There is no doubt that the most ground-breaking event in history was
Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. His resurrection changed everything, proving
that He is who says He is, and that He is the ultimate authority on life. It
opened up access to a relationship with God and the forgiveness of sin. Easter also marks a new time in the whole
history of the world. Here, a new body of believers, who would become the
Church, begins to take shape with the world changing charge of introducing
God’s kingdom among us.
This remains the work of the Church given to us, to serve the kingdom of
God in our generation: bringing more people to Christ, and helping them to grow
as disciples. Over the next few weeks we will be taking some time to reflect
upon what it means to be a Ground Breaking Generation - we do this with the
backdrop of our new expansion about to take place, but even more so with the
back ground of the Resurrection.
This first week we look at that heart of the ground-breaking of the
Resurrection is the fact of its a new vision - one of Mercy.
Mercy –
or Misericordia - is derived from two Latin words - miserere (pity or
misere) and cor (heart). When we ask for God’s mercy we are essentially asking
God to relieve us of a heart that is in misery, and our heart can be in misery
not just because of sin, but from the deep hurt caused by a broken relationship
with a family member, from physical or mental illness, from losing a job, being
betrayed, used or abandoned rom spiritual or physical poverty
If we
think of Mercy as being relieved from a heart of misery - than each of us has
experienced Mercy a lot more than we think. Certainly the apostles in the
Gospels experienced Mercy -
certainly the early Church did. They were lost, filled with anguished...and
Jesus appeared and continued the ground-breaking - He shared Mercy
But
here is the thing - that is just as important - if misery is relieving a heart
from misery - then it is also something we can share - when the Apostles
experienced it - they encouraged each other - so can we. More than just
offering forgiveness - the ground-breaking vision of the Resurrection calls us
to Mercy.
When we
invest in another person - share with them the lessons and struggles we have
learned so they do not have to undergo the pain we have - we are sharing mercy.
When you help instruct a grandchild in the faith, so deference to someone in
traffic or the store. When we offer counsel to another - we are aiding with
Mercy, and by the way, counsel comes from the Latin - con silium which means to
offer a decision. To offer counsel is more than just listening - its giving
direction - which means to show them a mind - the mind of Christ in things. Mercy
- undeserved forgiveness and unearned kindness
When
we say Lord Have Mercy..... Our prayer should be relieve me of a heart in
misery and if life is good for you....it should then be directed to another
...child, grandchild, friend, co-worker, friend.... relieve them of a heart in
misery
God’s
Mercy
- It comes to us in so many ways. It
comes in kind comments (even if untrue)
- It comes on occasions when we are
forgiven or when we forgive another
- It comes at times when things
could have fallen apart but they didn’t
- It comes when it just seems God is
protecting us
Mercy paves the way for peace with self, with others,
with God. Mercy roots us in peace. A peace that comes from within. A peace that
comes from Him and is founded on His principles. Without this peace we live as
people of judgement, we live as people who are self-absorbed, we live lives
that are self centered and we live without happiness or joy.