Lord, Have Mercy! Christ, Have Mercy!
2022년 2월 20일Lord, Have Mercy! Christ, Have Mercy!
< Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time >
More than any other word, mercy is used repeatedly in the prayers at Mass. We start Mass with a three-fold plea for Christ to have mercy on us, for we are all sinners. The priest prays, “May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and bring us to everlasting life.” Later, before we receive communion, we ask the Lamb of God to have mercy on us. Clearly “mercy” is an important word. But what exactly is it? And why is it so important?
The readings today make clear mercy is not some abstract idea. It is a lived experience of unexpected and underserved grace. King Saul was jealous of David because David was more popular with the people, more brave in battle, and more blessed by God. King Saul felt he could never be secure as long as David lived, so he went to war against him. But as the story goes, during a pause in the fighting, David and his commander Abishai were able to sneak into Saul’s camp at night and found the king asleep and unprotected. Abishai offered to kill the king with his own spear, and by all human standards, David had the right to kill Saul. God had clearly delivered Saul into his hands. But David would not allow it. Saul was not a good king. He was not even a good person. But Saul had been chosen by God as the first king of Israel. So David simply took the king’s spear and the next day, displayed it to the king’s army. Saul owed his life to his mortal enemy. He had been defeated by David’s mercy. If David could show mercy to Saul, so ought we to show mercy to one another, even to our enemies, not because of who they are, but because of who God is. After all, we too are alive today by the mercy of God.