St Andrew Holborn
Lent Book 2016
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Introduction
This booklet is designed to help you enter into the season of Lent. There
is a popular perception that Lent is a time of misery – while it may be a
season for penitence and self-denial, it is also a time for spiritual growth
and renewal. Each year the community at St Andrew’s Holborn
produces a Lent booklet of daily reflections to help us focus our
thoughts and devotions around a theme that will deepen our encounter
with this holy season.
This year we will be thinking about mercy. Pope Francis has declared
this year to be a ‘Year of Mercy’ and this theme is highly relevant to our
contemporary world where ruthlessness and exploitation all too often
dominate.
The reflections comprise a variety of styles and approaches to each
subject. The aim is to assist the reader in their spiritual journey, so if a
particular reflection does not inspire you or connect with your
experience don’t fret over the fact, simply move on and let the words lie.
It may be that on an unlooked for occasion they will speak to you.
We have also illustrated the book with various images, and we hope that
these in themselves will give readers inspiration and opportunity for
thought.
Our journey then this season is one of challenge and transformation. As
we reflect on all the issues raised we may find ourselves challenged in
our thinking and acting, and strengthened in our daily lives. We can feel
daunted by the task of sharing God’s love in the world sometimes, but
this book may help to give us hope in that task, or indeed spur us on to a
keener way of living.
May this company of voices prove a rich resource throughout the
coming weeks. As we absorb the various messages may our lives be
strengthened and may we find a deeper joy in our community by the
grace of God.
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Preface
Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy. These words might well sum
up the mystery of the Christian faith. Mercy has become living and
visible in Jesus of Nazareth, reaching its culmination in him. Our entire
theme this Lent is inspired by Pope Francis who declared this year ‘A
Year of Mercy’.
We live in world where mercy is often in short supply: in international
relations, within nations and communities, and between groups and
individuals. The conflicts engaged in result in pain, misery and death for
many, many people. In a world created by God and with every person
made in God’s image this is a grievous and unacceptable state of affairs.
Human weakness will always mean that hatred, violence and
exploitation occur but we cannot be indifferent to it. Part of our
Christian calling is to fight against such things and to heal the wounds
they cause.
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The struggle is also a personal one, in two ways. Firstly we need to seek
to exercise mercy in our relationships and encounters with others. When
things go wrong between individuals Jesus teaches us that mercy has to
be the end of the affair, and that reconciliation and love must win
against division and hatred. Secondly we need to extend mercy to
ourselves – living burdened by our mistakes is not what God intends for
us – and so we need to allow God’s mercy into our lives.
We are called to be recipients and givers of mercy. We are called to the
commitment to live by mercy so as to obtain the grace of complete and
exhaustive forgiveness by the power of the love of the Father who
excludes no one.
On our journey through Lent may we find mercy afresh and extend it
afresh.
Choices for Lent
As part of our Lenten observance we may choose to deny ourselves,
exerting the discipline of giving something up. Chocolate, coffee and
alcohol are favourites for this exercise. We may instead choose to take
something on, devoting ourselves in a new way.
One activity we may choose to commit to is giving. We can direct the
money we save through our discipline to a good cause. There are many
choices for this and we can thoughtfully consider which one to make.
You may wish to consider a cause close to home. Here at St Andrew’s
that may be supporting the work of the Listening Service. If you wish to
help this vital work please make a cheque payable to ‘The St Andrew
Holborn Guild Church Council’.
We are most grateful for all the support that you can give to this work.
Whatever choice we make may it be one that reaches out to others in
need whose circumstances connect with our own lives and experiences.
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Ash Wednesday
That day of tears and mourning, when guilty man shall arise from the ashes to
be judged. Merciful God, spare him –Dies Irae, 13th C hymn.
“Remember you are dust, and to
dust you shall return”- these are
the words from Genesis that lay
bare the nature of mortality. The
palms that marked the glorious
entry to Jerusalem have been
burnt, their ashes a symbol of
the certainty of death and the
passing of all earthly glory.
Beyond the literal and visceral
impact of that message, the drama of imposing ashes points us towards
deeper truths about our relationships and the ways we fail them.
When, motivated by anger, pride, vanity or whatever cause, we find
ourselves in open conflict with others, and passion burns in our hearts,
we destroy the vision of a living kingdom, and in the fires of anger, we
burn it down. In holding on to grudges, refusing to deal with certain
people or reacting against the world, we bury ourselves in ashes. Only
by forgiveness and mercy- to others and to ourselves, can we allow
anything to grow from them.
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Thursday 11th February
Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast
guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation –Exodus 15:13.
Many people imagine the God we meet in the pages of the Hebrew
Scriptures, our Old Testament, as an angry judge, unforgiving, ready to
condemn people for the smallest infraction of his commands. They like
to distinguish between this God and the God revealed by Jesus, a
merciful Father who takes care of us and always shows his love and
concern.
This opposition is false.
The God who showed
himself to the people of
Israel is the very same
God that Jesus bears
witness to by his words
and acts. At the centre of
God’s dealings with this
people is the story of the
Exodus. It is a story that
tells how God entered
into the life of a group of
slaves, far from their
home, liberated them from their oppression and brought them to a
beautiful land where they could be free.
This story reveals a God who listens to the cry of the poor, who wants
people to live to the full, to be happy, a God who can always do
something new to break the bonds that keep us captive. In short, it tells
of a God of tenderness and mercy.
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Friday 12th February
There is grace enough for thousands of new worlds as great as this,
There is room for fresh creations in that upper home of bliss.
But we make his love too narrow by false limits of our own,
And we magnify his strictness with a zeal he will not own. –F. W. Faber.
When
we
look
beyond the bounds
that we impose on
ourselves with rules
and dogmas, we
can begin to see
news ways of being
a community.
Unfortunately, the church has, throughout history, often been the cause
of much unnecessary misery. Recently, many have come to feel alienated
by the apparent resistance to accepting greater rights for gay people.
This is the latest of many injustices. However, this, like everything that
came before it, will itself change in some way.
Moving forward, as we continue to break down old ideas and
prejudices, a different way of relating to others emerges. Rather than
historic hierarchies and handed down ideologies, we can adopt a more
radical, open way of accepting each other. Following the example Jesus
sets more directly, there is an endless capacity for healing and
reconciliation.
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Saturday 13th February
The Cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat
with their wings and facing one another, the faces of the Cherubim are to be
turned toward the mercy seat –Exodus 25:20.
The golden lid on the Ark of the Covenant, with its golden angels
foreshadows visions in Revelation which describe the throne of God.
Angels, veiling their faces fall before him crying “holy, holy, holy is the
Lord almighty!” The bible gives us simple, but profoundly challenging
words for God. Love, light and eternal are amongst those used most.
From the limited human perspective, few things are harder to
comprehend than infinity. Infinite life, love, time, or conversely absolute
nothing just don’t sit right with us. The thought of being alone above a
huge, expansive, dark ocean is terrifying. The thought of being with
God, the “sea without a shore, the sun without a sphere” as the hymn writer
suggests, is beyond us. To look directly at it would be overwhelming.
Every attempt to live out the vision God has for us, by showing mercy
and love to each other is a small, tangible glimpse of infinity, and draws
us closer and closer to its reality.
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Sunday 14th February
O give thanks unto the Lord for he is good, and his mercy endureth forever.
1 Chronicles 16:34.
Unlike us, who are so often affected by the response of others, who can
see our good intentions melt away when other people reject our
advances, God is always faithful to who he is. God is and will always be
a God of mercy. God will always keep on loving, even when people
respond to his love with indifference or rejection.
This faithfulness of God to his identity is a source of great comfort. It
means there exists a Rock to which we can always cling for support. In a
world where everything seems unstable, where we are so often unsure
where to find happiness and meaning, there is someone we can always
turn to and know that we will be welcomed with joy.
