LESSON 1B OPENING THOUGHTS ON HUMAN MERCY

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1 LESSON 1B OPENING THOUGHTS ON HUMAN MERCY God does not forget us, the Father never abandons us. He is a patient father, always waiting for us! He respects our freedom, but he remains faithful forever. And when we come back to him, he welcomes us. We begin with Human Mercy because the finite nature of a human beings mercy cannot comprehend the infinite nature of God s mercy: he remains eternally beyond the scope of limited human minds also the limitations of human mercy point to the need of God's mercy as a superior form and source. We are examining people who either show or fail to show human mercy. The Hebrew term for "mercy" is derived from the Hebrew word for "womb." The womb is one of the most common terms for mercy in the Old Testament. The womb is a place of protection and love. THE WICKED HAVE NO MERCY "A righteous man has regard for the life of his beast, "He knows the soul of his beast." The Septuagint translates "knows the soul" as meaning "has compassion" and mercy. The wicked might speak of their "mercy," but their behavior is in reality cruel" action. The Septuagint word for "cruel" is literally, "merciless". "The soul of the wicked desires evil; his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes". Their soul is not a womb that protects or has regard for others. The desire for evil deeds on the part of a wicked person blinds him to ever showing mercy to a neighbor. The word for "finds no mercy" in Hebrew is "he will not be shown grace." There can be no salvation without God s grace. The wicked are not capable of mercy. They are cruel and merciless. Anger and Vengeance At death the truth of the way a person has lived is set before God for his judgment. If you maintain hatred and enmity toward others, you will be destroyed in hell. So keep focused on your need to keep God's commandments and live a morally straight life. Instead of trying to avenge wrongs, make sure you yourself do what is right so as to avoid the absolutely true judgment of God, who will avenge all the merciless who can not forgive. We can t harbor anger toward fellow humans while seeking the Lord's healing. Forgive the wrongs done to you by a neighbor, and your sins will be forgiven.

2 If you want to be forgiven, you must first forgive without limit.. The person who does not show mercy is wasting his time in praying for his own sins to be forgiven. A valid sacrifice assumes that the one making the offering is truly sorry and has changed his mind and attitude regarding sin. If we don t help our neighbors through their trials, God will not help us through our tests. The Lord will not hear our prayers until we have forgiven anyone and everyone whatever wrong or hurt they have done to us. God will only give us forgiveness when our heart is empty of all vengeance and malice because we have forgiven those who hurt or wronged us. We have to forgive all sins all the time. In the parable of the servants, each petitions his lender for "patience," with a promise to pay the debt. The first servant owed his master $2 Billion. The second servant owed his fellow servant about twenty-five dollars. The king goes beyond patience and forgives the enormous debt of gold; the "wicked servant" has no patience and refuses to forgive a small debt. The patience and forgiveness, or the lack thereof, defines "mercy". The king had mercy, and the wicked servant did not and was punished by the King of Mercy. Sin and Sickness The Pharisees believed the Messiah would come only if every member of Israel kept all of God's laws for an hour. Wicked sinners like tax collectors, prostitutes, slaves and poor prevented the arrival of the Messiah. Jesus responded with a proverbial analogy that healthy people do not need a physician, but sick people do. This image of sin as sickness is itself important. Many people emphasize the images of the juridical law of sin, focusing on which legal precepts were broken, the seriousness of the sin, and the act of justice that makes the sinner right with God again. By comparing sin to sickness, our Lord brings out sin's ability to impair, distort and introduce disorder into the sinner's life. The ability to be fully human - that is, someone who fully reflects the image and likeness of God - is impaired and distorted in sin. The juridical and illness models are complements, along with the relational mode for understanding the various aspects of the mystery of evil and sin. Jesus does not reject sacrifices but prefers mercy, forgiveness and healing be shown to sinners.

