I read The Beatitudes a
few days ago using the Lectio Devina method of scripture reading and
meditation. One of the steps in this method is to re-read the
passage a few times until a word, phrase, or sentence stands out to
you. During my reading the sentence, “God blesses those who are
merciful, for they will be shown mercy,” (Matthew 5:7, NLT) stood
out to me.
I was a bit surprised by
this because I already have two “favourite” beatitudes, verses
5:6 and 5:9. Every time I read or hear The Beatitudes these verses
resonate with me. I find it easy to have a hunger and thirst for
justice. For many people I know, justice will improve their lives.
I long for the satisfaction that my hunger and thirst will bring.
Similarly, many folks in my life bring their conflicts to me and they
expect me to be able to resolve them. For some people that I know,
Outflow is their source of peace and we at Outflow hope that we can
point these people to our Father.
A few days ago though,
while reading The Beatitudes, I skimmed through these verses without
even realizing it. Mercy was screaming at me in the gentlest way it
could. In his opening statement for the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus
sandwiches mercy (and purity) between justice and peace.
“God blesses those who
are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
This is what I take from
this...
Justice is impossible
without mercy. Peace is impossible without mercy.
If I am hungry for
justice and if I expect God to satisfy this, I will undoubtedly
notice that my hunger can only exist if injustice exists. Injustice
can only exist if someone is unjust. Injustice has a face – either
a single perpetrator or a system buoyed by many perpetrators. If I
am a peacemaker and if I expect God to show his peace to people, I
will undoubtedly notice that conflict is all around me. Like
injustice, conflict has a face – either a single face or a systemic
face.
I believe sin is a
reality in our world. Sin is why injustice exists. Sin is why
conflict exists. In addition to believing that sin is a reality, I
also believe that Jesus' death and bodily resurrection is a reality
in our world. Injustice and conflict taunt us and in doing so, they
show us they need to be punished. God punished the sins of injustice
and conflict when Jesus was executed and sacrificed.
The question this leaves
me with is, Do I believe this is enough? More pointedly, Did Jesus'
death answer for the injustice and the conflict that I see most
everyday? If I believe it did answer for these – that it is indeed
enough – I have no option available to me except to be merciful to
people who are unjust or cause conflict.
Like justice and peace,
mercy is only necessary when its opposite exists. Jesus' death and
resurrection is the evidence that God shows mercy and, as his
follower, I have to follow him on the path of mercy too.
This means seeing the person guilty of injustice and of causing
conflict as I see myself, as a sinner in need of grace. Mercy is not
the same as ignoring sin, even heinous sins like injustice and
causing conflict. Instead, mercy is approaching the guilty as if
they have the same access to grace I do. Because they do.
Prayerfully, mercy can show grace to a wretch like me.
--Tony
