Blessed are the merciful
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy (Matthew 5:7). What does it mean? What does it even mean to be merciful? At first glance, this is one of the easiest commandments to understand...
To be merciful is to be tolerant, kind, merciful. To be merciful means to be ready to respond to someone else's pain and problem. The psalmist exclaimed: All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth (Ps. 24:10). God is merciful, and His mercy has no limits or conditions: “The Lord is generous and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in mercy: He is not angry until the end, and is not always indignant. He did not deal with us according to our iniquities, nor did He reward us according to our sins: for as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is the mercy of the Lord toward those who fear Him” (Ps. 102:8-11). Therefore, every believer must be merciful. Grace becomes a condition of faith, a condition of religious life.
At the same time, from the words of the Psalm we see that mercy is also forgiveness. Or rather, the ability to forgive. The ability to show mercy and love to someone who could not do this for me personally.
Here lies the biggest difficulty. How to be merciful to someone who has offended, insulted or deceived? I think that many will agree that it is pointless to harbor a grudge or desire revenge. It’s better to just forget everything and be indifferent to the offender. But will this be mercy? “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who use you and persecute you,” the Lord tells us, “so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven, for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:44-45).
Christ did not say, “forget about your enemies,” but called us to respond with mercy and love to evil and insults. Is this achievable for us? Achievable. Not in one second or instant. But still achievable. If Christianity is a denial of oneself for the sake of love for Christ, then this refusal is manifested precisely in mercy and mercy.
There is an amazing saint - Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna (1864-1918) - daughter of the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt Ludwig and granddaughter of the English Queen Victoria. She became the wife of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov. Sergei Alexandrovich was killed by a terrorist bomb in February 1905. Three days after this, the prince’s wife went to the prison where the murderer was placed to convey to him forgiveness from herself and from her deceased husband. This is an exceptional example. But exceptions, as we know, confirm the rules. Grace is a manifestation of true greatness, the depth of the human soul, overflowing with love. There is no place for hatred in mercy. In mercy only love is possible. “Father! forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34) - the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, nailed to the cross.
But if you look at everyday life, where and when can we show mercy, or rather, to whom? The Lord gives the answer to this question in the parable of the Good Samaritan (see Luke 10: 30-37). The Samaritan could pass by - after all, the resident of Jerusalem, beaten and wounded by robbers, was not his relative, friend, or fellow tribesman, and even moreover, the Samaritans and Jews were at enmity and did not communicate with each other. But mercy to the one who needs it here and now becomes a bridge stretching over all human discrepancies and divisions.
To show mercy—to help another person—means to overcome oneself, to leave one’s own affairs and worries in order to take on other people’s pain and grief. Help no matter what. Sometimes this is exactly what we miss so much. Why doesn't anyone see or notice my pain? How often do I myself notice the pain of others? “Give to the one who asks from you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you” (Matthew 5:42). It is these gospel words that raise the greatest number of questions: what to do with those who ask not for good or to harm themselves? The Lord does not set conditions for mercy and alms, He simply says “give.” Give something of yourself, help the one who asks.
Recently on one forum I saw a discussion about a request for help. A young girl, a single mother who had no means of support, asked for help. Several times in the discussion the argument was made that “it was my own fault” and “I should have thought about it.” In its own way, this has its own logic and truth. We are always to blame for our problems, not someone else. But mercy and sympathy are always above our human logic and truth. An illustration of this is the parable of the prodigal son (see Luke 15: 11-32) - “the gospel within the gospel,” as it is also called. The son asks his father for his due inheritance (it was possible to receive the inheritance only after the death of his father), leaves home and spends everything he had. His father could not accept him, could not forgive him, could have done everything that logic and justice sometimes demand. But instead of all this, we again see the depth of mercy of a loving heart. When the father saw his son walking along the road to the house, he “had compassion and ran, fell on his neck and kissed him” (Luke 15:20). Perhaps mercy and logic will never be compatible. But it is in such “illogicality” that Christianity is revealed.
The Lord says that the merciful will themselves receive mercy. They will be pardoned by God. They learn a hundredfold the mercy of God towards themselves - in response to the mercy shown to others. But doesn’t it turn out that works of mercy become a kind of attempt to “buy” God’s mercy? And this has its own logic - I will do a good deed so that I myself will feel good later. But the less logic there is in good deeds, manifestations of mercy and mercy, the less the desire to “buy” or acquire benefits for ourselves dominates us. Therefore, mercy should have no reason: I show mercy not because the person in need deserves it, but precisely because he needs it.
