Image from http://www.robparkersblog.com
Deacon Tom Writes,
“God’s Mercy At Work”
Today Abraham is like the little Dutch boy whose valiant effort of placing his finger in the hole in the dyke averts an impending disaster. Abraham’s actions are directed at averting a disaster, a spiritual one, trying to hold back God’s wrath against the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. He knows that the residents of these towns have racked up a pile of divine retribution because of their sins, yet he appeals to God not to destroy these two cities. Abraham cleverly invokes God’s mercy and seeks his forbearance not to bring destruction upon the inhabitants of these places should he find 50, no 45, AHHH 40, how about 30, 20 perhaps, OK 10 innocent people in these towns. Abraham is a gifted negotiator, a skilled plea bargainer. We could use the likes of him today!!! And God, at least for the time being, is compelled to listen to him, withholding his punishment while Abraham seeks out the innocent. This, to me, is an incredible sign of God’s patience with us, his disobedient children, and his willingness to give us every chance to get things right, even though we fail time and time again. In today’s first reading we learn that God’s justice is tempered by his mercy. In teachings about God’s mercy, we learn about our need to be merciful to each other also.
In light of the many problems we face in our personal and societal life today, it is fitting to assess the progress we have made in our efforts to expand the depth and horizons of our capacity to be merciful. How we engage other people, what we say to them and how we say it can have a powerful impact on them. Are we genuine? When we ask “How are you” do we really mean it? Are we prepared to stop and listen? You may have experienced a situation in which a few words of kindness can reshape a stress-contorted face into a smile. If you have ever stopped and listened to someone who wasn’t having a good day and, by doing so, cheered them up, you know it doesn’t take much to change a bad day someone is experiencing into a tolerable one... or even better. If we have ever reconciled with someone who has hurt us or offended us in any way, we know the healing and peace that flows from God’s mercy. As little as these actions are, they are important ways of sharing God’s grace and making his mercy visible to those around us. God indeed has infused us with his mercy so that we may share his mercy with others. When we act as God’s agents, we are instruments of his mercy just as Father Abraham was intermediating between the people of his day and God…And God listens, I believe, with our ears.
Pope Francis in his Easter Urbi et Orbi address several years ago stressed the point that only mercy can save the world. How does God’s mercy come into our world except through the lives and hands and hearts of those who love him? St. Teresa of Avila (1515 – 1582) was a living testimony of this truth. Her prayer is most fitting for us today. She prayed, “Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing frighten you. All things pass. God does not change. Patience achieves everything. Whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone suffices. Christ has no body now on earth but yours; no hands but yours; no feet but yours; yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ must look lout on the world. Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which he is to bless his people.”
There is need for God’s Mercy all around us and no hands or feet to help but ours. What do you say? Are you in? Will you give it a go?
Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom
Visit my Blog at: www.deacontomwrites@blogspot.com
And tune into the www.deaconspod.com to hear a contemporary Catholic conversation exploring the treasures our faith has to offer.
Recommended Reading: God So Loved the World by Robert Spitzer, S.J. explores the depth of God's love for us and how
Recommended YouTube: CUA on Tap: Love is Light; Faith and Forgiveness - The story of a family shattered by violence whose response is to love and forgive and be healed.
No comments:
Post a Comment