God’s mercy is one of His most amazing gifts. After all, let’s face it, we are all human. We make mistakes. I don’t want to think about the punishment that I might deserve for the various sins of my life. But as Mary reminds us:
His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him.
quotation found here
It’s true. All I have to do is ask, and I am forgiven. With my human weaknesses, I could never actually deserve God’s love, but I receive it anyway.
God knows all of my deepest darkest secrets. I can’t fake it. It’s impossible to hide my sins from God, so I might as well turn to Him and ask for mercy. The good new is, that mercy is abundant; it never runs out.
But, let’s remember the prayer that Jesus taught us. In it we say, “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” To me, this doesn’t sound like I’m making a deal with God. It’s not like I’m saying, “Hey God, if you forgive me now, I promise to forgive someone else.” There’s no quid pro quo with God.
Jesus told us to ask for forgiveness as we forgive others. This makes me think of the parable of the unforgiving servant. (see Matt 18:21-35) After begging for forgiveness from the master, this servant goes out and fails to show similar mercy to a fellow servant who owes him money. When the master hears about it, the unmerciful servant is severely punished.
Mary reminds us of God’s mercy, but she acknowledges our need to fear Him. Of course, in our human form, we could never be as merciful toward one another as God is to us. But we have to do our best to recall the many times God showered us with mercy, even when we probably didn’t deserve it, and try to follow that example with one another.
Imagine a world where everyone knew about God’s mercy and tried to pass it along. When a friend lets me down or turns against me, can I find mercy in my heart and respond with love? If a child misbehaves, do I have the patience to pause and recall God’s mercy before I react in anger? Can I find a way to teach the appropriate lesson of discipline with mercy and love?
As a matter of fact, it can be even more subtle than that. What about that guy in the other car who just cut me off in traffic? How do I respond when a waitress really messes up my order? Do I react with mercy when someone finally answers my call after putting me on hold for 20 minutes?
This week, let’s try to catch ourselves in moments when we are called to show mercy. Let’s remember that God’s mercy is from age to age. Can we start to live accordingly?