The main thing is to learn to feel other people's need and suffering. Don’t pass by, don’t leave a good deed “for later.” But in order to learn this, you need to recognize yourself as needing God, His love and mercy, His righteousness and truth. If I need God, the gospel call to mercy is a call to rise above the harsh reality of the world. Because only mercy and mercy can overcome cruelty.
Newspaper "Saratov Panorama" No. 49 (977)
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7)
The first four of the Beatitudes deal exclusively with internal principles—the principles of the soul and heart. They relate to how we should view ourselves before the Lord. The remaining four reveal the visible results of this attitude. He who in poverty of spirit recognizes his need for mercy will certainly show mercy to others (v. 7). He who weeps over his sinfulness will be purified in heart (v. 8). The meek will certainly create peace (v. 9), and the one who hungers and thirsts for righteousness will not give up on it even under the threat of persecution (v. 10).
The idea of mercy runs like a red thread throughout Scripture, from the Fall to the Second Coming of Christ. Grace is a much-needed gift of divine providence and the atoning sacrifice of Christ. And the people of God, following the example of their Lord, should show mercy to everyone around them.
We will look at three main aspects of grace: its meaning, its source, and its manifestation.
Look not only inside yourself, but also around you
So, what are mercy and mercy? If we hear these words, then first of all we imagine works of mercy: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, sheltering those who need it, and so on. However, mercy is not only about deeds, or rather, not primarily about them. Deeds are only manifestations, the fruits of what reigns in our heart and moves it. For a Christian, such a driving force should be love and compassion. The Monk Isaac the Syrian calls this state “a merciful heart”: “A merciful heart is the burning of the heart for all creation: about people, birds, animals, [even] about demons and every creation of God. When remembering them or looking at them, a person’s eyes shed tears. His heart is touched by strong pity, and he cannot hear or see any harm or small sorrow suffered by the creature.”
The saint speaks of the state that God gives as a crown, as a reward for a person’s spiritual work. Our task is to think not about the crown, but about how hard this reward is achieved, how we can learn to love. Learning mercy, as a rule, occurs in the most ordinary and everyday moments, which we may not pay attention to in the routine of life. I think they happen almost every day.
For example, there may be a lonely neighbor living in your house who doesn’t leave her apartment for several days and no one knows how she feels. Or you saw a pensioner in a store, embarrassedly counting change because he didn’t have enough money for groceries. Or someone became ill on the street. All this is so familiar, so ordinary that sometimes we don’t even pay attention to these people, but it is precisely in such moments that mercy is cultivated in a person. Therefore, I often remind parishioners that a Christian looks not only within himself, but also around him, at his neighbors, so as not to miss the opportunity to serve them.
Physically
Giving money to the poor, food to the hungry, clothes to the naked, shelter to the homeless. The Old Testament shows many ways in which mercy can be shown. A merciful person never holds a grudge against anyone, never takes revenge, never repays evil for evil, never boasts against the background of someone else’s weakness, never puts obstacles in the way of others, never counts the sins of others. St. Augustine was such a merciful man that he always invited those who had nothing to eat to his huge and beautiful dinner table. Above the table was engraved the inscription: “If anyone likes to dishonor someone’s name, this table is not for him, let him fast.”
A person who is self-righteous and self-justifying is like the priest and Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan, who did not help their fellow man.
Grace and Forgiveness
To more easily understand what mercy is, you can try to compare it with other qualities. There are many similarities between mercy and forgiveness, but there are also differences. Paul writes that Jesus “saved us, not by works of righteousness which we had done, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). Thus, God's forgiveness flows from His mercy. At the same time, mercy is greater than forgiveness, because God is merciful to us even when we do not sin, just as we can show mercy to a person who has not offended us in any way. God's mercy not only forgives sins, but also generally covers any of our needs or weaknesses.
“By the mercy of the Lord we have not disappeared, for His mercy has not failed.
It is updated every morning; great is Your faithfulness!” (Plat. Jer. 3:22). God's mercy towards His children never ceases for a moment.
Spiritually
St. Augustine said: “If I weep for one whose soul has left his body, how much more should I weep for one whose soul has been forsaken by God.” We shed tears for the dead. Well, what do we do when it comes to the souls of people? How to explain the fact that if I, as a Christian, am not righteous and poor in spirit; if I cry about my sinfulness, my poverty and my hopeless condition; if I am contrite, humble and meek; and I hunger and thirst for that which I need, but which I myself cannot achieve; and after all, having received mercy and compassion coming from God’s loving heart, I do not show mercy and compassion to other people?
