June 14

Blessed are the Merciful

             Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Matthew 5:7

    

            The clients that I worked with had an amazing capacity to be merciful and forgive.  Our center was filled with men and women who yelled at each other or hit each other or broke something that was special to someone else.  But through it all they would greet each other with genuine smiles and hugs and play and laugh and enjoy each other.  There is something about knowing that even though you have been out of control, your friends forgave you and accepted you.  This makes it is so much easier to be merciful to others when they are out of control.

            The only exceptions, when real grudges formed and made life hard for everyone, involved romantic relationships.  When two people dated and then broken up or two girls liked the same boy, those hurts remained for years and years.  We would have to change everyone’s schedules so that two people would not have to be in the same room at the same time because everyone felt uncomfortable.  But everything short of matters of the heart were easily forgiven and forgotten.

            The only times that we need to show mercy are times when we have been hurt.  Someone has wronged us and we have the power to hurt them back.  At that point we can exact revenge or we can choose mercy.  Jesus says that we are blessed…lucky…fortunate when we have the opportunity to show mercy because those who show mercy will be given mercy.  It is similar to the Lord’s Prayer when He says, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” 

            God’s love is unconditional.  God’s forgiveness is not.  There is nothing that can be done by us or by anyone else that will change how He feels about us.  His love for us will never diminish.  However, He says that He will forgive us only if we will forgive others.  Those who are merciful are the ones who will receive mercy.  If we cannot look at someone who has wronged us and release them from judgment, how can we expect God to do the same with us?

            Mercy frees our hearts from bitterness.  It frees us from the pain of the past and fear of the future.  Mercy allows us to be right with God and right with others and it is so much easier when we realize that we are broken and in need of forgiveness as well.  Just like my kids at the center, when we understand that we have been out of control of our bodies and our minds and our mouths, it becomes incredibly easier to be merciful as we live in a world of people who are not in control.

            Does being merciful mean that we are passive and victims and look for people to take advantage of us?  Of course not.  Jesus includes this beatitude because He knows that we do not need to look for pain, it will come on its own.  When it does, we have the choice of how to react.  We can exact the revenge that is our due or we can follow Jesus’ example.  As He hung on the cross, He asked God to forgive the very people who were murdering Him because, “They know not what they do.”  They were out of control, but He was merciful to the very end.

A moment to reflect:

Who could you be merciful to at the moment?