Like the father in the
story of the prodigal
son, who runs out of the
house to embrace his
son who has wasted all
his inheritance. The
father’s attitude did not
change; all he sees is his
beloved child “who was
dead and has come back to
life.”
Where do we meet this
God of unchanging
mercy? Jesus tells us, “Come unto me, all ye who labour and I will give you
rest.” Jesus reveals to us in all fullness the God who never tires of doing
good, who always makes possible a new beginning for those who come
to him.
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Monday 15th February
“Theology is like a map. Merely learning and thinking about Christian
Doctrines….is less real and less exciting than the sort of thing my friend got in
the desert”. From Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.
This quote, from the writer and theologian C.S. Lewis, encapsulates in a
sentence the Lenten journey for many of us. The anticipation which
greets week one may swiftly become a bewildering prospect in week
two. Many will attempt to give something up for Lent, and find such
promises rash, or inconvenient. For others an attempt to do something
positive, raise money for a good cause, build or make something for a
special needs project, reality hits in week two; especially when reminded
by the prospect of four more weeks before Holy Week begins.
C S Lewis continues
that theology and
doctrine arise from
experience, as with a
map,
and
that
experience will have
been felt by many
before: in short, we
are not alone. The
final part of this quote
simply states “if you want to get any further you must use the map”.
We are all in need of guidance and support. If we find we stray then we
say, in the words of Psalm 25 v16 “Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon
me; for I am desolate and afflicted”. In return, as Pope Francis showed us in
a Homily, “He has a very special capacity for forgetting. He forgets. He kisses
you. He embraces you”.
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Tuesday 16th February
“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be
original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence
how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become
original without ever having noticed it” Mere Christianity.
‘Freshness’, ‘Innovation’, ‘creativity’ are all words that can be used to
describe ‘originality’. However, the one which is most apt in this case, is
’uniqueness’. The fact is we are all unique in God’s eyes – but it’s what
makes us unique is important. Too many strive to be distinctive, for
purely personal gain, rather than breaking ourselves away from the
pack and focusing on
God’s
message.
Throughout this week, we
will consider how Lent
offers us the opportunity
to think about ourselves,
not selfishly, but how a
focus on own feelings at
the expense of others is a
negative spiral.
In this quote, C.S. Lewis is
encouraging us to think
about how in attempting
to deceive simply drives us towards conformity, the very opposite of our
intentions. Whereas if we aim for truthfulness, that is itself distinctive.
Pope Francis asserted in a Homily that “God’s patience has to call forth in
us the courage to return to Him”. God is always there for us. We are not
always there for God. During the Lenten weeks we should repay God’s
patience by becoming true to his word, and therefore original:
“Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ
might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would
believe in Him for eternal life” – 1 Timothy 1 v16.
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Wednesday 17th February
“True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less”,
from Mere Christianity.
Pope Leo XIII taught us that “Once the demands of necessity and propriety
have been met, the rest that one owns belongs to the poor”, echoing the second
part of C.S Lewis’ quote. What does this mean for us? We all have good
intentions, yet on some occasions we are not always true to our beliefs.
Sometimes we set ourselves impossible challenges; whilst at other times
the pain of disappointment means we belittle ourselves. It can seem an
unending downward spiral.
Lent should be viewed
as a brake, a kind of
space – or even holiday
- in our year to think
about what Jesus did for
us. How, like him we
should be humble, be
true to ourselves and
think what we can offer
to others during this
time. Lent is not just
about giving something
up, it’s also about what
we give, however, that’s
defined.
“He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness,
but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by
the Holy Spirit” Titus Ch3 v 5.
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Thursday 18th February
“Progress means getting nearer to the
place you want to be. And if you have
taken a wrong turn, then to go forward
does not get you any nearer. If you are
on the wrong road, progress means
doing an about turn and walking back
to the right road; and in that case the
man who turns back soonest is the most
progressive man” Mere Christianity.
This quote helps us to think about
facing up to our mistakes and
errors.
All too frequently we
continue on, not wanting to
recognise where or how we have
made a wrong decision, living in false hope that all will come good. But
consider the story of Peter. In a 2013 Homily, Pope Francis challenges us
to consider Peter’s denial of Jesus: three times he denied Jesus, and
when he can go no further he “meets the gaze of Jesus who patiently,
wordlessly, says to him: ‘Peter, don’t be afraid of your weakness, trust in Me’”.
In these weeks leading to Holy Week, we should consider how daily we
can meet the gaze of Jesus, and change the path we have taken.
“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness: according
unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions” – Psalm
51 v1.
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Friday 19th February
“Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea until he has something to forgive”.
Mere Christianity.
Today in Bloxham, Oxfordshire begins the Church Times Festival of Faith
& Literature. An annual event described –in its’ own words – as “a
literary festival with a theological slant”. Amongst the sessions today,
will be on with Baroness Butler-Sloss, the former Lord Justice, who will
be in conversation on the topic of “The Quality of Mercy”.
In her professional life, as a Judge, Baroness Butler-Sloss would have
been seeking the truth. To punish those whom have gone astray. Mercy
rarely features in legal judgements, for either side, it is much more the
perception of justice having been seen to be done.
In The Name of God is Mercy,
Pope Francis says “To follow
the way of the Lord, the Church
is called on to dispense its
mercy over all those who
recognise themselves as sinners,
who assume responsibility for
the evil they have committed,
and who feel in need of
forgiveness. The Church does
not exist to condemn people,
but to bring about an encounter with the visceral love of God’s mercy”.
In these sentences His Holiness draws together the overlapping beliefs
of forgiveness and mercy. To receive mercy requires acceptance of
wrongdoing and the desire for forgiveness.
Lent gives us the
opportunity to consider how we as Christians have behaved, and where
we need forgiveness. If we turn to Christ we will receive his mercy.
In the words of Psalm 30 v 10 “Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord,
be thou my helper”.
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Saturday 20th February
“Even in social life, you will never make a good impression on other people until
you stop thinking about what sort of impression you are making”. Mere
Christianity.
On one hand, this could be considered to be an alternative approach to
Lent. Consider these Biblical extracts: “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity” –
Ecclesiastes 1 v2, and “They that observe lying vanities forsake their own
mercy” – Jonah 2 v8. We are so use to people at Lent telling us stories of
what they have given up, or
what they will plan to do for
a cause, whether through
money or time. What we
much more rarely hear is
what people will do for them.
This may seem odd, if not
counter
intuitive,
but
shouldn’t be ignored.
As we explored earlier in the
week, Lent provides us with a ‘space’ in the year to reflect. We also –
quoting C.S. Lewis – considered how we should think of ourselves less –
so, it could be argued that today’s quote is incongruous with
Wednesday’s. I suggest they are not. It is true that we should not be
thinking of ourselves, but we do not to consider the result of our actions
and behaviours on others. Not being true to ourselves and creating a
false image, betrays whom we are, and creates unnecessary barriers
between us and Christ.
Reflection, not obsession, on who we are, should be a consideration
during this time. In the words of Pope Leo XIII, “Nothing emboldens the
wicked so greatly as the lack of courage on the part of the good”.
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Sunday 21st February
“All that we call human history
– money, poverty, ambition,
war,
prostitution,
classes,
empires, slavery – [is] the long,
terrible story of man trying to
find something other than God
which will make him happy”
Mere Christianity.
This,
potentially,
could
crystallise the importance of Lent, and the reason why it is such a
significant observance in the Liturgical calendar. In these short, punchy
words, C.S Lewis lists human failings across the centuries. Some are of
mans’ own doing, whilst others have been temptations to which man
has succumbed: but all in one way or another are wants. Man wanting
something other than God. In The Name of God is Mercy, Pope Francis
says sin if repeated leads to corruption, and becomes self-fulfilling: “it
becomes a mental habit, a way of living. We no longer feel the need for
forgiveness and mercy, but we justify ourselves and our behaviours….. [we]
limit [our] capacity for love”.
