1548AFC112715 – Advent 1
Read it online here, please. Part of the Year of Mercy Series.
Psalm 25:6 – 6 Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
Psalm 136:1 – 1 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Soon we will begin the Year of Mercy as called for by Pope Francis I. This is an exciting challenge for Catholics around the world, and I believe it will be meaningful as well to other Christians and even non-Christians. Why? Because so many people around the world will be focusing on mercy and what it means – particularly what it requires. You may recall that during Advent in 2013, we did a Series on Mercy. We also did a Lenten Series on Mercy in 2010 on the Spiritual and Corporal Acts of Mercy.
When you, when I, when we encounter God’s Mercy, it is usually when we are at a low time in our lives. Perhaps we’ve “hit bottom” and had to face the fact that there is something in life that has replaced love of self, love of other, as well as love of God. Perhaps we have suffered a tragic loss, or carry the burden of a loved one who is in physical, emotional, and/or spiritual pain. When confronted with these difficulties in life, we – hopefully – eventually turn to God and seek his mercy. What does God mean when he speaks of his Mercy? Here are two places where God spoke about his Mercy.
In Exodus 34:6, The LORD passes before Moses and says:
The Lord, the Lord,
a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, …
In Joel 2:12-13 God says:
12 Yet even now, says the Lord,
return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13 rend your hearts and not your clothing.
Return to the Lord, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,
and relents from punishing.
David often focused on God’s Mercy because he often needed that Mercy whenever he forgot about God’s centrality in his life so that he sinned; David made some huge blunders, but he always repented and returned to God. Because of that repentance, he also always knew God’s Mercy. Did David never suffer for his sins? Oh, he did suffer, but he did not die because of them; relying on God’s Mercy, David kept renewing his heart as a dwelling for God Most High. In fact, although David was a fierce and usually victorious warrior who could be ruthless with enemies, he also recognized the power and importance of Mercy – especially for the nation of Israel. David could see that being merciful was part of being godly. Centuries later, Jesus would talk to his disciples about the benefits of being merciful.
Jesus told them in Matthew 5:7 – 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. He demonstrated God’s Mercy in every moment of his life. God is intrinsically merciful. Mercy is a fundamental, inherent, and essential quality of God. We, who are created in the image and likeness of God, are called upon to be like him in all things but especially in Mercy. Without God’s mercy there would be no life worth living. We would be “stuck” in sin eternally. You remember Romans 6:23 – 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Eternal Life is possible only through the Grace of God, and God’s Grace is his Mercy. Grace is God’s unmerited favor. It is a gift we do not deserve and cannot earn. Through the divine assistance of Grace available to us by the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter, Counselor, Advocate, and Guide; the Spirit leads us to the Mercy of God for ourselves and enables us to share that Mercy with others – even those who curse us or try to harm us. Whatever trials or pain we have in life, God is always, always there to turn our fetters into wings, our sorrows into joys, and out tears into laughter. God’s mercy provides us with that “little taste of heaven” that becomes the source of our hope. Jesus is a Wonderful Savior. (← Music Link) Why?
Why does Jesus want to be our Savior, your Savior, even my Savior? It is simply that the Mercy of God requires that we must be redeemed through the Body and Blood of Christ to be reunited with God, Jesus himself said in John 6:54-57 – 54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; 55 for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. Throughout the Gospels, the Mercy of God is the primary motivating factor behind everything Jesus says and does.
In the Gospel for this coming Sunday, Jesus warns us that, as his return to us gets closer, we will see signs of his coming. No doubt we are all aware how many times the end of the world has been predicted only to have everything keep chugging right along the next day. We’re not supposed to know when that happens, but we are supposed to be ready all the time. Being ready includes being alert as Jesus tells us in Luke 21:36 – 36 Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man. I am reminded of the professor in the Harry Potter stories whose maxim was “CONSTANT VIGILANCE.” Certainly in these days of escalating terror and crimes against humanity committed by the anti-Christ, we must indeed be vigilant – but not just for our enemies. We must be vigilant for opportunities of Mercy for ourselves and others. Those who will not or cannot accept our mercy will receive the wrath of God rather than his Mercy.
That’s the way it works, because Mercy – Grace – is a Gift that can be accepted or refused. Those who refuse the Grace of God refuse God himself. Those who refuse God, refuse Eternal Life with him. Like David, we who are repentant sinners know the Mercy of God, and because we know that Mercy we are able to show Mercy to others. It would be well for us to remember the words of the Apostle James:
James 2:12-13 – 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
We learn to be merciful by watching, learning, and imitating God’s mercy. As his servants, we look to him for any sign that will help us to do his Will and to faithfully follow him wherever obedience calls us:
Psalm 123:2 – 2 As the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
until he has mercy upon us.
Blesséd be our merciful God forever! AMEN.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved!
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
And Remember:
Happy Thanksgiving. Have a WONDER-FULL Advent! Pray for Peace!!
