Matthew 5.7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
Mercy is a soft word that makes tough demands. Mercy is more than empathy and compassion; it is a standard of behaviour, a habit of the heart, a call to action for those who seek first the Kingdom of God. Generous giving, compassionate care, practical help, honest to goodness kindness, costly forgiveness, - these make up the barcode that when scanned, identifies true followers of Jesus.
To be moved to pity by someone else’s suffering, hardship, problems and their struggle just to get on with life, is to be like Jesus. The number of times we’re told “he looked and he had compassion”; one of the most telling moments was “When he saw the crowds he had compassion on them, for they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd…”(Matthew 9.36)
And what did Jesus do? He got them settled, comfortable and fed them. The feeding of the 5000 was miracle enough; but it was also a demonstration of mercy, compassion, practical care for people who were struggling. I suppose the other obvious clue comes from the parable of the Good Samaritan. You know, the one who was just as busy, just as nervous, as everyone else walking the robbers’ no man’s land on the way to Jericho. He saw, had compassion, poured oil, put him on his own donkey, paid his bill, said he’d pay any extra costs personally; that’s being merciful.
We live in a world where there can be extraordinary acts of kindness, gestures of generosity, the kind of goodness that takes you aback. But we also live in a world too busy to notice, where the phone in the hand is the centre of attention as we walk by, where we celebrate overblown celebrity and tolerate under-funded poverty.
When Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” he made a promise that like all the other Beatitudes can transform lives, our own, and others’. Living this Beatitude changes life, and makes us part of the change.
Think of it as a chain reaction of compassion, we care because God cares for us. Our kindness is simply the overflow of the kindness of God to us. We love because he first loved us. Jesus isn’t arguing that it’s in our best interests to be merciful; he’s saying, if you are seeking the Kingdom of God, it starts by doing to others as God has done with us. We too have our struggles, and we too have had our blessings. In the lives of others don’t add to their struggles, add to their blessings.
Here’s how that happens: “God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5.5. Being merciful is being the conduit through which the overflowing love of God flows outward to others.
(The photo was taken in Carnie Woods, a mile from our door, and one of the places where your feet walk on old paths, amongst old trees.)
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