The people of God were far from home. Their country had been invaded and defeated. The best of them had been forced to leave their homes and relocate to the capital of the empire that had overcome them. They had to learn a new language, live in a strange culture. They were exiled. For decades they dreamt of going home. And then. And then. After years of praying and hoping they were given a chance to go home. God worked in the heart of a new king, who gave them permission to go home, to return and rebuild, city and Temple. To worship once more in the place their ancestors had worshipped. And they took it. They went home and rebuilt. There was opposition and challenges, but they rose to the challenges and the opposition was put down. <\/p>\n
Now, the wall of the city is completed, and the people of God have gathered together to hear God\u2019s word. They know that they had been exiled because God\u2019s word hadn\u2019t been followed, and they are determined not to fall into the same sins. So they read the word, and one of their leaders, Ezra, leads them in a prayer of repentance and commitment.<\/p>\n
We read part of that prayer this morning. This celebration of God\u2019s mercy to God\u2019s people throughout the generations. Ezra recounts some of the history and the recurring pattern of the people\u2019s rebellion against God, of the just consequences of that disobedience, and then the compassionate and merciful response of God opening up the way for the people to come back to God. He talks about the way in which the Holy Spirit warned the people about these consequences, warnings that are part of God\u2019s mercy.<\/p>\n
And this is what the story of the people of God always comes back to. It always comes back to God\u2019s mercy. God\u2019s consistent, reliable, unchanging attitude of active love towards us that sees us in our misery, our sin, our shame, our brokenness and comes towards us with compassion and love, bringing forgiveness, freedom, and wholeness. God\u2019s mercy. <\/p>\n
This morning we are continuing our series exploring the character and nature of God. The big questions we are asking are \u2013 Who is God? What is God like? A couple of weeks ago we started by exploring what it means that God is Creator, and then last week Nick helped us think about the fact that God is Love. This week we are exploring God\u2019s mercy.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve already seen God\u2019s mercy at work in the lives of the exiles. So now let\u2019s look at our New Testament reading, from Luke\u2019s historical account of Jesus\u2019 life and teaching.<\/p>\n
What can we see here in this story? <\/p>\n
We see one person, full of themselves and confident in their own goodness and proud of the way in which they tick the boxes. Not stealing, tick. Not doing evil, tick. Not sleeping around, tick. Fasting \u2013 twice a week, tick. Giving away money, tick. Tick, tick, tick. Self-satisfied. Looking down on those who don\u2019t measure up.<\/p>\n
On the other side of the room we see someone else. He looks at his feet, head bowed in shame. He\u2019s got no tick list. He knows there wouldn\u2019t be any ticks. He beats his breast. Grief at what his life is. He has nothing of his own to bring, so he throws himself on God\u2019s mercy. <\/p>\n
Who leaves that place right with God? The one who came in thinking he was already right with God, or the one who knew that he wasn\u2019t? <\/p>\n
This is God\u2019s mercy. God\u2019s consistent, reliable, unchanging attitude of active love towards us that sees us in our misery, our sin, our shame, our brokenness and comes towards us with compassion and love, bringing forgiveness, freedom, and wholeness. God\u2019s mercy. <\/p>\n
As we read on in Luke 18, we find another example of God\u2019s mercy at work. <\/p>\n
Jesus is on the road, walking into the city of Jericho, along with a crowd of his friends and followers. There\u2019s a blind man sitting at the side of the road, hoping that passers by will spare him the odd coin. He hears the noise of the crowd and asks what\u2019s going on. \u201cJesus of Nazareth is coming.\u201d He calls out, \u201cJesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.\u201d The folk standing around try to shut him up. But he keeps shouting, \u201cSon of David, have mercy on me.\u201d Jesus stops and calls him over. Then he asks the question that he asks all of us. \u201cWhat do you want me to do for you?\u201d The answer is simple. \u201cLord, I want to see.\u201d And he saw, and followed, and praised God.
\nThis is God\u2019s mercy. God\u2019s consistent, reliable, unchanging attitude of active love towards us that sees us in our misery, our sin, our shame, our brokenness and comes towards us with compassion and love, bringing forgiveness, freedom, and wholeness. God\u2019s mercy. <\/p>\n
When we\u2019re talking about something like mercy, which is like love and grace, somehow it feels wrong to talk about how we ought to respond to it. That kind of language seems to me to reduce it something like a transaction, something mechanical. There\u2019s nothing worse that someone who\u2019s done something for you saying \u201cyou should be grateful\u201d. It\u2019s true, but it sours the whole thing. So, I want to avoid that, or any sense of guilt trip, but on the other hand I do want us to think about what it means to live well in the light of God\u2019s mercy.<\/p>\n
Jesus told the story of an employee who owed his boss a huge amount of money, many times what his annual salary. The employee was brought before the boss, unable to pay anything back, and he pleaded for mercy. The boss forgave his debt. On the way out of their meeting the employee met a colleague who owed him for lunch, but didn\u2019t have the money with him, and started beating him up. His other colleagues saw this happen and reported it to the boss, who had the first employee hauled in. \u201cI showed you mercy, and yet you treat someone else like this?\u201d The boss went after everything he had, until his debt was paid.<\/p>\n
How we treat other people is a pretty good indicator of our appreciation of God\u2019s mercy to us. As we have been shown mercy, so we show mercy. As we have been forgiven, so we forgive. As we have been loved, so we love. <\/p>\n
We have explored some stories of people asking for God\u2019s mercy. Many of the psalms have the theme of asking for God\u2019s mercy. In our set prayers week by week we often call on God\u2019s mercy. God\u2019s mercy is a foundation of our prayers. And I say foundation deliberately. Because I think sometimes we can think that praying is trying to persuade God to do something God doesn\u2019t want to do, or is reluctant to do, or hasn\u2019t noticed needs doing. We don\u2019t pray because God\u2019s mercy needs switching on. No, we pray because God\u2019s mercy is always on. God\u2019s mercy is a given, it\u2019s fundamental to God\u2019s character, to God\u2019s nature. God is merciful. Trusting in that truth gives confidence to our prayers.
\nSometimes the things we pray for don\u2019t happen, or not as quickly as we want, but that is not because God is not merciful, or that God\u2019s mercy has failed. We can\u2019t see the end yet, but God can, and we believe that God works all things for the good of those who love God, so we will continue to trust in God\u2019s mercy, and pray in faith that God\u2019s mercy will triumph.<\/p>\n
At the beginning of Romans 12, Paul writes:<\/p>\n
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God\u2019s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God\u2014this is your true and proper worship.<\/p>\n
Similarly in his first letter, in chapter 2, Peter writes:<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. <\/p>\n
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two of the most prominent teachers and leaders in the early church with the same message. In light of the mercy you have received from God, live differently. You have been forgiven, don\u2019t return to your sin. You are children of light, don\u2019t live in the dark. You\u2019ve had a bath, don\u2019t jump back in the muck. You\u2019ve got new clothes, don\u2019t dig out the dirty rags. You\u2019ve been freed, don\u2019t tie yourself up again. You\u2019ve been put on the right road, don\u2019t wander off the way. <\/p>\n
We show it to others, we pray on the basis of it, we live in the light of it. What is it? God\u2019s mercy. God\u2019s consistent, reliable, unchanging attitude of active love towards us that sees us in our misery, our sin, our shame, our brokenness and comes towards us with compassion and love, bringing forgiveness, freedom, and wholeness. God\u2019s mercy. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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