“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matt. 5:7)
There are many ways to experience and share Mercy. Here are 7 that come readily to mind:
1- Forgive someone else – It is counter-intuitive to realize, but when we forgive someone for a wrong that they have done to us, truly forgive them, it seems to release Mercy between them and ourselves. And this release seems to reflect directly back to us in our own receiving it. As love, mercy grows when it is given.
2- Reach the end – of our rope, of ourselves, of our own power to a point of surrender. Almost always surrender brings an overwhelming sense of Mercy, as we realize that we don’t “go it alone”.
3- Talk to someone who you know will listen, actively listen to our thoughts and feelings. Open ears are a sure source of Mercy.
4-Make amends for wrongs we do as soon as we can. By reckoning with our own shortcomings and failures, we invite forgiveness to replace regret, mercy to overcome judgment.
5- Speak up for the broken, those swept away as inferior or without value. Justice is the flip side of Mercy, and Mercy cannot thrive without it.
6- Console someone else in their time of need. As a father to his son or daughter, as a mother to her children. The Creator of the universe does the very same for us, and consolation is an integral part of our experience of Mercy.
7- Compassion – the meaning of compassion is “com” (with) passion (suffering). When we “suffer with” someone, it reaches beyond consolation to personal empathy and action to lift their suffering when possible. This is at the heart of Mercy.
Just some thoughts on this Mercy Sunday. Do you have some to share? Please comment if you have the time.