Receiving God’s Mercy

Mercy is a way to describe the mystery of forgiveness. More than a description of something God does now and then, it is who God is . According to Jesus, “Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice” (Matthew 9:13, 12:7). The word is hesed in Hebrew, and it means steadfast, enduring, unbreakable love. Sometimes the word is translated as “lovingkindness... See more

I once saw God’s mercy as patient, benevolent tolerance, a kind of grudging forgiveness, but now mercy has become for me God’s very self-understanding , a loving allowing, a willing breaking of the rules by the One who made the rules—a wink and a smile, a firm and joyful taking of our hand while we clutch at our sins and gaze at God in desire and d... See more

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. Mercy becomes our energy, our meaning. Perhaps we are finally enlightened and free when we can both receive mercy and give it away—without payment or punishment.

The mystery of forgiveness is God’s ultimate entry into powerlessness. Look at the times when we have withheld forgiveness. It’s often our final attempt to hold a claim over the one we won’t forgive. It’s the way we finally hold onto power or seek the moral high ground over another person: “I will hold you in unforgiveness, and you’re going to know... See more