January 2025

Mercy has been called upon recently in sermons and in politics. It causes us to ask, what is mercy? Ordinary mercy? Biblical mercy? Here are our reflections.

Mercy is a subtle virtue. Ordinary mercy is even more subtle.

Ordinary mercy differs from biblical mercy, that is, “when God, out of His lovingkindness, withholds punishment that we rightfully deserve because of our sin.”

Ordinary mercy usually does not imply that a punishment is due. Let’s say: Ordinary Mercy is a soulful gesture of the heart.

The first step to ordinary mercy is to tend to one’s own wounds. Early wounds sometimes are caused by overbearing parents or generational pain. If not resolved, they are commonly projected to others, often in the form of hostility. Secondly, to mindfully pray the Lord’s Prayer: “… forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” Forgiveness and mercy sleep in the same bed.

Then consider that many people suffer with spiritual wounds – a disconnection with that which brings meaning and joy in one’s life. Spiritual wounds are a type of drama or trauma that can disrupt a person’s relationship with God or their spiritual practices.

Now here is the next step. Ask this question: “How do I use my own power to show ordinary mercy?”

I reach into my heart with a deep feeling and an emotion of tenderness. I create a space of hospitality to receive the other. I follow the pathway Henri Nouwen suggests in Reaching Out:

From loneliness to solitude, to BE WITH people.

From hostility to hospitality, to RECEIVE the emotions and experiences of others.

From illusion to prayer, to GROW into a mindful and prayerful life, open to others’ needs.

Editor and award- winning author, Vinita Hampton Wright writes: “Mercy relinquishes control when doing so allows another person to grow and learn. Mercy makes it his business to help others succeed. Mercy clears the way for others, so that they can walk on an even path, no matter how halting their steps or injured their souls. In all these situations, mercy treats power as a sacred trust.”

by Jan

In one of his published journals, Thomas Merton imagines God speaking these words, “Have you had sight of Me …, my child? Mercy within mercy within mercy.” When we catch a glimpse of God, mercy is what we see.

In the gospel of Luke, Jesus calls us to “be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Lk 6:36). Mercy within mercy within mercy.

I like the way Eugene Peterson, in The Message, paraphrases the passage from Luke in which that line occurs: “I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never – I promise – regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind.”

Live out your God-created identity. Be merciful.

What a challenge this is! But also, what an opportunity – an opportunity to join in God’s work. Following Merton’s insight, Christine Bochen writes, “To receive mercy and to give it is … to participate, as children of the Father, in the work of the new creation.”

When you lend a helping hand. When you offer a friendly smile to someone who is discouraged. When you forgive. When you simply give others the benefit of the doubt. When you volunteer at, or donate to, a charity. When you let someone exit a driveway into heavy traffic. When you, quite simply, are kind. All of that is to participate in God’s work, the work of the new creation.

“Be merciful, just as [God] is merciful.” In the eyes of Jesus, the most godly thing we can do is to be merciful.

by Bill

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