I hear Stephen, being stoned, praying to God: “Lord! Do not count this sin against them” (Acts 7:60). He had compassion for their souls. We should treat the lost with compassion, and not elevate ourselves by thinking that we are much better than them.
Instruction. 2 Timothy 2:25 says, “Train your opponents with gentleness, lest God grant them repentance to the knowledge of the truth.” Instructing means pointing people to their sins so that they repent and God forgives them. People need the preaching of the Gospel.
Titus 1:13 says, “...rebuke them strictly, that they may be sound in the faith.” We show concern for the soul of a sinner when we openly expose his sin. Such an action is not contrary to love. Jude verse 23 says that some people can be saved by fear by “pulling them out of the fire.” In this case, this is not a manifestation of hatred, but a manifestation of love.
Mercy convicts. Before a person can realize his sinfulness, his sin must be pointed out to him.
Prayer. Praying for those who do not know God is an act of mercy. Do we pray for lost sinners? Do we pray for our neighbors? Do we pray for those believers who do not obey God? Our prayer for them is an act of mercy and it brings God's blessing.
Sermon. I believe that preaching the gospel is the most necessary and most merciful thing we can do for the salvation of lost souls.
So we can show mercy to a person through compassion, instruction, prayer and preaching.
Grace and love
Forgiveness comes from mercy, and mercy comes from love. “God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” (Eph. 2:4-5). Just as mercy is greater than forgiveness, so love is greater than mercy. Love can manifest itself independently of the first two. She loves even where there is no need to forgive a sin or help in need. The Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father, although both are sinless and lack nothing. Both of them love angels, although they are sinless and do not need anything. When we enter heaven, we too will be sinless and will lack for nothing, but God's love for us, from the perspective of eternity, will only begin to manifest itself.
Mercy is like a doctor, and love is like a friend. The former is driven by need, and the latter by favor, regardless of need. The first is needed only for a while, the second is permanent. Without love there can be no true mercy, but love can exist independently of mercy.
Mercy and Grace
Moreover, mercy is related to grace, which flows from love in the same way that forgiveness comes from mercy. In all of his Pastoral Epistles, Paul mentions in the greeting “grace, mercy, peace” (1 Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:2; Titus 1:4). Grace and mercy are very closely related, but still different. Mercy and other cognates have to do with pain, suffering and poverty - that is, the consequences of sin. We ultimately owe all our misfortunes to sin, whether we are talking about the crime of a specific person or about a world disfigured by sin. It is in such problems that mercy helps. Grace is directed towards sin itself. Mercy removes the symptoms, but grace removes the cause. Mercy frees from punishment, and grace removes guilt. Mercy relieves pain and grace eradicates disease.
By bandaging the wounds of a man beaten by robbers, the Good Samaritan showed mercy. When he took the wounded man to a hotel and paid for his accommodation until the wounded man recovered, he showed grace. Mercy eased the pain, and grace opened the door to healing.
So, mercy removes negative aspects, and grace transforms them into positive ones. In the realm of salvation, for example, mercy says: “You will escape hell,” and grace: “You will enter heaven.” Mercy says, “I feel sorry for you,” and grace says, “I forgive you.”
Mercy and Justice
Mercy is also closely related to justice, although on the surface they may seem incompatible. Justice always rewards strictly according to deserts, while mercy strives to make punishment lighter and help more significant than a person deserves. Therefore, it is difficult for some to understand how God can be both merciful and fair to the same person. If He is absolutely just, how can He not punish sin on all counts? It seems that God's mercy is at odds with justice. In fact, God never shows mercy without punishing sin, and for Him, mercy without punishment would indeed be contrary to justice.
By ignoring sin, mercy becomes false - it ceases to be both merciful and fair. Saul showed this kind of false mercy to King Agag, despite the clear command of God to destroy every last one of the Amalekites (1 Sam. 15:3, 9). David showed the same false mercy to his rebellious and wicked son Absalom when he was young. Having shown unjustified sentimentality and not exposing Absalom's sin, David let Absalom get away with the crime and allowed him to establish himself in wickedness.