Lent allows us to recognise truth and shed the false skin of selfsufficiency that corruption creates: “Mercy and truth are met together;
righteousness and peace have kissed each other” – Psalm 85 v10.
Monday 22nd February
‘Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou
hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.’(Exodus 15:13)
During Holy or Jubilee years, the Church seeks to emphasize one of her
more profound characteristics, making it visible for all to understand.
This characteristic is mercy: the inexhaustible capacity to welcome and
forgive all men and women in need of pardon. During this Year of
Mercy, the doors of many churches and cathedrals around the world are
designated as ‘holy doors’, or ‘gateways of mercy.’ During a general
audience in St Peter’s Square, Rome, Pope Francis declared that ‘The
Holy Door indicates Jesus himself who said, ‘I am the door: if one goes
through me, he will be saved’
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Many churches and cathedrals are built with magnificent doorways,
architects have always wanted to attach great significance to the
entryway of the church, the portal to a holy space. Going through the
doors, we eventually reach the heart of the church building - the
sanctuary (from Latin sanctus, meaning holy). As well as inciting ideas of
holiness, the word sanctuary also carries the meaning of a safe haven: a
place of mercy and compassion. The open doors of the church lead
people from the world to the sanctuary, a place of encounter with God.
Holiness is not about exclusivity or closed doors; rather life in Christ is
an open door. That is the victory of Christ on the cross, closing the
divide between God and man, heaven and earth. Ultimately, we have
life in the mercy of God who opens the greatest door for us, who rolled
the stone away from the tomb, who leads us out from the captivity of
death and sin, and into a glorious dwelling place with him.
Despite the limited time frame of a jubilee year, when it comes to God’s
mercy, there is no single window of opportunity. When God invites us
to His grace and mercy, there’s no sell by date: the door is always open.
‘I heard mercy call my name, He rolled the stone away’. (Matt Maher)
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Tuesday 23rd February
‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens
the door, I will come in to him and eat
with him, and he with me.’ (Revelation
3:20)
These words from Revelation inspired
one of the most well-known pieces of
English Christian Artwork – Holman
Hunt’s ‘Light of the World’. In spite of
the numerous links between Jesus and
an open door, here we see the figure of
Christ patiently knocking and waiting at
a closed door. The door is overgrown
with weeds, and looks like it hasn’t been
opened in some time.
We inhabit a society where we are
encouraged to keep the doors shut –
ours is a world where we constantly
worry about security or privacy, and
where we are encouraged to be selfsufficient. Falling apart isn’t an option:
if things are going wrong, we tend to
shut ourselves in for fear of losing face.
This doesn’t need to be the case when it comes to God. We can see Jesus
as a friend before whom there is nothing to hide. There is no need to
shut him out. For it is only when we are able to come to Jesus holding
nothing back, unafraid to show him our brokenness and frailty, that we
will be ready to accept his boundless grace. Yes, God opens the door of
mercy to us in Jesus, but we must be willing to be open our hands and
our hearts too. We must be willing to come looking, with nothing held
back. Philip Yancey wrote, ‘Indeed, how could we experience grace at all
except through our defects? In Jesus’ day, tax collectors, prostitutes and
unclean persons reached out their hands to receive God’s grace, while
religious professionals closed theirs into tight fists. In receiving a free
gift, having open hands is the only requirement.’
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Wednesday 24th February
But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he
saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds,
pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and
brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took
out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of
him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’
Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbour to the man
who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him
mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” (Luke 10:37)
When doors are closed to us,
for whatever reason, it leads to
feelings of rejection, loss of
self-esteem, even despair or
hopelessness. I sometimes
wonder how Mary and Joseph
felt, when they were turned
away from the inn in Luke’s
narrative of Jesus’ birth. Jesus
was not born into wealth or
significance, but God incarnate
was born into poverty, rejected even before his birth.
My mind then turns to another scene at the door of an inn, further on in
Luke’s Gospel: The Good Samaritan leading an injured man to an inn
and paying for his bed and board. This time, we have an open door, and
a man helping another through it. Love is seen in an open door.
This is a model we might use for our own ministry, in whatever way we
find ourselves called to serve others. The Year of Mercy acts as a
reminder to the church of its commission to be the vultus misericordiae:
the face of mercy. It’s a reminder of the church’s commission to fling its
doors wide open and welcome all those who seek a home. As the doors
of mercy are opened to us, so we must be ready to show compassion to
others, to stoop and help the poor, embrace the lonely, tend to the sick.
We are called to mirror the mercy shown to us in God’s son, who stoops
to enter our brokenness with us and comes rushing out to meet us,
however lost we are.
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Thursday 25th February
‘Whoever says he is in the light and hates his
brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his
brother abides in the light, and in him there is
no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his
brother is in the darkness and walks in the
darkness, and does not know where he is going,
because the darkness has blinded his eyes’. (1
John 2:9)
Some things are so hard to let go of. Even when we
know we know cerebrally that forgiveness is the
Christian thing to do, it can be very hard to put
aside the things which have hurt us. The more we
cling on, the deeper embedded the bitterness grows; the rifts in our
relationships deepen. Hatred only perpetuates hate. We end up locked
into the past, blinded by the hurt that has been done, reluctant or scared
to look to the future. Somewhere, the hating has to stop.
Martin Luther King famously said that ‘Darkness cannot drive out
darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can
do that.’ Forgiveness is a manifestation of love, a love that is greater than
any hurt or any sin. A love that acknowledges what has happened, but
shines more brightly than the harm that has been done. Like a parent
responding to a child which has lost his way, God lovingly forgives so
that we might live again, and not be locked in to our sin. No door is too
heavy for God to unlock, no sin is greater than his mercy.
Pope Francis suggests that ‘mercy goes beyond in such a way that sin is
put to the side... We look at the sky, there are many, many stars; but
when the sun rises in the morning, the light is such that we can’t see the
stars. God’s mercy is like that: a great light of love and tenderness.
So it is with our relationships with one another. With forgiveness, we
can make a space where we can rebuild healthy relationships, and
positive work can be accomplished. Forgiving doesn’t mean a
compromise of our values or morality and is not condoning the hurt that
has happened, but is a chance to acknowledge and recognise what has
happened. Forgiveness means we are strong enough to love again without fear.
It means we are strong enough to hope for a new start. It makes space for
healing.
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Perhaps a useful challenge to set ourselves during Lent is to consider where we
are clinging on to something that is more harmful than good? In what areas of
our lives could we afford to let go of a hurt, repair a rift, and allow the work of
healing to begin?
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Friday 26th February
‘But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime
example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others
will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.’ (1
Timothy 1:16)
The processional doors at St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne are designed
to illustrate the conversion of Paul (or Saul): when the light shines
through the closed doors, the effect is glorious, radiant, and bathes the
entire entranceway of the cathedral in a dazzling light. I like the way the
light of these doors breaks through to the darkness, blindingly bright, so
that you can’t quite look at it, but can’t help but look all the same.
According to their designer, they can be seen as symbolic of St Paul
himself, who broke down the barriers between people and the Gospel,
making Christianity accessible to all people.
Rather like that light, the process of self-examination can be difficult and
painful: sometimes we’d rather sit in the darkness of denial than
confront the more challenging aspects of ourselves. Lent is often
considered an austere and rather uncomfortable time, rather like a
spiritual trip to the dentist. By casting that light on those shadowy
corners of ourselves, we have an opportunity to acknowledge them and
ask for grace to bring good from them.
