We know what God requires of us. We do. We know that God requires us to do justice, to love kindness, to have mercy, and to walk humbly with God.
But knowing these things and doing these things is another matter.
What exactly does it look like to have mercy?
The dictionary defines mercy as such: “Compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.” It sounds grandiose, doesn’t it? And that’s precisely what I think stops us in our tracks. Having mercy seems like something that we reserve for weighty, monumental moments. But since those encounters seem rare, we rarely exercise mercy.
Extending mercy to others, however, can be an everyday experience.
I’m reminded of the story of a father who took his three-year old daughter to a baseball game during a pennant race some years ago. They were seated in the upper deck when a foul ball popped up to where the two were located. The father leaned over the rail, stretched to make the improbable catch, and nabbed the fly ball right out of the air. Delighted by his accomplishment and cheered on by the crowd, the proud father presented his prize to his daughter. Upon receiving it, the little girl held the ball for just a moment and then unceremoniously pitched the ball over the railing to the seats below. The gasp from the crowd was audible. How could she throw the foul ball away moments after being presented with it? What was she thinking? Didn’t she know how precious a gift like that was? No matter. Instead of fuming at his little girl, the smiling father picked his daughter up and enveloped her in a sweet embrace. The father’s gentle response to his daughter was an example of what everyday mercy can look like.
We are frequently like the little girl at the baseball game, are we not? We receive a gift, an opportunity, a grace, and we discard it. We disrespect it. We are careless with it. We fling it over the railing. But regardless of our bad behavior or our bad attitude, God shows us mercy by loving us without irritation or resentment.
Everyday mercy is gentle and non-possessive. It puts others first. It holds on loosely.
Everyday mercy is expressed in forgiveness and in the acknowledgement that there are a multitude of things that we do not know and cannot fully understand.
Everyday mercy looks like grace when we don’t want to give it. It’s embodied when we choose to shrug off a bad encounter even though we want to tell someone off. Mercy is exhibited when we give others the benefit of the doubt.
Everyday mercy is demonstrated when we choose to share. When we loosen our grip on things that are rightly ours and give them to those who need them, we are having mercy.
Everyday mercy begins with our attitude. When we choose to respond rather than react, we are choosing mercy over retribution. When we are internally non-anxious, we have the space and bandwidth to extend kindness instead of judgment. When we are able to be circumspect and see beyond ourselves, we are in a position to extend our arms to embrace those who are hurting.
Everyday mercy is frequently expressed by generosity and good cheer. And if we want a firsthand experience with mercy, consider your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Our church is comprised of individuals who are agents of mercy in our community. Our church members see their vocations as opportunities to extend God’s love to others in dynamic and extraordinary ways. Our retirees invest sweat equity in numerous projects to help those in need. We share together. We give together. We listen together. We love together. We worship together. We learn together. We serve together. This is what everyday mercy looks like. It looks like you and me when we choose to be the Body of Christ because Christ is God’s mercy to us.
So, yes. Mercy is the work of the church, and every day is an opportunity to clock in.