Mercy, Lord! Lord, Have Mercy!

We’re one week into the 40 days of Easter through to Jesus' ascension to heaven. It’s been an unusual time of “incubation” – I like that word better than “isolation” – because I believe God is doing a sovereign work in our lives during this time and we are going to emerge out of this season as the mature “chicks” that He planned for us all along.

That’s the visual I get about “incubation”. Last summer, as a Volunteer at Children’s Hospital, I was in charge of the baby chicks in their incubation at their Ranch Days Fair. I had to keep little children from reaching into the incubator to pick them up. They weren’t big enough to handle yet and stayed under a warm light so they could absorb what they needed to develop and grow stronger.

That’s a choice we can make too. We can continue to think we’re being punished by a Daddy Who carries a big stick or we can realize our Daddy doesn’t carry a stick at all. Well, maybe He does carry a couple of sticks that remind us what we received from Christ on the cross at Calvary.

Oh, the mercy of our Father Who loves us so much that He gave us His beloved one and only Son to take on our sins – the sins of all humanity – so that we can live with him forever and ever. Today we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. Saint Faustina wrote some beautiful words in her Diary about God’s mercy: “All grace flows from mercy . . . even if a person’s sins were as dark as night, God’s mercy is stronger than our misery. One thing alone is necessary: that the sinner set ajar the door of his heart, be it ever so little, to let in a ray of God’s merciful grace, and then God will do the rest.” (Diary of Saint Faustina)

If we open our hearts, just a little, even a tiny crack, God’s light (like those little chicks’ light in the incubator) can shine in and He can work marvels of transformation within us.

“Stay at Home” orders are no match for Jesus. Remember how afraid Jesus’ disciples were of the Jewish leaders and were huddled in fear behind locked doors? But….then Jesus came in. He could have had an agenda that included setting them straight. He could have started in a rant about their weaknesses and failures. He could have displayed His disappointment in their betrayal and denial of Him. His first words could have been, “Thanks…. for NOTHING! What were you thinking? Where were you when I needed you?” He had every right to unload His righteous indignation on them. But, no, His first words to them were “Peace be with you”. Isn’t that the way He continues to speak to us – in spite of our mistakes & failures? He loves us unconditionally and speaks “Peace be with you.” Yes, He is our "Divine Mercy" Jesus!

None of us need to be defined by our past because Divine Mercy is open to us all. Whether our sins are small or great, the mercy of God is available to all of us. The mercy of God is real! The mercy of God is His love! The mercy of God is the power of the resurrection still working today. You are not your past. Believe it! Embrace it! God’s Divine Mercy forgives, forgets and even forges the way to becoming all God destined for us in the first place. So, shouldn’t His example cause us to be His people of mercy, too — forgiving and loving others with mercy? Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy!

Oh, But for the Mercy of God!

I’ve heard people say “Lorrrd, have mercy!” as a quick retort when yet another “I can’t believe it” circumstance happens. In reality, that is what we should say, rather pray, anytime we encounter a roadblock, a rock landslide, “rocked my world” or rock crazy situations going on in our world. God is our ROCK in all of life's ups and downs and His DIVINE MERCY is at our beckoned call when tough times come or when we are the ones who made a huge mistake and created the tough times.

Today is “Divine Mercy” Sunday – a time that is specifically dedicated to the great gift of the Lord’s mercy and love. God's “Divine Mercy” was given in His covenant as He promised protection, provision, guidance, and His constant presence to His children. Because God is the initiator, the mercy He gives is gracious, unmerited, undeserved, is compassionate and leads to forgiveness, and to the steadfast love that God sustains in our relationship with Him.

Thank God, we are no longer defined by our past because God's mercy is real and available. Of course, we celebrate His mercy every time we cry out to Him for mercy when we have failed Him. And, mercy should be a part of every Christian's life when we have been hurt by someone. “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5:7).

