One of the most dangerous things in all of creation is the human ability to see ourselves as righteous regardless of what we do or say to one another.
I know you've seen quite a bit on social media -both pro and con - in the wake of Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde's Inauguration Sermon about Mercy, which she preached to the incoming presidential administration.
In all of the responses - both sincere and disingenuous - there is something you probably haven't seen: A reminder that no matter who you are, "God seeks after what has been driven away." (Ecclesiastes 3:15)
Or, as the Rabbis of Midrash Leviticus Rabbah 27:5 put it, "You find in Scripture that when a righteous person pursues a righteous pursues, 'God seeks what has been driven away.' When a wicked person pursues a wicked person, 'God seeks what has been driven away.' All the more, when a wicked person pursues a righteous person, 'God seeks what has been driven away.' This principle even applies when a righteous person pursues a wicked person, 'God seeks what has been driven away.' It is always the case that the Holy One, Blessed be He, demands an accounting for the blood of those who have been pursued from the hand of the pursuer."
From this, we see that the act of pursuing something, or someone, whether they are "wicked" or "righteous" must include Mercy.
This is as much for the pursuer as for the pursued, because God will demand an account from us about whether we were just or unjust, when we pursued what we thought was righteous, or who we thought was wicked.
God does not excuse "any means necessary" actions in our pursuit of anything in life.
Right now, God is fighting for your heart: to make you more charitable, more peaceful, more loving.
God does this by sending messengers from time to time to remind us about the virtue of mercy, because if God had mercy on us the way we have mercy on each other... Lord have mercy!
So, if you find yourself triggered by Christian virtues today, I ask you to consider whether you will be ready to give an account to God about what you have been pursuing.
If you find yourself heartened by this message and looking around at all of "those people" who just don't get it, I ask you to consider whether you will be ready to give an accounting to God about what you have been pursuing.
Mercy is not some grand manipulation to keep you from doing what you want to do, or saying what you want to say.
It's the only way that we can live together, and the only way that our pursuits will be acceptable to God.
It's Just Mercy.
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