Sermon -- Sunday, March 29, 2020
/Fifth Sunday in Lent
Luke 6:27-36
By: Rev. Gene Dyszlewski
When we gather in prayer, we naturally tend to settle upon some regular structure and we have some hymns and prayers that we repeat regularly. This practice helps create a climate of comfort and ease. When life is predictable and familiar, even briefly, we are comforted. So, sometimes hymns and prayers recede into our subconscious and simply calm our agitated spirits. However, there is a down side we have to try to avoid. We don’t want to get stuck in a rut.
Since prayers and hymns use words, we can get used to some words and no longer notice their meaning. Or we can use a word or phrase in one way and miss the wide range of meaning that it can convey. So, this morning I would like you to join me in an act of literary redemption. I would like to pick out a word from our gospel lesson that we use frequently but has a wider and deeper meaning than we might attribute to it. That word is “Mercy.”
It is quite common for us to use the phrase, “Lord, have mercy,” in song or prayer. While we may see this as a plea to God for forgiveness, it has a more profound meaning. In a broader sense it is a relational word. The message of mercy is not forgiving a debt it means being connected with in an egalitarian sense. While the Bible wasn’t originally written in English, even the English word “mercy” carries a meaning of being “connected” with the person. For example, the word “merchant” and “mercantile” are words that denote a business connection.
In a religious context and in everyday life “Mercy” carries with it a sense of humility on the part of the person making the request while they are making a plea for an unconditional loving response. Mercy hopes for, a warm, generous, openhearted response. Since asking for forgiveness fits this formula well, that’s how we frequently use it. But, in a broad sense, it may simply be a plea for connection flavored with humility and a sense that you don’t have to connect, if you don’t want to. I am not entitled to your love, but I am asking.
My sense is that this is a relational process that we may be familiar with from our own relationships. Humility and appreciation are the characteristics of my interaction with a loved one. Arrogance, control and judgment are relationship killers. In a real life relationship this exchange is mutual. In a real loving relationship, giving and taking get mixed in and get confused. It is as much a blessing to give as to receive, in a relationship.
So mercy enters a religious context in numerous ways; it is sometimes, but not always, tied to forgiveness. Approaching God with humility is easy to understand but the expectation that God responds in some unconditional, let alone egalitarian way, might be counterintuitive. However, in the Biblical record when the prophet Mica admonishes us to love mercy, he is using the Hebrew words that describe how God relates to us. God relates to us with humility, vulnerability and trust. God is radically involved with the world, calling the world toward fullness in love. God continues this work through human hands. Mercy is the character of our relating. When we are sensitive enough to care for someone with generosity in an openhearted way, then we understand mercy.
Mercy is a vital element in the chemistry of a loving relationship. Mercy recognizes that in an authentic human relationship there is always some level of uncertainty. Mercy bonds with humility, gentleness and generosity to be truly effective.
Mercy is not one sided. It is present in the mutuality of a relationship…in both the taking and the giving. I think this may be best illustrated by a gift. When you think about it, a gift is more than just a thing. Some ‘thing’ becomes a gift when it is a communication of generosity and affection. A gift is something wrapped in love. A gift is a touch…a gentle touch, not hand to hand, but heart to heart. A gift takes its meaning from the relationship.
There is an element of uncertainty in a gift. We don’t really know how our gift will be received. Once we let go of the package, it is out of our control. In that tension lies the real power of gifting. When the communication of affection is genuinely offered and genuinely received, it is mutually rewarding. And, tremendously more gratifying when it is spontaneous. We want to see a spontaneous moment of delight, because the other person feels known and understood and cared for. Sometimes you could just see the appreciation, if not delight, in their eyes. This is a moment when we can delight in an other’s delight.
So in our religious context, Mercy is a plea for connection with God…a particular kind of connection with God…one that recognizes that God loves us unconditionally. Mercy on our part means we don’t do anything to earn God’s love. It is freely given.
We joyously accept it. In the same way, in our unconditionally loving human relationships, we gratefully accept unearned love and we generously offer love without strings attached. This is Mercy.