Think about it – after Jesus rose from the dead, He went to His disciples where they were huddled in fear. He could have gone in and started in a rant about their weaknesses and their failures. He could have displayed His disappointment in their betrayal and denial of Him. His first words could have been, “Thanks…. for NOTHING! What were you thinking? Where were you when I needed you?” He had every right to unload His righteous indignation on them. But, no, His first words to them were “Peace be with you”. Isn’t that the way He continues to speak to us – in spite of our mistakes & failures? He loves us unconditionally and speaks “Peace be with you.” Yes, He is a God of divine mercy!

None of us need to be defined by our past because Divine Mercy is open to us all. Whether our sins are small or great, the mercy of God is available to all of us. The mercy of God is real! The mercy of God is His love! The mercy of God is the power of the resurrection still working today. You are not your past. Believe in it! Embrace it! God’s Divine Mercy forgives, forgets and even forges the way to becoming all God destined for us in the first place. So, shouldn't His example cause us to be His people of mercy, too -- forgiving and loving others with mercy? Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.

Lord, Have Mercy!

I’ve heard people say “Lorrrd, have mercy!” as a quick retort when yet another “I can’t believe it” circumstance happens. In reality, that is what we should say, rather pray, anytime we encounter a roadblock, a rock landslide, “rocked my world” or rock crazy situations going on in our world. God is our ROCK in all of life's ups and downs and His DIVINE MERCY is at our beckoned call when tough times come or when we are the ones who made a huge mistake and created the tough times.

DIVINE MERCY: God's mercy was given in His covenant as He promised protection, provision, guidance, and His constant presence to His children. Because God is the initiator, the mercy He gives is gracious, unmerited, undeserved, is compassionate and leads to forgiveness, and to the steadfast love that God sustains – in our relationship with Him.

In Psalm 51:1-2, David cried out, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions…” A plea to God for mercy is asking Him to withhold the judgment we deserve and instead grant to us the forgiveness we, in no way, have earned. David encountered that mercy after he had relations with Bathsheba and had her husband, one of David's most honorable soldiers killed. God forgiving him, was truly Divine Mercy.

Yesterday was Divine Mercy Sunday and my assurance of God’s divine mercy was reinforced. Divine Mercy Sunday is a time that is specifically dedicated to the great gift of the Lord's mercy and love. We are NOT our past and God's mercy is real and available. Of course we celebrate His mercy every time we cry out to Him for mercy when we have failed Him, and every time we forgive another or someone forgives us. Mercy should be a part of the life of every Christian as sometimes we hurt others and sometimes others hurt us. “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” Matthew 5:7

When God forgives us, His ocean of mercy washes over us to wash us clean – through and through. That is Divine Mercy. Think of the mercy of God and Paul. We know Paul was a great evangelizer and wrote much of the New Testament. He led many to Christ, but think about his past. Before his conversion to Christ, he arrested, tortured and killed Christians. That was his job! (If you haven’t seen the new movie “Paul, the Apostle of Christ”, you really should. These words will come to life when you see it.) Paul was paid to gather up those who followed Christ. He participated in the killing of Stephen, the first martyr. He did that a lot. But God showed him mercy and with Paul's cooperation, Paul became one of the great saints of the church.

What could be worse than being a Roman soldier who helped facilitate the crucifixion of Jesus? Longinus was that solider, but during the last hours of Jesus' life He recognized Jesus as the Son of God. Jesus showed Longinus mercy and he, too, became a saint.

Perhaps you know someone who represents a living saint to you -- someone who turned from a life of self destruction or a hard-stoned criminal whose life was turned around because of God’s Divine Mercy. Maybe that is you. None of us need to be defined by our past because Divine Mercy is open to us all. Whether our sins are small or great, the mercy of God is available to all of us. The mercy of God is real! The mercy of God is His love! The mercy of God is the power of the resurrection still working today. You are not your past. Believe in it! Embrace it! God’s Divine Mercy forgives, forgets and even forges the way to becoming all God destined for us in the first place. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.

Lamentations 3:22-23 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning.”