3 LESSON 1B CLOSING THOUGHTS ON HUMAN MERCY Vengeance versus Forgiveness The wicked are evil and not capable of mercy, forgiveness or offering healing. They are motivated by selfish desires, personal judgments and vengeance. Their anger rules their actions and they only want wrath and revenge. They cannot forgive and will be judged and avenged by God. We are asked to be merciful and to forgive the wicked. We need to pray for their salvation. If we don t forgive then God will not forgive us. We will not be forgiven if we do not first forgive We owe it to our brothers to lovingly offer correction when their behavior threatens there salvation. No matter how big the sin we must forgive a person when they repent and begin their conversion. The way others will know us is by our love, compassion and forgiveness, which is our mercy. Christ is God s mercy to humankind. He is willing to give up Himself to win his creatures back. We must be willing to sacrifice ourselves to forgive others. Christ is the model of Mercy. His compassion, kindness, humility, patience, gentleness, generosity led him to forgive those who had faith, repented and asked his help. His way is the way of forgiveness. Forgiveness has to come before we can be holy and righteous. SIN AND SICKNESS This model of sin as illness and forgiveness as healing, does not replace the juridical model but complements it, especially as in this case where the sinners have already repented because they are aware of the wrongness of the sin. Jesus teaches that sinners do not prevent the coming of the Messiah but instead draw him down. He comes precisely to redeem the sinners and the lost. Jesus is the good Physician, who comes to heal humanity of sin and make people whole. Forgiveness heals the sickness of sin. Christ is willing to forgive everyone, every repented sin for he wants all God s children to be healed and saved. In the same way, He expects all his children to offer mercy and healing to their brother and sister. God heals by giving us His unconditional Love, forgiveness, mercy and His Grace so we can have the strength to walk with Him:. The doctor uses knowledge and understanding and the druggist uses medicine to treat the ill. Jesus, the supreme doctor, uses his grace, mercy, forgiveness and prayer to heal sinners. God can be trusted for his focus always remains on what is good for his children.

4 Humans quickly abandon focusing on what is good to follow a selfish desire. David ordered a census to cement his power and wealth. Solomon s monthly forced work levy on the 12 tribes ends up splitting Israel into two kingdoms. David chooses to place his punishment in the Lord s hands because he trusts that God is merciful while humans will not be. The Lord's one act of mercy to David opens many more acts of mercy throughout the subsequent centuries, showing that the Lord's mercy is truly greater than human mercy. Whoever tries to serve the Lord will be tempted to do evil. The righteous must remain steadfast and faithful to the Lord, no matter what may happen, Those who are timid, slack, sinful, faint hearted, or lacking in trust or endurance are already doomed. On the other hand, those who fear the Lord will be obedient to his word and ways. Fear of the Lord is compatible with awesome love of him, and leads to seeking his approval and being filled with his law, which is itself the source of real wisdom. Fear of the Lord is also a great good because it leads one to humility, obedience, and love of god. Compassion is not mercy but should lead to mercy. Compassion says I see, understand and feel your suffering. People can be compassionate and not be merciful. Mercy takes compassion and adds corporal and spiritual action to alleviate the pain and suffering of our neighbor. Always trust, hope in, and fear the Lord to receive mercy. the Lord is "compassionate and merciful", forgiving sins and saving those in affliction. The way of Christ is the way of Love. Love is always a Service in Action. Mercy is defined by the action steps we take to service the needs of a person s body and spirit. Forgiveness is the lynchpin of the acts of mercy we must live out every day. If you cannot forgive, then you cannot love. Both the Our Father and the Beatitude tell us if we do not forgive and show mercy, then we have no hope of being forgiven or shown mercy by God. Remember, the Lord's mercy is as great as his majesty - it is infinite. Human mercy is limited and not very high. The Lord's mercy is vastly, incomprehensively superior to human mercy. But first you must be merciful. BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL FOR THEY WILL BE SHOWN MERCY Theological Holy Spirt Holy Spirit Acts of Gift Gift Fruit Beatitude Mercy LOVE> FEAR OF > CHARITY> MERCIFUL> FORGIVENESS THE LORD

5 DISCUSS 1. What new insights or ideas about the mercy of humans have you learned in this chapter? We are Christ s vehicles of mercy. We must bear Christ s Divine forgiveness to the entire world. Human mercy can be tainted by our selfishness, passions and weaknesses. We tend to withhold or limit our mercy and forgiveness because in our pain we are angry, judgmental and want revenge on our neighbor. The Amish parents whose children were murdered in school went to the killer s family and forgave him and them. To be merciful is to be active, the Amish comforted the sorrowful, bore their wrongs patiently, forgave all injuries and prayed for the living and the dead. Love is Service in Action. Mercy is Love in Action. They are corporal and spiritual WORKS of mercy. We will be judged by our acts, not our thoughts. 2. Why is the image of sin as sickness essential to understanding God's mercy? Sin is a sickness that disorders our relationship with God and man. In order to heal the sickness it must be diagnosed and treated so the relationships are restored to their proper order. Christ came to save the sinner and he desires mercy and forgiveness for the sinners and not sacrifices. We are healed by doing acts of mercy so God will shower down his mercy in the same proportion. The more mercy we show the better our healing. 3. What is the relationship of forgiveness to mercy? We must be ready to forgive others before God s infinite mercy can flow to us and through us. If we want forgiveness we have to first be willing to forgive everyone who hurts us every time they hurt us. The measure we use for our mercy and forgiveness is the measure God will use for us. PRACTICE This week, consider in what ways you are being called to extend mercy to those around you. If you think of the actions of those who have harmed or offended you as being a "sickness" in need of healing, is it easier or more difficult to extend mercy? Do you think that extending mercy means that you should overlook wrongdoing? Why or why not?