Monday of the Second Week o fLent - March 5, 2012
Luke 6:36
"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."
The modern translations find "mercy" to be too difficult for contemporary ears. Some of the recent translations use "pity" or "compassion" for mercy. They are fine words, but none communicates quite like "mercy" does.
[Could it be that "mercy" is so difficult to translate because it is so foreign to our day-to-day experience? . . . Just thinking out loud here . . .]
Mercy is a state of being. One does not become a person of mercy by aiming at it head-on. It is elusive that way. I don't know of 4 easy steps to mercy.
With mercy, I believe, you begin by softening the soil of your being, by plowing up some ground in your heart so that the seed of God can find fertile loam. This God-seed is scattered into the world all the time, but too often it finds in us so much hardpan, weed, and rocky soil that it cannot adequately come to fruit.
When we begin to receive this God-seed and then take on the character of God in our lives, we become merciful people.
Since mercy is a chief attribute of God, the person whose life is sinking deeper and deeper into God will become a person of mercy. One way this typically happens -- though not the only way -- is through meditation and contemplative prayer. In this deeper prayer, the prayer itself begins to soften the soil of the heart, thus allowing mercy to grow.
You won't become a person of mercy by frontal assault. It comes as the fruit of a life that is first of all in the depths with God. When that begins to happen, you cannot help but be a person of mercy. You will show mercy without even being aware of it. Mercy will flow from your life.
For today . . . spend some time in meditation or contemplative prayer. If those are new ideas for you, here are a couple of suggestions:
One is to take a short phrase of scripture, and meditate on it for several minutes. To meditate on something is literally to "chew on it" for a long, long time. Don't go for understanding. Simply be as open as you can, then repeat the phrase over and over in a light whisper. You might try the phrase, "Have mercy on me, Jesus" (Matt. 15:22). Don't force anything to happen. Just meditate for 10 minutes or so.
The second is to sit quietly for several minutes. Don't try to conjure up holy thoughts or feelings. Simply be mindful of being open . . . perhaps the image of your heart opening to God would help. You might even open your hands on your lap as a physical sign of your openness. Then sit for 10 minutes, allowing God's Spirit to soften the soil of your interior. After 10 minutes, say the Lord's Prayer, then get up.
Doing these exercises for one day will not necessarily soften the soil of your heart, but practicing them regularly will. Deepening with God comes over time, and with it, mercy.
"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."
The modern translations find "mercy" to be too difficult for contemporary ears. Some of the recent translations use "pity" or "compassion" for mercy. They are fine words, but none communicates quite like "mercy" does.
[Could it be that "mercy" is so difficult to translate because it is so foreign to our day-to-day experience? . . . Just thinking out loud here . . .]
Mercy is a state of being. One does not become a person of mercy by aiming at it head-on. It is elusive that way. I don't know of 4 easy steps to mercy.
With mercy, I believe, you begin by softening the soil of your being, by plowing up some ground in your heart so that the seed of God can find fertile loam. This God-seed is scattered into the world all the time, but too often it finds in us so much hardpan, weed, and rocky soil that it cannot adequately come to fruit.
When we begin to receive this God-seed and then take on the character of God in our lives, we become merciful people.
Since mercy is a chief attribute of God, the person whose life is sinking deeper and deeper into God will become a person of mercy. One way this typically happens -- though not the only way -- is through meditation and contemplative prayer. In this deeper prayer, the prayer itself begins to soften the soil of the heart, thus allowing mercy to grow.
You won't become a person of mercy by frontal assault. It comes as the fruit of a life that is first of all in the depths with God. When that begins to happen, you cannot help but be a person of mercy. You will show mercy without even being aware of it. Mercy will flow from your life.
For today . . . spend some time in meditation or contemplative prayer. If those are new ideas for you, here are a couple of suggestions:
One is to take a short phrase of scripture, and meditate on it for several minutes. To meditate on something is literally to "chew on it" for a long, long time. Don't go for understanding. Simply be as open as you can, then repeat the phrase over and over in a light whisper. You might try the phrase, "Have mercy on me, Jesus" (Matt. 15:22). Don't force anything to happen. Just meditate for 10 minutes or so.
The second is to sit quietly for several minutes. Don't try to conjure up holy thoughts or feelings. Simply be mindful of being open . . . perhaps the image of your heart opening to God would help. You might even open your hands on your lap as a physical sign of your openness. Then sit for 10 minutes, allowing God's Spirit to soften the soil of your interior. After 10 minutes, say the Lord's Prayer, then get up.
Doing these exercises for one day will not necessarily soften the soil of your heart, but practicing them regularly will. Deepening with God comes over time, and with it, mercy.
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