Paul was of course a rather unlikely instrument for the task of bringing
the Gospel to the gentiles, having persecuted many hundreds of
Christians before that momentous encounter on the road to Damascus.
What better illustration of the depths of God’s mercy, that God can make
use of each of us, no matter how far we feel we have fallen?
What unexpected aspects of ourselves could we ask God to make use of?
How could the darkness of our hearts be transformed, if we handed it
back to God?
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Saturday 27th February
‘Early in the morning He came again into
the temple, and all the people were coming
to Him; and He sat down and began to teach
them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought
a woman caught in adultery, and having set
her in the centre of the court, they said to
Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught
in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law
Moses commanded us to stone such women;
what then do you say?” They were saying
this, testing Him, so that they might have
grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped
down and with His finger wrote on the
ground. But when they persisted in asking
Him, He straightened up, and said to them,
“He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone
at her.” Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they
heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones,
and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the centre of
the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they?
Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I
do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.” (Luke 8:111)
The encounter between Jesus and the woman caught in adultery is well
known, and is a situation perhaps we can all take a share in. How often
have we been the ones to point a finger, ignorant or conveniently
choosing to forget the planks in our own eyes? It is an account that
illustrates how God’s mercy does not exist in laws, but in love.
Drawing a line in the sand, Jesus brings the whole series of events to a
halt. He creates a pocket of breathing space in which, as Rowan Williams
suggested, ‘the Pharisees’ own daemons can walk away’. It is humanity,
not God, that often seeks to punish wrongdoing. But in Jesus there is no
desire to punish or to condemn: rather he seeks to heal and to restore.
‘Go and sin no more!’ He, in effect, opens a door to the woman, which
the Pharisees were ready to slam shut. Love supersedes her sin, and
there is the opportunity for restoration and reconciliation.
Holiness does not exist in flawless perfection – this is not the pattern of
creation. Rather ours is a world where God constantly seeks to recreate
24
what is broken and make it new. Holiness exists in a desire to turn back
to God. Holiness does not consist in not making mistakes or never
sinning. Holiness grows with capacity for conversion, repentance, willingness
to begin again and above all with the capacity for reconciliation and forgiveness.
(Pope Benedict XVI)
25
Sunday 28th February
But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy
of God forever and ever’ (Psalm 52:8)
The olive tree is a popular image in the Bible for the representation of
the righteous. Here in Psalm 52, the psalmist sets himself against the
deceitful, razor tongued sinner, singing of his own faithfulness. The
most powerful thing about this image is the way it portrays the fruitful
companionship between God and his creation: God loves and tends the
green olive tree, and trusting in God’s mercy, it flourishes and bears
wonderful fruit. Olive trees are sometimes used as a symbol for
resilience, because of the way they recover from damage, even if they
are completely cut back at the trunk. They are stubbornly engaged in a
battle for new life, though they might have been cut back and seemingly
finished.
The wounds heal, and there is new growth from the remains.
The narrative of the Bible revolves around the idea of creation and
recreation. We live in the hope of a new heaven and a new earth. The
awesome grace of the cross is from the suffering of one rejected and
suffering comes the gateway to new life and new hope: a new creation
born from the blood and tears of the old.
This is what is ultimately achieved through Christ, who makes all things
new, and the pattern that we too are called to follow. Where might we
be able to nurture what has been damaged? What acts of mercy might
bring forth renewal in a darkened corner of the world? What fruit could
we begin to bear in the world? By God’s grace and through even the
smallest acts of mercy we too can work to build the promised Kingdom
from what is broken and exhausted.
‘Mercy is the path uniting God with man, for it opens the heart to the
hope of an eternal love’. [Pope Francis]
26
Monday 29th February
Exodus 15:13
Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast
guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. KJV
In your steadfast love you led the people whom you redeemed; you guided them
by your strength to your holy abode. NRSV
This verse is fascinating. Written long before true redemption came to
our world; it has a timeless immediacy yet also encapsulates a prophetic
message that we can interpret through the lens of God Incarnate.
Redemption in the context of this passage from Exodus is very physical
and real. God’s mercy is demonstrated through provision of needs and
guidance. He is leading His people away from servitude towards the
Promised Land – the holy habitation.
Of course, we can view it in a quite different way; that doesn’t detract
from its pertinence as it speaks into our Christian understanding. The
expression of mercy as ‘steadfast love’ is appropriate. For me, steadfast
has a sense of dogged determination to it. That, irrespective of our
waywardness and grumblings (we may not be physically travelling
through a desert relying on daily gifts of manna but we experience an
equivalent) God’s love is assured and unchanging, solid and unerring.
Throughout our lifetime of wandering – including the times when we go
‘off piste’ – God’s love and mercy towards us is steadfast.
And that sense that it is through His strength that we are brought home
to His holy abode is overwhelmingly powerful and utterly humbling.
We cannot do this alone! God is our strength and our ultimate refuge.
27
Tuesday 1st March
Psalm 13:5
But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. KJV
But I trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
Don’t you just love the Psalms! There are times when their raw
humanity is so stark that it’s chilling and at the other end of the scale the
depth of adulation and praise is, to this very day, awe inspiring. It’s oh
so simple, isn’t it…? Put your complete trust in God’s mercy, His
steadfast love, and know the release of salvation.
It’s an interesting thought to reflect on. Have I always been confident in
God’s mercy?
As a theological proposition I have no doubt that my answer would
always be a resounding yes! As a personal promise to me, there are
honestly times when I feel I
haven’t deserved that gift of
mercy. When I’ve tested His
patient, steadfast love to and
possibly beyond its absolute
limit. Where is the line between
trusting acceptance and taking
that precious gift for granted?
Perhaps I’m alone in being
aware of that struggle… Of
suddenly realising that in my
complacency I have slipped far away and relied too heavily on the
benevolent mercy of God. Yet, in that moment of realisation lies the
path to rejoicing!
How indescribably wonderful is that knowledge and assurance that we
are saved through His mercy.
28
Wednesday 2nd March
Psalm 86:13;
For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the
lowest hell. KJV
For great is your steadfast love towards me; you have delivered my soul from
the depths of Sheol.
Though not in the same Psalm,
this verse flows on seamlessly
from our reflection yesterday.
Not only does God’s boundless
mercy have us rejoicing in the
knowledge of salvation but it
also means we are delivered
from the depths of hell.
Hell can be a very real and
painful place. A place that we
experience on our pilgrimage on earth. It isn’t just a threat of eternal
separation from the mercy and steadfast love of God; it stalks our
earthly existence. Speak to anyone who has suffered from mental illness
or battled depression and the darkness that haunts those times is
palpable.
We can all think of moments in our lives when the bright light of hope
has been shrouded in the thick fog of desolation. When illness and/or
loss have plunged us into a pit of despair. When we have faced an
impossible dilemma and been broken by it. When the forces of darkness
seem to be overwhelming and relentless. For some it is transitory, for
others it is their life’s constant battle where even the knowledge of His
deliverance is sometimes insufficient to ease the pain.
Take time today to pray for all those who struggle with their own hell on
earth… they are sadly all too often those who are in the greatest physical
need who huddle in doorways and seek shelter under awnings. Pray for
them and for those who strive to help them.
29
Thursday 3rd March
Isaiah 49:13
Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O
mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon
his afflicted. KJV
Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into
singing! For the Lord has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his
suffering ones.
(If I were to say that I
chose this selection of
verses and ordered them
at complete random you
might not believe me - but
it is true!)
Yet again, the verse we
find ourselves pondering
on today is a perfect
response to the rather
solemn thoughts we encountered yesterday. “For the Lord has comforted
his people, and will have compassion and mercy on his suffering ones.”
