Claire Smith

Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

Scripture:

Isaiah 49:1-6
Acts 13:22-26
Luke 1:57-66, 80

Reflection:

The Abyss of God’s Mercy

“He shall be called John.” LK 1:60    My mother used to call me my full Christian name, Robert John, when she was upset with me.   If I knew my Hebrew for John when I was a little boy I would be comforted when I heard that name.  The Hebrew name for John is a combination of Jah (God) and hanan (mercy)!  God is merciful.

One of the most frequent prayers in Scripture is “Lord have mercy on me”. In Hebrew it is expressed in one word: “hanani” “Have mercy on me!”  In the Old Testament one of the most known uses is in Psalm 51:1.  “Be merciful to me “hanani”, O God, according to Your lovingkindness (kesed); According to the greatness of Your compassion (raḥămîm) blot out my transgressions.”  What is of special notice this line mentions three important words for mercy! The first word is ḥānan which has the connotation of undeserved graciousness. The second word for mercy is Kesed which has a strong association with faithful love.  The third word used in this line is raḥămîm which means a deep compassionate love like that of a parent.  All these words can be translated into mercy but each has strong nuances. By these three words alone mercy is treated an amazing 568 times in Old Testament!  In the New Testament mercy is treated mainly by four different words 127 times!

We must all live on the edge of God’s mercy.  We must not be afraid to jump into the abyss of His kindness.   There is a great democracy among all of us.   We all exist on the margins of God’s mercy. Paul said it well: “For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”  So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” Rom 9:15   God’s mercy is our ultimate reality!  This is true not just because we have sinned and need forgiveness, but our very existence is an effect of His mercy.  “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” James 1:17 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us.” EPH 2:4

“Mercy: the ultimate and supreme act by which God comes to meet us.” Misericordiae Vultus  #2  Pope Francis

Fr. Bob Weiss, C.P. preaches Parish Missions and is a member of the Passionist Community in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

2 Kings 19:9b-11, 14-21, 31-35a, 36
Matthew 7:6, 12-14

Reflection:

When I was young, there was a comic strip in the newspaper called “Pogo,” done by Walt Kelly. The strip followed the lives of animals in Lake Okefenokee (I doubt I have the spelling right). But even though it was ostensibly about the lives of these animals, it was a strip of political comment and satire. One famous strip, done during the Vietnam War, has Pogo saying, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”

This came to me in light of our first reading from 2 Kings, and in light of what is going on in the U.S. right now. In our first reading, the King, Hezekiah prays to God to deliver the people from Assyria, whose king has been telling them not to put their faith in God. God answers the prayers, and the army of Assyria doesn’t even enter Jerusalem.

But what do we pray for when the enemy “is us?” In our Gospel reading from Matthew, we have three sayings from Jesus that provide a good answer to that question. First, Jesus says, “Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.” We can pray that we do not trample the words of Jesus “underfoot” in order to pursue greed or vengeance or our own will.

Jesus then says, “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.” We could pray for the grace to follow the Golden Rule.

And after that, Jesus says, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.” We can pray for the grace to discern the “narrow gate” and the “constricted road.” We can pray for the willingness to let go of whatever it is that keeps us from entering the gate that leads to life.

We don’t have to be anyone’s enemy, even when we disagree about what needs to be done. Lord, let not the enemy of life and love be us!

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior of the Passionist Community in Birmingham, Alabama.