The Gift of Mercy

Blessed are the Merciful for they shall receive mercy. Matthew 5:7 ESV

In the middle of a crisis it feels good to find someone to blame, but it is far better to find someone to help. Last week in Casigno Italy, Father Giuseppe Berardelli died of the Covid-19 virus after giving his respirator away to a younger patient. His  act of sacrificial love is the example of the mercy of Jesus Christ that we all need to learn while we are passing through this valley of the shadow of death.

We are all only on this planet for so long and for all of us our final day will come. We have to choose how our lives will be remembered. When we are gone from this place will people first mention the beauty of our home or the vintage of our car? Will they discuss the brilliance of our investment strategy or the universities we sent our children to? Or will we be remembered as the landlord who forgave the rent, the mechanic who repaired someone’s car for free or the nurse who held a patient’s hand as they drew their last breath?

Mercy is like a flower whose seeds are given to us. We have an opportunity to plant them in the lives of people all around us. Remember that the greatest mercy of all was planted one late afternoon outside of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago as Jesus looked out from His cross and cried, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing!” Now He puts that mercy into our hands. So why not look for a way to plant mercy in the heart of someone else today? Remember  the words of Jesus when He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

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Jesus Our Life Preserver

Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him, because he knows my name when he calls to me I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation. Psalm 91:14-16

Some have compared this new Corona virus to the swine flu outbreak or Ebola. But a more realistic comparison that most of us have forgotten is the polio epidemic of 1916 that swept through cities like New York and Boston. Back then, very much like today panic ensued as tens of thousands were infected and 2,000 deaths occurred in New York City alone. Because we are accustomed to thinking that there is a cure for every conceivable disease that is hard for us to imagine how generations of everyday people could face such uncertainty with courage.

The fears we face today may feel very different than those of the past but our hope remains the same. Our hope is in trusting God. He has promised to be with us. Our hope is not just a doctrine or a trophy to be kept on display but it is our life preserver in desperate times. God has not forgotten us and He has promised to deliver us; answer us in our trouble; rescue us and shows us His salvation.

Waiting on God’s Weaving

Wait for the Lord: be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord.           Psalm 27:14 ESV

One of my least favorite plays (which I was compelled to watch because mom said so) was titled “Waiting for Gadot” It involved a couple of guys hanging around  waiting for a friend who guess what…never showed up! For an eight year old who far preferred Davy Crockett; Daniel Boone or Kidnapped; this was akin to Chinese water torture. Though I hated the play, it left an indelible impression on me about waiting. However when King David uses the word wait in this Psalm he isn’t at all suggesting the waiting for the train kind of waiting that we might associate with it.

Instead the Hebrew word for wait: quvah – comes from a root which implies two cords being woven together into a rope. Secondarily it includes something that my second language of Portuguese calls it; which is hope. In fact in Portuguese hoping and waiting are even the exact same word!

So what you might ask, “what good does that do for me?” That’s a great question and the answer is plenty! This kind of waiting isn’t just hanging out and hoping that God will show up. In fact God already has shown up in Bethlehem and His plan since that moment is that in our times of doubt and fear that our hearts will be steadily and slowly woven together with His. As the Apostle Paul states  in his letter to the Romans:

“And hope does not put us to shame because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who is given to us. Romans 5:5 ESV

So whether our crisis is a sickness like the Corona virus which has brought our nation to a halt; a broken relationship or shattered dreams, God is right here – right now waiting for you and I. His heart is open and ready to receive us when we open our hearts to receive Him. As Jesus hung  in agony on the cross He gave His spirit into His Father’s hands. Our waiting on God means putting our hearts into His hands and then stepping back as the Holy Spirit weaves us together with Him in the love of Jesus Christ!

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