No wonder we are encouraged, instructed even, to sing and be joyful. To
join with the heavens and all creation in rejoicing in the mercy of the
Lord our God. You really sense the power of the instruction building in
those opening words. This is a great cause for celebration and it should
be unstinting.
The mercy shown by God is so magnanimous and bountiful that the
whole of creation; past, present and future is to join in the festivity and
proclaim it!
And there is something in this for each and every one of us. God has,
does and will continue to comfort His people; even those of us who feel
secure on our pilgrim path. He will cherish us with His love and show
mercy on those who wander or get lost. That is truly humbling and
ultimately full to the brim with hope and reassurance.
30
Friday 4th March
Matthew 9:13
But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for
I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. KJV
Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have come
to call not the righteous but sinners.’
Jesus was a real game-changer. He took the safety net that the religious
authorities had carefully assembled and tore it apart.
This verse is actually part
of the narrative around
Jesus’ calling of Matthew –
the tax collector. There
was criticism of the
company he kept at the
dinner table – Matthew’s
friends who were all on
the “not to be associated
with” list by the religious
elite. It is immediately
preceded by one of my
favourite lines – the
healthy don’t need a
doctor (I paraphrase).
Jesus is setting the tone for his ministry from the outset. He never
dismisses those who challenged his new ways – apparently flouting the
law – instead he offered them a puzzle to consider, a question to answer
or a parable to chew over.
It’s that knowing we are sick and need a doctor moment… the
realisation that we need to repent of our own failings and fall back on
the mercy of God. We can’t but our way into that deal. No system of
sacrifice or good works or mighty words can deliver the same result.
And maybe that is what floored the religious elite of his time. They
couldn’t understand that they needed to be healed, after all they obeyed
all the law... That trap is still baited today…
31
Saturday 5th March
1 Timothy 1:13
Even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent
aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief. NAS
I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he
judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly
a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because
I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me
with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of
full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom
I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as
the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an
example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. To the King
of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and
ever. Amen.
And so another two verses are linked – and please indulge me as I set
today’s verse in its full context because in some ways there is very little
that I can or would want to add to this. Plus it has another timeless
‘sound-bite’ “that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”.
It is a pattern and a testimony for each of us I suspect to follow or use.
To start with expressing our
gratitude to God for
acknowledging our
repentance and its root causes.
To strive to reflect God’s love
for us to others; to radiate His
gracious mercy. And finally,
to be overflowing with thanks
and praise.
Simple… isn’t it?
32
Sunday 6th March
James 2:13
For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy
triumphs over judgment. NAS
If I have a sadness, an inner shame that I carry, then it is a sadness about
my/our willingness to judge others.
You will recognise the sort of thing I mean. The quarrelling theologians
who are so convinced that they are in the right that they fail to even
begin to listen to those who have a different view. The people who
claim exclusive insight into the interpretation of the Word of God and,
therefore, everyone else is wrong.
You can take this to mean whatever you like. It could be as a result of a
present day disagreement – of which there are sadly more than one – or
it could be something that burnt bright at the time only to fade was the
decades and odd century ‘proved’ one ‘side’ was right after all.
I have always found it deeply offensive that my view, because it is
different, might not be valid simply because it is challenging. At my
most controversial, I was quite convinced that Christ’s injunction to us
to remember Him in the breaking of bread and the sharing of wine was
clearly meant to be an intrinsic part of our daily routine because eating
and drinking were basic human needs so should our remembrance of
His passion be part of our basic daily routine. As articulated there it
doesn’t sound quite as radical as I originally felt! Much water (and
wine) has flowed under the bridge since then and now I find myself in a
very different place.
I sincerely believe that feeling
confident enough to judge a
fellow human being is the sin
we need to repent of most.
God doesn’t grade sins. I
don’t believe He finds one sin
more abhorrent than another.
He hates all sin but loves us
so much He showers us with
His mercy.
What right then do we have not to open our arms in welcome to those
we disagree with?
33
Monday 7th March
“Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness: according to the
multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences. Wash me thoroughly from my
wickedness and cleanse me from my sin.” – Psalm 51:1-2
We all know various ways we would like to do better. Do you ever
wonder what other seemingly good people regret? Perhaps it is motion
pictures that make us believe that the only people who confess to a
priest are mobsters who have committed some great crime – but in
reality, the type of person you probably think of most often going to
confession is an elderly woman who faithfully attends church, and
couldn’t possibly be imagined to have done anything seriously wrong.
One thing is sure, that if we are aware of our faults and openly admit
them to ourselves and others, we become aware of our other
weaknesses. We see more of our own failures – the corners we cut, our
petty dishonesties, mischievous gossip, unkind words, or just all the
things that we could, or should, have done differently.
God has already forgiven us
for all wrongs, but what are
the consequences of accepting
that unlimited forgiveness?
Does it mean we have to do
better next time, or at least try
to do better? And can God be
relied upon to help us
improve? What if he doesn’t,
and we don’t? And what if
others around us are equally
unwilling to forgive or to change? We must try to be like God if we are
to show mercy to unmerciful people.
34
Tuesday 8th March
“Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook, or tie down its tongue with a rope?
Can you put a cord through its nose, or pierce its jaw with a hook? Will it keep
begging you for mercy? Will it speak to you with gentle words? Will it make an
agreement with you for you to take it as your slave for life? Can you make a pet
of it like a bird, or put it on a leash for the young women in your house? – Job
41:1-5 (NIV)
Imagine a 700-pound grizzly bear cowering before you. God is greater
and more powerful than even the most terrifying animal – and thus he
acts almost as a law unto himself. He answers to no one.
In contrast to God greatness and
strength, we are as helpless as
little children. So we will have no
more success extracting favours
from him by force than we would
catching a killer whale with our
bare hands. Yet the same
powerful God shows mercy on us
every day.
One way we can fail to show
mercy is by pretending to be the weaker party. Despite being hugely
blessed, it is tempting to make out we are the one who is put upon,
oppressed, mistreated or misunderstood. Manipulating others into
giving us what we want is a merciless act, and possibly one we see more
than any other. Showing true mercy can mean standing up and working
for good, and doing without what we want.
35
Wednesday 9th March
“Now the time had come for Elizabeth to
give birth, and she gave birth to a son. Her
neighbours and her relatives heard that the
Lord had displayed His great mercy
toward her; and they were rejoicing with
her.” – Luke 1:57-58 (NASB)
Is there mercy in not receiving what
we want? Besides Elizabeth, you will
find at least five other women in the
Bible who were apparently infertile –
when God decided to change
everything and give each one a son.
Couples today still long for a child.
Boy or girl, either one seems a mercy.
We know now that men are just as
likely to be infertile, and that being
childless is not a form of divine punishment.
But many desires in life are never met – and perhaps one reason God set
aside the seventh day of the week was to teach us, like him, to say no. To
do no work. To put aside any desires and demands, however pressing or
important they may seem.
In any case, receiving your heart’s desire can be a mixed blessing.
Elizabeth rejoiced to have a child late in life, but we are left to wonder
whether she lived to see her son, John the Baptist, imprisoned and
beheaded. Her miracle child died needlessly in a cruel political game.
When God answers yes, will you find the strength to bear any sadness
that comes with it? And when he answers no, will he offer some other,
unexpected mercy?
36
Thursday 10th March
“If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or
his mother, and when they chastise him, he will not even listen to them, then his
father and mother shall seize him, and bring him out to the elders of his city at
the gateway of his hometown.... Then all the men of his city shall stone him to
death; so you shall remove the evil from your midst, and all Israel will hear of
it and fear.” – Deuteronomy 21:18-19, 21 (NASB)
What is the best way to show true mercy to a unruly loved one? When
discipline or “tough love” doesn’t work, how do you show someone you
still care about them when they are causing sadness and pain?
