Remember any synonyms for mercy?
How well do they fit us?
Are you and I clothed in:
benevolence
blessing
charity
clemency
compassion
forgiveness
generosity
goodwill
grace
leniency
pity
sympathy
tolerance
favor
forbearance
gentleness
humanity
kindness
mildness
tenderness
relief
pardon
Are we clothed in these garments?
Is this how we’re dressed?
Or is my heart clothed in "garments" that would better be removed?
Thinking of that list of synonyms,
what clothing do I need to add to my heart's wardrobe?
How, this Lent, might I put away any garb
that masks and burdens my heart
and, instead, clothe myself in mercy?
And, who needs the gift of my heartfelt mercy?
People in our families, right in our own homes…
Folks I work with, interact with day to day…
Classmates at school, on my team, in my circle of friends…
People in my neighborhood, Brothers in my Community…
Everywhere we look there are others
waiting for us to show them - the mercy God shows us.
Perhaps, this Lent, I need to take an honest look, an inventory
of the outfits that costume my heart and my life
and ask God for the grace to put away what I shouldn't put on
and to clothe my heart, instead, in garments of mercy,
of grace, and of human kindness...
Jesus reminds us that we don’t live on bread alone,
rather, we live on gift of God’s mercy.
And he reminds us that we are to worship only our God
and to serve him first, above all,
for he is the God whose mercy saves us.
And Jesus reminds us not to test God and presume upon his mercy
but rather to acknowledge and confess
how and when and where and why
we stand so much in need of his merciful love.
In the shadow of the mercy that flows from his crucified heart
we stand at the Table where he shares with us
the gift of his merciful love
in the Bread and Cup of the Eucharist.
May what we receive here today help us, each one of us,
to clothe ourselves in heartfelt mercy.
