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I Desire Mercy

Read: Hosea 6:6

            In Matthew, chapter 9, the Pharisees objected to Jesus eating with sinners.   They were so concerned with ritualistic purity that they forgot what is really important.  But Jesus reminded them, when he said “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:12-13)

            How often have we heard the objection from people who do not attend church that they don’t go because the church is full of hypocrites, or because of some bad experience they have had with a Christian?  Sometimes we get so caught up in religion that we forget what is important.  Like the Pharisees, we try to separate religious practice from relationship with God.

            Mercy requires us to realize our own need for God’s healing.  If we think that we are just fine in our attempts to be “good people” we will not realize our need of the Great Physician.  We cannot be merciful if we do not acknowledge our need of God’s mercy.

            If we do acknowledge our sinfulness, and think about how we have been blessed by God’s divine mercy, then we can look at our fellow man in a new light, and act in a way that is compassionate, loving, and forgiving.   We can see others as sinners in need of God’s grace, just like we are, and show them the love that God has shown us.  When we live in this way, we will be truly blessed.  Jesus said it best: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)

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