It could help in this case
consider the Golden Rule, but if
someone is behaving in a truly
destructive way, it is very
difficult to answer the question,
“If I were in their shoes, how
would I want to be treated?”
Sometimes it seems the only
thing we can do is to give the
person space. To not rise to
their attempts to control, hurt,
or attract attention.
And perhaps that is what an impossible person really wants. When a
young mother once asked a more experienced woman how to control a
young, rampant child, the older woman’s advice was not to form a strict
system of discipline, but to make the child’s life more orderly, like
simply waking him up for breakfast at the same time every day.
37
Friday 11th March
“Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you
go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people,
and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried.
Thus may the LORD do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and
me.” – Ruth 1:16-17 (NASB)
One of the most extraordinary characteristics of mercy is that it is often
accompanied by suffering. In fact, mercy could not exist without it,
considering mercy is most often portrayed as a reprieve or release from
punishment, or a kindness in a time of agony that somehow lessens the
pain.
Catholic tradition places St Veronica on the
Via Dolorosa, giving Jesus her veil so that
he could wipe his face. And although
Mark records that Simon of Cyrene was
just “passing by,” the Romans forced him
to carry the cross, lightening the Saviour’s
load. The fact that both he and his sons are
named suggests that this accidental
encounter might have ended with Simon
becoming a prominent Christian.
We can’t go anywhere to escape God’s
love, and even in the most terrible
suffering it is possible to find some sign of
hope, or God’s love and presence. It’s easy to wonder why God doesn’t
eliminate all pain or longing, but if he did, would we understand mercy?
Would we experience faith, hope or love?
38
Saturday 12th March
“Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each
other.” – Psalm 85:10 (KJV)
Truth and mercy stand on opposite ends of the spectrum. If the truth
were known, surely everyone would be revealed as a horrible sinner,
with none of us deserving mercy. If true justice ruled, everybody would
be running for their lives, knowing that punishment was imminent.
Micah 6:8 follows on the thought of the psalmist, saying, “He hath shewed
thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do
justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (KJV). Is Micah
talking about social justice here? Or does he mean simply we should do
what is right?
Either way, if we do good while
giving other people great scope
for doing evil, we will truly be
emulating Christ. Achieving one
can be as difficult as the other.
You might think it is much easier
to give other people a break than
it is to get everything just right,
but look around. In both a
personal and geopolitical sense, it
seems many people, especially people of faith, feel they are working for
good – and yet seem least likely to accept the weaknesses of others.
Some people are quick to say, “Oh, I know my imperfections, and so I
don’t judge.” See if you can spend just 30 seconds thinking about people
you do judge. Then think again about your own imperfections and
corollary kindnesses in a more realistic way.
39
Sunday 13th March
“Love never fails.” – 1 Corinthians 13:8 (NASB)
A day will come when mercy has done its saving work and the gates of
heaven will open. The world will be redeemed.
But before then, Jesus faces the
passion. The season of Lent
reaches its climax. We are to
picture Jesus in the wilderness,
more and more hungry and
lonely. His ultimate temptation
is coming, which Matthew
records happened at the end of
his forty-day fast. The mercies
he will find at his passion are
few. He will suffer torture,
denial, abandonment, mockery, asphyxiation and literal heartbreak. The
Creed we hold to says he then goes to hell.
What best mercy can we give to others in light of human suffering, with
which Jesus so potently identifies? One of the best is prayer. In the face
of bereavement and illness, in the face of confusion and conflict, fear for
the future. It is said there was mercy in the relatively short death of
Christ. The religious leaders wanted the bodies removed before the
festival, so soldiers went around breaking the legs of the condemned, so
they would die quickly – but they found Jesus had already died.
Is the smallest kindness in the worst situation a true mercy? Or is even
prayer a case of too little, too late? Consider when you have suffered, or
if you are suffering now – what mercy can you see that will last for
eternity?
40
Monday 14th March
The context of God's mercy is man's sinfulness. God is a God of
relationship and his plan for relationship with mankind was broken in
the Garden of Eden. The possibility of this was always present because
God gave Adam and Eve freewill. God loved all that He had created but
He didn't want blind obedience He wanted a relationship based on
Love, His love which is all encompassing and infinite. Is it too much to
say that God needed this relationship to be based around love and
freewill? He was never going to force His Love on His people.
Righteousness and Justice are pillars of our social system. Our laws are
based around the idea of the right way to be in society and punishments
for misdeeds. This need is highlighted in the Ten Commandments,
murder, adultery, stealing, perjury are still against the law!
There is a stark
contrast between those
who follow God's will
in full obedience and
those who reject the
Lord and His precepts.
Adam and Eve are
thrown out of the
Garden of Eden and
their paradise becomes
a distant but longed for
memory. Yet God is
merciful
in
his
treatment of them, clothing them and watching out for them. Life
becomes hard, Abel, although he loves God and offers Him the best of
his flocks, is murdered by his brother who disrespects God and his
family. Again God is merciful and does not destroy Cain.
So too we have to put mercy before judgment, and in any event God’s
judgment will always be in the light of his mercy.
41
Tuesday 15th March
There is a story told about a young thief who has been condemned to
death for his crimes, his mother goes before the commander of the
community and begs for mercy for her son, the commander tells the
mother that what the boy has done deserves justice and she replies she is
not asking for justice but mercy. The commander replies that he does not
deserve mercy and the mother says it would not be mercy if he could
deserve it. Because of the mother's grief and by his own compassion the
commander released the boy.
It wasn’t that the boy was innocent -it was because he wasn’t innocent
that mercy was needed.
Mercy with Compassion wins out, what is our attitude when we would
demand justice?
‘The quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that
takes:’
From Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice
We may feel if we are on the receiving end of an injustice that we want
the full weight of the law upheld but that is not God's way and we are
called upon to offer mercy ourselves.
“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” ( Lk 6:36). Pope Francis
chose this as the motto of the Year of Mercy an opportunity to live out
God's mercy. God is a merciful God and we are called to be merciful
too.
42
Wednesday 16th March
Mercy is linked with forgiveness. Pope Francis said "How much wrong
we do to God and his grace when we speak of sins being punished by
his judgment before we speak of their being forgiven by his mercy"
"Father forgive them they know not what they are doing" said Jesus on
the cross. And he had already encouraged his followers to forgive
much.
In the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18v 21-35) Jesus
contrasts the cancelling of a huge debt by a generous and compassionate
master with the action of the forgiven servant to a fellow servant for a
lesser debt. Although he had been forgiven much he was ungenerous in
his dealings with others.
It is a warning to us as forgiven sinners, loved much by God, as to how
we should react to those we perceive as hurting us. We can be caught up
in the evil perpetrated by others and want to respond with evil
ourselves, forgiving means letting the evil go and not to be guided by it
anymore, justice may still be done but we are no longer snared by the
evil that started it. “In forgiving we do not lose anything, rather we
receive a gift.” Father Andrija Vrane, Bosnia 1998
It is a key ingredient of the Christian faith embedded in the prayer that
Jesus taught us, "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who
trespass against us".
When next you say this prayer really reflect on what it means to you
about God's mercy and how you are living it out in your daily life.
43
Thursday 17th March
“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who
hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." Luke
6v27
The mercy of God is seen in the presence of Jesus in the world and
supremely on the cross, not that God punished Jesus but that he allowed
mankind to punish Him and reject him and show that He, God, still
Loves us!
God’s Love is infinite, boundless, limitless, never-ending, fathomless, no
wonder we find it hard to grasp and to accept His Love when we so
pitifully fail in our loving of those we are close to and even ourselves.
Yet if we do not love ourselves and take care of ourselves how are we to
love others AS we love ourselves? Love stems from God first loving us,
we then bask in His love and rejoice to be SO loved and, because we are
filled to overflowing with God’s love, this spills out to all those around
us and we are able to Love others.
