Compassion as a Subversive Activity
by David K. Urion, MD
Published by Cowley Publications
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Reviewed by Pattie Reitz
Subtitled: Illness, Community, and the Gospel of Mark
Compassion is not often thought of as a renegade sort of activity, but it is just this sort of contrast that David K. Urion strives to achieve in his latest book Compassion as a Subversive Activity: Illness, Community, and the Gospel of Mark.
The book is a study of compassion and the kingdom of God in the context of Urion's work with children suffering from neurological disorders.
Urion, a pediatric neurologist for the past twenty years, has also completed a Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) course, giving him additional training in counseling and the integration of spirituality and medical care.
While the beginning of the book seems a bit scholarly in tone, and Part One seems a bit heavy-handed, Part Two is much easier to read as Urion addesses several miracles of Jesus as recorded in the gospel of Mark.
The author addresses issues that few people want to deal with--the sick and the dying of all ages. He also addresses the fact that in today's world, we deal with lives that have not experienced the healing miracles of Christ. Even Jesus Himself didn't heal everyone with whom He had contact. Instead, Urion addresses the idea of subversive compassion: identifying with the suffering person and taking on part of his pain to comfort and show our connection in community.
Urion advocates radical compassion, and he suggests if we practice this type of compassion, we are living in the elusive Kingdom of God about which Christ taught while on earth. Jesus' own ministry serves as the primary example of this, since He ministered to the rebels, the poor, the sick, the hopeless, His own people who were oppressed under the Roman Empire.
Dr. Urion intersperses his musings and study of Jesus' miracles in the gospel of Mark with true stories from his practice. Stories of children with incurable neurological conditions, their families who try to cope, compassionate nurses, his own medical mentors, and many others add a real-life element to this book that remains with the reader long after the book is closed.
Armchair Interviews says: This book leaves the reader with a strong desire to show compassion in everyday life.