Three dimensions of God’s mercy

Homily for 11^th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C 2016

2 Samuel 12:7-10,13; Galatians 2:16,19-21; Luke 7:36-8:3

Introduction

This is the Jubilee Year of Mercy.  Pope Francis designated this year of Mercy, to remind the Church and the world, that mercy is an important aspect of God.  And he picked this year 2016, probably because during this year, the third in the cycle of readings, we read from the gospel of Luke, a gospel that has plenty to say about God’s mercy.  Today’s readings are an example of the gospel teaching on mercy.

That is why in today’s homily, I would like to focus on three dimensions or directions in which mercy moves: downwards, upwards and sideways.

Scripture and Theology

We say that mercy moves downwards because mercy always starts from God; it is always the initiative of God.

•  Did you notice that it is God who sent the Prophet Nathan to King David who had sinned?  God showed mercy to him first by pointing out his sin to him, and then again by offering him mercy when King David repented.
•  Or if you look at the three parables of mercy in Luke Chapter 15, you notice that the person representing God in those parables, is the one who takes the initiative: The woman goes to look for the lost coin; the shepherd goes out to look for the lost sheep; and the Father is the one who is anxiously waiting for the return of his son, and indeed runs to him when he sees him a distance.

But even in a broader sense, God started the process of mercy, not only when he created us, but also when he redeemed us.

Think of a young man in high school, let's call him Michael.  He is unremarkable, not particularly athletic, not very smart in class either, and scores average or lower on all the kinds of things young ladies would look for in a potential date.  Then out of the blue, Monica begins to show him some attention.  She is not only really beautiful, she’s also the head cheerleader and valedictorian of her class, to say nothing about all the good work she does at Church.  She is the kind of daughter every parent wants to have.  True to her kind nature, she asks our nondescript Michael to be her date for the Prom.  Now perhaps most of the guys here are probably thinking “no way this could never happen in real life.”

But this is exactly what God did when he created us.  He had no need of human beings, but still he created us and shared with us human beings more than we deserve – he gave us life, his life.  We probably don’t think of God creating us as a form of divine mercy; but do we realize that we didn’t have to exist?  Like Michael was out of Rachel's league, we too as human beings are out of God's league.  But in his mercy, he creates us and invites us be like him.

If the first form of God's mercy has to do with our lower nature, the second has to do with our sinful nature.  Let’s return to our high school friends Rachel and Michael.  They actually go to the Prom together.  And then even better, they eventually fall in love, begin dating and get married a few years later.  We would all agree that Michael has won the jackpot.  Unfortunately, after they have been married for a couple of years, he begins to take her for granted; he begins to forget how lucky he is.  And then this knucklehead cheats on his wife.

Fortunately for Michael, after she does some tearful agonizing and serious praying, Rachel forgives him and takes him back.  Being the truly good woman that she is, she treats him better than he deserves.  If dating him in the first place was an act of mercy because he was out of her league, now forgiving him is an act of mercy because she does not punish him as he deserves.

In the same way God is not only merciful in creating us, he is merciful in forgiving us.  Yes, he punished the Jewish people sometimes; but he was quite lenient.  The punishment for sinning against God, who is all good, is eternal separation from God.  But that is not the punishment that God meted out to Adam and Eve, to Cain, to the children of Israel and subsequent generations.  In his mercy he not only forgave them, but he also sent them prophets, priests and kings, to help them get back on the right track.  Moreover, he sent his Son to be the final and lasting instrument of forgiveness and mercy.

Christian Life

But in response to the downward dimension of mercy, from God to us, there must be an upward one from us to God.  That upward dimension takes various forms:

•  Like King David in the first reading, our response to God’s mercy should be, “I am sorry, forgive me.”
•  Like the woman in the gospel, our response to God’s mercy should be one of gratitude, devotion, adoration, veneration of God.

Some of us are carrying heavy burdens; some of us are oppressed by the sins of our past lives.  We must go to the fountain of God's mercy, especially the sacrament of confession and the other sacraments as well.  During this year of mercy, let us make use of all the tools that God gives us through the Church, to drink from his bottomless spring of mercy, both in sorrow and in gratitude.

There is no better example of a worthy response than the act of contrition which we say during confessions.  There are many versions, but let me read the traditional one:

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins because of Thy just punishments, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all-good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin.

That is why in the gospel, Jesus praised the woman, who having been forgiven greatly by God, also loved much.

There is still one more dimension of mercy: we have seen the downward from God to us, the upward of sorrow and gratitude from us to God.  The third dimension is sideways, from us to each other.  In Luke Jesus tells his disciples: “Be merciful, just as [also] your Father is merciful” (Lk. 6:36), Jesus says.  We must share God's mercy.  It would be unfortunate for Michael, if after he had been forgiven so much by Rachel, he himself does not forgive others who sin against him: his children, his co-workers, even his relatives.  If he did that, he would be acting like the steward in Matthew’s gospel (18:21-35), who is forgiven a great debt by his master, but refuses to do the same for a fellow servant who owes him even less.  That is why we pray in the Our Father, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

During this Jubilee Year of Mercy, as we ourselves take a bite out of God's mercy, we must share it with others.

·        Are there people who have hurt us that we must forgive as Jesus teaches, not seven times, but seventy-seven times?

·        How many of the seven corporal works of mercy have I carried out, so that I can share God’s mercy with others?

·        How many of the seven spiritual works of mercy have I carried out so that I can share God’s mercy with others?

Conclusion

Let me end by encouraging you to read a small book by Pope Francis, called “The name of God is mercy.” You can find it on Amazon or any religious bookstore.  I am not an agent for Pope Francis, trying to sell books for him, but I really want you to read how in very simple and straightforward language, the Pope gives us examples of God’s mercy in his own life and in the lives of those to whom has ministered.

Dionne Warwick told us that “What the world needs now, is love sweet love.”  With all due respect to the great musician, I think Pope Francis might slightly change the lyrics of her song and say: “What the world needs now, is mercy.”

May we seek this mercy for ourselves; but may we also share it with those who need it, the poor, the forgotten, the downtrodden and especially the sinners, who are all of us.