Mercy
Years ago (some may say many years ago) there was a common stereotype of the self-righteous individual. It was the cigarette smoker who had just quit. This person, for whom the habit had been a mainstay, upon quitting becomes the most outspoken, imposing, and sometimes outright oppressive proponent of the evils of cigarette smoking and the virtues of quitting. Their policy is not in question. Their rigid approach in relationship to sharing said policy with others is what made the stereotype pervasive. Have you encountered such a person? Someone so sure that they are right about something, that they are willing to overrun another individual for the sake of their rightness? I fear that such dispositions are so commonplace, we won’t even realize it when it happens. It doesn’t matter whether we are getting run over or doing the running. One of the larger risks to the character of a person whose hunger and thirst for righteousness has been filled is developing a spirit of condemnation. So self-confident are they in their position that they become outspoken about all the evils they see (and are naturally free of), and condemn those less enlightened.
Before we move any further, we have to take some time and talk about the relationship between righteousness and judgement. Let’s define our terms. To be righteous is to act in accord with divine or moral law. Even deeper, to be free from sin and guilt thus allowing such accord in action. Righteousness is a kind of alignment and connectedness with God that is evident in the person through their being. Judgement, relatedly, is the ability to form an opinion or evaluation by discerning and comparing. In a world where there is good and evil, judgement is the ability to know the difference, plainly and clearly. On the journey of spiritual formation, in following Jesus, a very specific aspect of our growth is becoming better judges. We say with more assurance, that this is good and this is not. We know with more confidence that it is better to do this, than that. With Jesus before us as the way, truth and life, our own experience with Jesus as tactile reminders and points of reference, we might become the kind of person who actually has good judgement – makes good choices – on a consistent basis. We might even develop a reputation as such.
A quick aside: Judgement is what happens before action. First, we discern a particular thing to be good or evil. Based on that judgement we devise a course of action. Maybe we bless what is good and condemn what is evil. Maybe we direct more effort and energy towards what is good, and flee from what is evil. This distinction between judgement, or more generally, our thinking, and action is important. It brings to light an important aspect of transformation which we will get into more later on. In short, the fact that our judgement and our actions (especially those we’ve habituated) may be transformed at different rates. We may find ourselves thinking in new ways before we are able to act in those new ways by nature.
There is great power in being a person whose judgement is respected. Respected judgements engender trust. Others will allow their thinking and actions to be more directly formed by your words and actions than by someone else’s. A blessing or encouragement of a particular path from you will set others in motion towards that path. A condemnation of ideas or actions also carries greater weight. Some condemnations of thought or action may be so forceful as to be received as a condemnation of ones person. It is good to know the weight our words carry.
The reality of life is that we are always judging. We are always discerning and comparing ideas, ways, opportunities, and propositions. Should I say this word or that, buy this product of the other one, help this person or that one? Our judgements are also always affecting others (and we are being affected by the judgements of others). We are, after all connected to each other in profound ways. So the question that arises, in part at least, in all of this is, “What are we to do with these judgements?”
In the midst of a people whose religious laws were strict and punitive, and whose political life was governed through military force (again, strict and punitive), Jesus says these words:
Happy are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
For every beatitude there are three parts. First is the position – the experience or type of person who is considered happy. As in, “Happy are the merciful.” The position of this person is one who is merciful. They want to give mercy. Second, is the proposition of their life in the Kingdom of Heaven. In this case, “They will receive mercy.” You could even add, “in the Kingdom of Heaven” or “with God” to this line to make it more direct. So, it would read, “for in the Kingdom of Heaven, they will receive mercy” or “for with God, they will receive mercy.” The third part is implicit. It is the proposition of the world – what those in the stated position are expected to experience based on the organization of the world. What then is the common response to mercy from the world?