When we see ourselves loved by
God we realise how far we are
from responding and seek to offer
Him love in return, this love is
expressed in service to God,
which comes to listening to what
He has to say to us, “But to you
who are listening,” are you
listening
to
God’s
Loving
presence in your life? Do you start each day putting yourself under His
mercy?
"Mercy is not a virtue that you choose to put on one day, mercy has to be your
deepest way of seeing, … you're made in love, children of God, made in God’s
image …” Richard Rohr
44
Friday 18th March
"Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each
other." (KJV) Psalm 85v10
"I am the Way, the Truth and the Life" said
Jesus (John 14). Jesus' path was to walk in
the will of God the Father, he showed the
Way we should all live by responding to
God's love in obedience and by rejecting
the way of the world, a world that rejected
God's vulnerability. The world refused to
see the truth of God as a loving God and
only looked for the judgemental and
righteously angry God. The world
preferred and still prefers war to peace.
God’s truth is absolute and without iniquity and yet he allows sinners
into his kingdom through his mercy. “for all have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God” Roms 3v8.
It may seem that God’s mercy and God’s truth are incompatible and yet
Truth and Righteousness work together and are the mirror by which we
can see ourselves in God’s eyes through the redeeming work of Jesus
Christ. Mercy and Peace prevail and bring us into the Kingdom.
‘For Mercy has a human heart,
Pity a human face,
And Love, the human form divine,
And Peace, the human dress.’ William Blake
“Praise be to the God and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ! In his great mercy
he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead,” 1 Peter 3
Through God’s mercy we have a living hope also in the here and now,
how should we then live in the light of God’s mercy?
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Saturday 19th March
Through God’s mercy we have a living hope also in the here and now,
how should we then live in the light of God’s mercy? Let us briefly look
at the seven works of mercy in the Catholic Church.
To feed the hungry, this involves our
whole attitude to our possessions do
we give from our plenty or our left
overs?
To give drink to the thirsty,
appreciating our clean tap water do we
help those whose have no clean
drinking water, no water to wash
themselves or their food preparation
utensils?
To clothe the naked, this is not just
about human warmth but also about
human
dignity
being
clothed
appropriately enables a person to keep
their dignity in difficult circumstances.
To harbour the harbourless or shelter
the homeless, to offer hospitality to the
stranger within the bounds of common sense, starting where we are
with the possible and allow many small living stones begin to build the
kingdom.
To visit the sick, showing care and compassion as with Princess Diana
visiting the sufferers from HIV/Aids, supporting the chronically ill and
dying without wanting to hurry the process up.
To ransom the captive, slavery may officially be illegal but many suffer
from slavery of one sort or another, including sweatshop drudges,
around the world. To bury the dead, recognising the relationship
between body, soul and spirit is what makes us human and taking care
of the dead, as with Mary anointing Jesus’ body for his burial, is
honouring the whole person.
We are the face of God’s Mercy in today’s world may we learn to live
like it.
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Sunday 20th March
What would it have been like for Bartimaeus the blind man from Jericho
to follow Jesus that day? A man who had spent his days begging on the
roadside hoping that some of those who were journeying to Jerusalem
for the festival would feel compelled to put a few coins his way?
"Son of David, have mercy on me" he had shouted out and Jesus had
heard and answered his cries. The request to be able to see was granted
and Bartimaeus joined the crowd following Jesus. Would there have
been people asking him about the miracle? How did he feel? Had he
really been blind? What was he going to do now?
Did he just smile and laugh with
the joy of being able to see? Did
he look around at all the people,
the fields, the rocky path, the blue
sky, the birds and did he praise
God as he walked along? As they
approached Jerusalem did he join
in with the others to put tree
branches on the roadway for
Jesus and the donkey to walk
over, did he shout Hosanna to the
son of David as he had shouted to
the son of David for mercy?
Try to imagine for yourself what it must have been like to receive the
mercy of God at that time and how you would react, what feelings are
invoked in your deepest being? Take that excitement into your day
today and be the face of God's mercy to those around you.
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Monday 21st March
Our lives are littered with errors and mistakes. We live and learn, as the
phrase goes, but sometimes the memory of our mistakes becomes a
burden. We feel that we can never escape them and are fated to be
marked by them always.
We can feel that we are unworthy and that punishment should always
be our lot. In the poem ‘Love bade me welcome’ by George Herbert this
point is addressed. He writes a dialogue between Christ and a Christian
soul which includes these words:
‘Let my shame Go where it doth deserve.'
'And know you not,' says Love, 'Who bore the blame?'
'My dear, then I will serve.'
'You must sit down,' says Love, 'and taste my meat.'
So I did sit and eat.’
Christ shows mercy
and forgiveness to
a soul whose sense
of shame makes
them feel that they
do
not belong.
Christ says that he
has carried away all
the guilt and blame
for
wrongs
committed and that
he offers only love
and welcome. We need to hold on to the fact that this is the truth of what
Christ has done for us, his mercy brings us freedom. So we in our turn,
when we show mercy to others, bring them the freedom that we
ourselves have received from Christ.
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Tuesday 22nd March
Why, all the souls that were were forfeit once;
And He that might the vantage best have took
Found out the remedy. How would you be,
If He, which is the top of judgment, should
But judge you as you are? O, think on that;
And mercy then will breathe within your lips,
Like man new made.
These words of Isabella from Shakespeare’s ‘Measure for Measure’
remind us that mercy is a remedy – it brings healing and new life to
those in darkness. Instead of leaving us in the dark God found the way
to bring light and freedom to us. Isabella also reminds us that we all
make mistakes and if God strictly judged us none of us would stand
untouched.
We pray in the Lord’s Prayer ‘forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those
who trespass against us’ – this is not an easy thing to do but Jesus asks us
to do it. More even, for he says ‘Love one another as I have loved you’,
namely to go to every length to show love and mercy.
Mercy and forgiveness freely given
bring hope. Not extended with
conditions or the reminder of the past
but freely and without qualification.
There is a beautiful verse in the Book of
Amos which encourages us as we seek
to show mercy: ‘Seek him that maketh the
Seven Stars, and turneth the shadow of
death into the morning’. (5.8.).
Will we let God do that for us, and through us for others?
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Wednesday 23rd March
The exercising of mercy may take a great deal of strength and patience
on our part. To be generous and large-hearted may mean we have to
untangle some tricky knots. As we do so we can discover new things,
and sometimes gain a perspective on matters that is completely different
from what we thought it was.
Sometimes we feel our strength is insufficient to undertake the task, but
if we are ‘rooted and grounded in Christ’, as St Paul puts it, we will have
the strength and wisdom and love in order to be able to act.
Again in ‘Measure for Measure’ the most striking example of this occurs
at the end of the play. Isabella is asked to plead for mercy for Angelo, a
man who has attempted to seduce her and whom she believes has
unjustly executed her brother. When his wrongdoing is uncovered he
himself says:
I am sorry that such sorrow I procure:
And so deep sticks it in my penitent heart
That I crave death more willingly than mercy;
'Tis my deserving, and I do entreat it.
Will Isabella plead for mercy? This the moment upon which the whole
play turns. In the most moving of words she says:
Look, if it please you, on this man condemn'd,
As if my brother lived: I partly think
A due sincerity govern'd his deeds,
Till he did look on me: since it is so,
Let him not die.
A plea for mercy in the most
extreme
and
grievous
of
circumstances but Isabella knows
and understands what God is all
about, so she makes it. She follows
Christ through the darkness and
brings light; her plea is heard.
As we enter the coming days may we find the courage and love to
follow Christ and ‘turn the shadow of death into the morning’.
