Dear Friends of the Chapel,
How is your mercy barometer doing today? When someone cuts you off in traffic, how is your mercy barometer? High or low? When you discover that someone has not followed through with a commitment, how is your mercy barometer? High or low? When you feel that someone has betrayed you or let you down, how is your mercy barometer? High or low?
Sometimes, especially when we are afraid or hurt, or when someone we love is, it is incredibly hard to be merciful. Mercy does not mean that we do not hold people accountable, but we relieve them and ourselves from dangling them over a pit of anger and contempt and we recognize their humanity and ours.
In many ways mercy is a three-way street. God gives us mercy and forgiveness and we are grateful! In receiving God’s mercy, we learn the power of receiving and extending mercy and learn to share that with others, as well as receive it. When we do, the person we extend mercy to is blessed, and so are we. We no longer harbor anger and hurt. Traveling on any of these three roads of mercy, giving and receiving it is transformational for us and for others.
“Great Is Thy Faithfulness” is a song many people love to sing and pray the words as they do so. It is based on two beautiful verses in Lamentations 3:22-23:
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” NRSVUE
We can all be grateful that God’s mercies never come to an end. We can savor the thought of God’s mercy being new each morning. We can celebrate God’s faithfulness in every moment. What if our prayer was:
“God, help me to be steadfast in loving everyone today. Help me to extend the mercy you have so freely extended to me. Please, God, make my mercy new each morning. Thank you God for your faithfulness and teaching us the way of love and mercy.”
Growing in Mercy with You,
Pastor Donna