August 17 – The Merciful (Jonah 3:1-4:11)

“I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.”(Jonah 4:2)

IN WORD:
One of the more colorful examples of the need for mercy in the Old Testament is a negative example: Jonah. He knew that God was a compassionate God, and he did not want God to show compassion to the Ninevites. So he disobeyed. When he was compelled to obey, he complained. Somehow, the compassion of God did not translate into the compassion of Jonah.
Do we find ourselves in such a predicament? Having been abundantly blessed with God’s mercy — the unmerited grace and forgiveness we’ve received for our rebellion against the Most High — do we then stand in judgement of others? The idea is ludicrous, but nearly all of us are guilty. Jesus has a Beatitude He’d like us to hear: “”Blessed are the merciful, for they will; be shown mercy.” (Matthew 5:7). The implication is sobering: Those who are not merciful will not be shown mercy. That has to hurt. We know it has applied, at least in some degree, to each of us.
Those who have not shown mercy have never understood God’s. They just don’t get it. They don’t understand the depths from which we’ve been saved and the relative pettiness with which we judge others. They still think an attainable righteousness is the key, and they compel others to strive for it.

IN DEED:
Have you ever found yourself passing judgment on someone else and then remembering the guilt that we have all shared before God? That is the prompting of the Holy Spirit, reminding us that we, too, are worthy of judgment and unworthy of mercy. Let the reminder sink in. God overflows with compassion for those who are lost and sinful, and if we are to be like Him at all, we must share that compassion. We must understand mercy.

“Do you wish to receive mercy? Show mercy to your neighbor.”
-John Chrysostom-