Mercy

Mercy! In this word I can see a jumbled three letter word, that is, ‘Cry’. Mercy, in another word for me, is a ‘cry’. “Be merciful just as your Father is                    Merciful” (Lk 6:36).This isn’t a very simple thing; it hurts and pains to show mercy to another  because in extreme pain we will surely be crying.  It is easy to say be merciful towards others but it’s quite a tough thing to do so. It calls for forgiving the person who has hurt you. I am reminded of Jesus on the cross who, all drenched in blood and crying, has the courage to say, ‘Father forgive them, they don’t know what they do.’ The pain experienced by Jesus as a human being was unbearable. Thus, he cried out but he showed mercy by forgiving his persecutors/tormentors. God’s mercy for us is a cry for us to change from our evil ways. Just as God forgives, shouldn’t we also forgive our fellow brethren?  We can identify ourselves with the prodigal son; God is  ready to embrace us with this mercy even though we run away from Him.

All of us make mistakes and our Merciful Father doesn’t fail to forgive us and give us     another chance. But then when it comes to offering forgiveness to another, we stand by our ego and refuse to forgive them. Instead, we wait for others to come and ask for forgiveness from us. How can we expect God to show mercy towards us when we ourselves don’t forgive and show mercy towards others? Jesus being sinless and innocent didn’t say a word when he was             condemned to death. When He was crucified He forgave His persecutors although He was sinless He took our sins upon Him.

Therefore, God’s mercy which is granted to us must produce in us a merciful heart. I can assure you, being merciful won’t be easy and simple. To be merciful one needs to feel the pain and hurt which makes a person cry and finally get over this hurt before forgiving one’s enemy. Our God, our creator and master has shown us by His example how to be merciful. Why don’t we do the same?  Being merciful must come from the heart. By being merciful and forgiving towards others there will be much peace on earth. In this extraordinary jubilee year mercy, let us pray to Him to fill us with His mercy so that we may become springs of mercy for all those around us.