Mercy is often looked upon to be a weak response. Where justice is required, mercy is…simply not on the list of options. In any given situation, while a number of punitive measures may come to bear, mercy is generally frowned upon. Unless, interestingly enough, it can be justified. There must be a reason, more specific than mercy being a good thing to pursue, for mercy to be applied. The incongruence of the justice system, perhaps. When mercy can’t be justified in the eyes of people it will be cast aside and so to will the individual proposing it. The judgement of weakness will often extend to the person proposing mercy as a viable method of action. They become viewed as a weak leader, with weak judgement, and perhaps even weak morals. After all, isn’t the prudent thing to do to punish those who have done evil? Why, then, would anyone even think of, let alone pursue, mercy as way forward?
We are judged all the time. In the microcosm of individual situations we are judged by others on account of our actions, and our intent (if they know us well enough). Sometimes we even are taken to account for our actions. If we extend this idea of judgement over the course of our entire lives, it is not difficult to think of that day. That day when we will have to account for our entire lives, even every word. This day of judgement, brings with it the possibility of condemnation – even punishment. We aren’t perfect, after all. There must be some things that I have done wrong (I can think of plenty, actually). When the threat of condemnation is at hand, mercy has something to say. Mercy says, “Wait.” The reality of the necessary condemnation on account of our imperfection (how far from loving our enemies are we?) is delayed. Whether taken in the situational or the existential, this mercy is a catalyst for continued transformation.
While the world judges our evil rightly as something that comes out of our being, mercy says, “I know you don’t want that as a part of you, so let’s try to work this out.” The kind of justice it brings is accompanied by truth, honesty, repentance, re-thinking, and the opportunity for reconciliation, even a reconstitution of the individual person and all the relationships affected. For those wrapped up in their own iniquity, mercy can tear the wrapping. For those burdened by the weight of their actions, mercy can lift the weight. For those broken by their culpability in the evils of the world, mercy offers a way forward. In a very deep way, mercy is related to truth. Said another way, mercy is directly related to our knowledge of reality. How well do we know how poorly we’ve acted? How well can we see the specifics of our own inadequacy? When a evil action is taken, a particular set of negative consequences are expected upon realization. Mercy interrupts this expectation. Something can happen in a person who experiences this interruption that might just start them on a different path. A journey towards deep transformation. This is the power of mercy.
Detractors will say that mercy is a fancy way of enabling bad behavior. This is normally brought up because there are opportunities for people to take advantage of the offer of mercy. In the unrepentant (the person not willing to think about what they are doing) this may be the case. For mercy gives time and space to think, and re-think, so that we might be changed. Without the desire to think or re-think, what good is the time or space?
Detractors will say that mercy leaves the offending party without any consequences to their actions. While mercy may lift or lighten the punitive consequences we can see as outsiders, I think there are always deeper consequences. In any offense there are two parties, and both parties are affected by the offense. Mercy, given well, accounts for the affect of both the offended and the offender in any given situation. The goal being the highest order of reconciliation, the most full expression of love. While often radical, mercy is not flippant, nor without understanding of the reality of a situation – the pain, the loss, the hardness for example. Quite the opposite, mercy requires deep understanding, empathy even, between the people involved. It is this very understanding that makes mercy radical in light of the regular organization of the world. For it is the affect of the people that mercy is entering into.
It strikes me in all this that Jesus is addressing the merciful, assuming that there already are people who desire to show mercy. That they somehow are discouraged by the world around them – the punitive, harsh, hard, world around them. Maybe they are at risk of being unconvinced of mercy’s power and goodness. Maybe they have forgotten the need for forgiveness (given and received) on the path toward wholeness. Maybe they have been shunned, set aside, looked down upon, one too many times, even though they have a deep sense of knowing that mercy is the good and right way forward.
While the world may look at the merciful as weak and unrealistic, Jesus proposes a different experience. In the Kingdom of Heaven, that is with God, the merciful receive mercy. From whom, we may ask. From God and from others. For mercy is the undercurrent of loving relationship in which what is done is whatever is necessary to work towards reconciliation – an exposition of truth, a forgiveness of evils. The ongoing reconstitution of relationship for the good of everyone involved is the focus and intent. It is at the heart of the experience of the Kingdom of Heaven for it is at the heart of God.