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Thursday 24th March: Maundy Thursday
“For his mercy endures
forever.” This is the refrain
that repeats after each verse
in Psalm 136 as it narrates
the
history
of
God’s
revelation.
Before
his
Passion, Jesus prayed with
this psalm of mercy.
Matthew attests to this in
his Gospel when he says
that, “when they had sung a
hymn” (26:30), Jesus and his
disciples went out to the Mount of Olives. While he was instituting the
Eucharist as an everlasting memorial of himself and his sacrifice, he
symbolically placed this supreme act of revelation in the light of his
mercy.
Within the very same context of mercy, Jesus entered upon his passion
and death, conscious of the great mystery of love that he would
consummate on the Cross. Knowing that Jesus himself prayed this
psalm makes it even more important for us as Christians, challenging us
to take up the refrain in our daily lives by praying these words of praise:
“for his mercy endures forever.”
Moreover in this context of mercy Jesus says, “This is my commandment,
that you love one another as I have loved you”. He tells his disciples that
there can be no limits to love and tells them to wholly give themselves to
showing that love just as He himself has, and will shortly take to the
ultimate sacrifice on the Cross.
In short then, the mercy of God is not an abstract idea, but a concrete
reality with which he reveals his love as of that of a father or a mother,
moved to the very depths out of love for their child. It is hardly an
exaggeration to say that this is a “visceral” love. It gushes forth from the
depths naturally, full of tenderness and compassion, indulgence and
mercy.
We are called to practice mercy and love as concrete realities, not just
assenting to them as pious aspirations, but living them out in our lives,
faithfully following Jesus.
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Friday 25th March: Good Friday
In the parables devoted to mercy, Jesus reveals the nature of God as that
of a Father who never gives up until he has forgiven the wrong and
overcome rejection with compassion and mercy. We know these
parables well, three in particular: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the
father with two sons (cf. Lk 15:1-32). In these parables, God is always
presented as full of joy, especially when he pardons. In them we find the
core of the Gospel and of our faith, because mercy is presented as a force
that overcomes everything, filling the heart with love and bringing
consolation through pardon.
These parables contains a profound teaching for all of us. Jesus affirms
that mercy is not only an action of the Father, it becomes a criterion for
ascertaining who his true children are. In short, we are called to show
mercy because mercy has first been shown to us.
Pardoning offences becomes the clearest expression of merciful love, and
for us Christians it is an imperative from which we cannot excuse
ourselves. At times how hard it seems to forgive! And yet pardon is the
instrument placed into our fragile hands to attain serenity of heart. To
let go of anger, wrath, violence, and revenge are necessary conditions to
living joyfully. Let us therefore heed the Apostle’s exhortation: “Do not
let the sun go down on your anger” (Eph 4:26).
On the Cross Jesus shows us what all of this means. He forgives and
shows mercy, and we truly follow him if we have forgiven those who
have offended us, and we have rejected all forms of anger and hate that
lead to violence. Mercy will always be greater than any wrongdoing,
and no one can place limits on the love of God who is ever ready to
forgive. We need to let go of the limits we place on ourselves.
Above all, let us listen to the words of Jesus who made mercy an ideal of
life and a criterion for the credibility of our faith: “Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy” (Mt 5:7).
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Saturday 26th March
In the stillness and quiet of Holy Saturday we can contemplate the
mystery of mercy. It is a wellspring of joy, serenity, and peace. Our
salvation depends on it. Mercy: the word reveals the very mystery of the
Most Holy Trinity. Mercy: the ultimate and supreme act by which God
comes to meet us. Mercy: the fundamental law that dwells in the heart of
every person who looks sincerely into the eyes of his brothers and sisters
on the path of life. Mercy: the bridge that connects God and man,
opening our hearts to the hope of being loved forever despite our all the
wrongs we commit.
As we prepare to celebrate Easter once more let us not fall into
humiliating indifference or a monotonous routine that prevents us from
discovering what is new! Let us ward off destructive cynicism! Let us
open our eyes and see the misery of the world, the wounds of our
brothers and sisters who are denied their dignity, and let us recognize
that we are compelled to heed their cry for help! May we reach out to
them and support them so they can feel the warmth of our presence, our
friendship, and our fraternity! May their cry become our own, and
together may we break down the barriers of indifference that too often
reign supreme and mask our hypocrisy and egoism!
May we truly take into our
lives the power and wonder of
Easter. Let us live the words of
Isaiah: If you take away from the
midst of you the yoke, the pointing
of the finger, and speaking
wickedness, if you pour yourself
out for the hungry and satisfy the
desire of the afflicted, then shall
your light rise in the darkness and
your gloom be as the noonday.
Isaiah 58.
53
Sunday 26th March: Easter Day
The Resurrection was utterly unexpected and such a transformation that
its power resonates through the entire creation. In its light we can grasp
that the call of Jesus pushes each of us never to stop at the surface of
things, especially when we are dealing with a person. We are called to
look beyond, to focus on the heart to see how much generosity everyone
is capable.
The Resurrection brings
redemption and life to
all. No one can be
excluded from the mercy
of God; everyone knows
the way to access it and
the Church is the house
that welcomes all and
refuses no one. Its doors
remain wide open, so
that those who are
touched by grace can find the certainty of forgiveness in the light of that
first Easter dawn.
Mercy and love have triumphed and Jesus appeals to us to let that
triumph ring through our lives. He tells us at one point, quoting the
prophet Hosea, – “I desire love and not sacrifice” (6:6). Jesus affirms that, in
the light of the work of the Passion and Resurrection, the rule of life for
his disciples must place mercy at the centre. Mercy, once again, is
revealed as a fundamental aspect of Jesus’ mission.
May we show mercy wherever and whenever we can, even as mercy has
given each of us new life.
54
Afterword
In Act Four, Scene One of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, Portia
appears dressed as a learned judge, ‘a second Daniel’, and makes
various pleas on behalf of mercy. Two stand out in the context of this
‘Holy Year of Mercy’ (Pope Francis, 13 March 2015).
…It is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
…we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy.
The first statement reveals the duality of the concept. Mercy is
simultaneously giving and receiving, compassion and thanksgiving.
God’s thanksgiving for creation; God hearing our prayers and giving
thanks. Our compassion for creation; children of God hearing the
prayers of a world in need and
offering compassion. Mercy binds us
to God and to each other and
completes itself in the exchange of
compassion
and
thanksgiving
between the creator and creation, one
human and another.
The second observation brings to the
mind’s eye images of hands. Hands
pressed together; hands opened out. Hands extended in supplication;
hands raised in joy. Hands cupped to receive bread or offer a cherished
gift. Hands reaching from either side of the counter in a local food bank
or mobile soup kitchen and meeting in the middle. Hands stretched
across the bow of a boat; hands pulling that same boat into a safe and
welcoming harbour. Hands pierced with the nails, hammered by hands
obeying the law, ignorant of mercy.
Mercy takes many forms, surprising and transforming both those who
give and receive. As a result of our journey this Lent may we have been
surprised by deeds of human mercy in the routines and rituals of our
daily lives, and in in that may we find ourselves transformed by God’s
infinite mercy so that we may be twice blessed.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
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Services and events for Lent and Easter 2016
Wednesday 10th February – Ash Wednesday
1pm Sung Eucharist with Imposition of Ashes
Preacher: The Associate Vicar
Music: Byrd: Mass for 5 voices
Byrd: Miserere
7pm Sung Mass with Imposition of Ashes
Preacher: The Guild Vicar
Holy Week
Tuesday 22nd March
1.10pm Holy Communion
Wednesday 23rd March
7pm Sung Eucharist of Devotion
Preacher: The Guild Vicar
Maundy Thursday 24th March
1.10pm Holy Communion
All are welcome
www.standrewholborn.org.uk
mission@standrewholborn.org.uk
020 7583 7394 (office)