflect.

In the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is the promise of profound compassion. Through the crucifixion we share in a sacred dance of pain redeemed and purpose achieved.

You may hear the tenor solo, Thy Rebuke hath Broken his Heart, performed by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.