Mercy

We are heading into the last couple weeks of Lent.  How have you focused on your spiritual life these last few weeks?  Have you given something up or added something meaningful?  When taken seriously Lent can really be a challenging and growing time, leading to that great Easter celebration "Christ the Lord is risen today."

Lent began with these words from Psalm 51:

Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
    you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
    and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Tomorrow I have the joy of preaching with a few of my students.  We are talking about mercy.  This Psalm begins, "Have mercy on me O God."  I has caused me to pause and reflect on how merciful God must really be, and just how unmerciful I can be.  It is in my blood for some people to "get what they deserve" to hold on to a bit of anger rather than learning to really forgive.  Truly showing mercy is a hard thing to do.  Sometimes it is easier to care for a stranger, to engage in acts of mercy on behalf of others in the name of Christ than to be merciful with those who have hurt or disappointed us.  

What role has mercy played in your life?  Is there someone to whom you can show mercy this Lent season?  

Prayer:  Merciful God, help me to understand the depth of your love and mercy.  Help me to offer this same depth of grace to the challenging places and people in my life.  Create in me a clean heart, free from selfishness.  More like you, Jesus.  More like you.  Amen.