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Mercy – Session Two
In this session of Walking in the Light study the characteristic of Mercy and the role it plays in our Christian life.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
Matthew 5:7
“But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Matthew 9:13
“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’”
Matthew 18:32–33
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Luke 6:36–38
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Luke 10:36–38
The mercy of God is a constant theme throughout the Bible, and the grace of God – his undeserved favour – is a central theme of the New Testament. A secondary theme that develops is our obligation to pass on to others the mercy we have ourselves received.
When we read these passages on mercy and forgiveness, it can look at first sight as though God’s love is not, as we’d thought, unconditional. It looks as if his love and acceptance of us are made conditional upon our forgiving others and showing them mercy – when we read, for example, “Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
But when we look more closely, we see that the mercy and forgiveness we are asked to show others is a response to the mercy God has shown us – “Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?”
This means that it is possible for our attitudes and impulses to flow from the wellspring of God’s kindness; for gratitude, and the consciousness of how deeply we are loved, to shape and inform the people we become. But this is more than just a lovely feeling that might wash over us if we are lucky: it is an opportunity held out to us, and a responsibility we are expected to fulfil.
Merciful God, your loving-kindness overflows into our lives without ceasing. You never give up on us; never withhold your love from us. Even when our hearts have been filled with hatred and resentment, in the instant we turn to you, your embrace is ready; we have the chance to start over, our sins all forgiven. So we ask you once again, God of infinite love: have mercy upon us and forgive us; cleanse us from all our sin. Renew a right spirit and a pure heart within us. O God, with whom all things are possible, fill us once again with your joy, with the full flowing of the abundant life that is your gift to us. And, by your grace, so soften our hearts that we may live every day from the power of your forgiveness, as generous with our mercy as you have been to us. For we ask it in Jesus’ holy name; Amen.
