Hi folks, I hope you are doing ok, this week we will be meeting at the Crescent Club, upstairs in the Seafront Lounge at 7.30. Rememberer its the fireworks in Whitley Bay so give yourself a bit more time. This weeks blog is written by Pauline.
Keeping in mind David’s previous comments about looking at the beatitudes not as a list of rules or things that we should become before we can be blessed, but rather as being more about what God’s kingdom might look like particularly at that time, for those struggling with life and all it might be throwing at them. The blessings of God’s kingdom were available then (and are now) in Jesus to those who might find themselves at the bottom of the heap or those maybe struggling with issues of the day such as persecution, conflict, occupation or oppression.
This fifth ‘blessed’ links the mercy that we receive from God to the mercy we extend to others. So it is about how they/we live it out. (Maybe all the beatitudes are about how we live it out and maybe the wanting to is the first step).
There seem to be a few different ways of looking at what mercy is:
- Compassion: Kindness and care given to someone who needs it, someone who is hurting or suffering (we have the power to withhold it). An example is the good Samaritan. The kingdom is like this!
- Giving to charity or volunteering can be called acts of mercy, but not everyone can do this.
- Forgiveness: The biggy! Mercy and forgiveness is the heart of the gospel. (They are not just what God does or gives but who God is… I love that thought)
- The experience of forgiveness is about a magnanimous and gracious God who says ‘come in’ it’s ok, never mind your mess, let’s start again, I love you and will never stop loving you. The word used in Hebrew for mercy apparently means “the steadfast, enduring love which is unbreakable”; sometimes it is translated as “ loving kindness” or “covenant love”. It’s the way of the kingdom.
- “We do not attain anything by our own holiness but by ten thousand surrenders to mercy. A lifetime of received forgiveness allows us to become mercy: That’s the Beatitude. We become what we receive, what we allow into our hearts. Mercy becomes our energy and purpose. Perhaps we are finally enlightened and free when we can both receive it and give it away—without payment or punishment.”
(Adapted from Richard Rohr with John Bookser Feister, Jesus’ Plan for a New World: The Sermon on the Mount (Franciscan Media: 1996), 136, 137-138.)
- The mystery of forgiveness is that God in Jesus was willing to come into our world to die as he did so that we might know it and receive it and with his help live it.
- There is another interesting thought about the mystery of forgiveness also from the book referenced above and I wonder what you think about it?
- “The mystery of forgiveness is God’s ultimate entry into powerlessness. Withholding forgiveness is a form of power over another person, a way to manipulate, shame, control, and diminish another. God in Jesus refuses all such power.
- If Jesus is the revelation of what’s going on inside the eternal God (see Colossians 1:15), which is the core of the Christian faith, then we are forced to conclude that God is very humble. This God never seems to hold rightful claims against us. Abdicating what we thought was the proper role of God, this God “has thrust all our sins behind his back” (see Isaiah 38:17).”
Questions:
- Should the Bounty in ‘Celebrations’ be given mercy? – Argue you’re case.
- How many times are we supposed to forgive? And where does it say that?
- How can we practice being merciful?
- Do you think there is a difference between big acts of mercy and small ones?
- What do you think about the idea of “the mystery of forgiveness being God’s ultimate entry into powerlessness?”
- How do you go about forgiving those who hurt you personally by words or actions?
- How can we forgive those who attack our liberty and way of life, or those who start wars, hurt innocent children or who rape or murder?
- What can we learn from Jesus about it?
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
Rob Wylie is the founder of BeachcomberFX and guides its leadership team. He has worked in the North East for over 20 years and has vast experience from various roles he has held. He has a passion for Fresh Expressions of Church and Pioneer Ministry as well as beer, beaches and Miniature Schnauzers.