This kind of false mercy is not uncommon today. For some reason, it is considered cruel and heartless to force a person to answer for his actions. But this is “cheap grace” - unjust and unmerciful; it can neither punish sin nor grant forgiveness. This “grace” is permissive, it prefers not to touch lawlessness; He who trusts in her will remain in sin. The removal of justice is the same as the withdrawal of mercy. To ignore sin is to deny the truth, and mercy and truth are inseparable (cf. Ps. 84:11). Therefore, whenever real mercy is shown, someone takes on all the expenses. God did it, the Good Samaritan did it, and so do we. To be merciful is to bear someone else's burden.
It is naive to believe that one can find mercy from God without repenting of sins. And if the church promises pardon without repentance, then it preaches false hope based on a false gospel. For those who do not turn from sin to the Savior, the Lord promises nothing but merciless condemnation. Neither reliance on personal merit, nor secret hope for the “accommodation” of the Almighty will lead to the Kingdom. Relying on one's own strength, as well as trying to manipulate God's power, will not open the door of salvation. Anyone who does not come to God on His terms cannot claim His mercy.
God's mercy rests not only on His love, but also on justice.
Its basis is not feeling, but the atoning blood of Christ, which paid for sin and therefore cleanses everyone who believes in Him. Without such serious punishment, even the slightest sin would separate us from God forever.
The wonderful message of the gospel is that Christ bore the penalty for the sins of all mankind so that God could show mercy to all sinners. On the cross, Jesus satisfied God's justice, and now streams of mercy are revealed to everyone who believes in His atoning sacrifice.
The good news of the gospel is not that God has forgotten justice, overlooked sin, or lowered the bar for righteousness. The good news is that through the shed blood of Christ, justice has been satisfied, sin has been forgiven, righteousness has prevailed, and mercy has been made available to everyone. There can be no excuse for sin, but there is always a cure for it.
So, mercy is something more than forgiveness, but less than love. It is one with justice, but different from grace. And what characterizes God’s mercy should also be manifested in us.
Grace moved Abraham to save his ungrateful nephew Lot from Chedorlaomer and his allies. Mercy caused Joseph to forgive his brothers and provide food for their families. Mercy forced Moses to ask the Lord for his sister Miriam, who was guilty and stricken with leprosy. Grace did not allow David to take Saul's life.
He who is alien to mercy to others will not receive mercy from God himself. In one of his Psalms of Retribution, David pronounces a terrible judgment on the nameless wicked: “Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord, and let the sin of his mother not be blotted out. May they always be in the sight of the Lord, and may He destroy their memory on earth.” David's anger was not out of personal resentment or revenge. That man and his family did not deserve mercy because they did not give it themselves. “He did not think to show mercy, but pursued the poor and needy and broken-hearted man, in order to kill him” (Ps. 109:14-16).
Paul characterizes the ungodly as people full of unrighteousness, fornication, covetousness, malice, envy, murder, deceit, evil-will, slanderers, slanderers, haters of God, offenders, self-praisers, proud, disobedient to parents, reckless, treacherous and unable to love. This entire long list is crowned by lack of mercy (Rom. 1:29-31). Unmercifulness is the main distinguishing feature of a person who has rejected God's mercy.
“A merciful man does good to his soul, but a hard-hearted man destroys his flesh” (Prov. 11:17). The path to happiness is through mercy, and the path to disaster is through cruelty. A truly merciful person is kind even to animals, while a cruel person is cruel to everyone. “The righteous is concerned for the life of his livestock, but the heart of the wicked is hard” (Prov. 12:10).
In the Olivet Sermon, Jesus warns that people who do not show compassion and help to the hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick, and prisoners will not enter the Kingdom of Christ, even if they claim to be His followers. At the same time, He will say to them: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry, and you did not give Me food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger, and they did not accept Me; I was naked, and they did not clothe Me; sick and in prison, and they did not visit Me.” When they say: “Lord! When did we see You hungry?..” He will answer them: “Truly I say to you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me” (Matt. 25:41-45).
James writes: “If anyone keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he is guilty of all. For the same One who said, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” also said, “Thou shalt not kill”; Therefore, if you do not commit adultery, but kill, then you are also a transgressor of the law. Thus speak and act thus, as if you are to be judged according to the law of freedom. For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy” (James 2:10-13a). In the midst of a corrupt, selfish and self-loving world that calls us to take everything from life, God’s voice calls us to give as much as possible to others. Grace truly manifests itself only when we give - we give compassion, help, time, forgiveness, money, ourselves.
The children of the Heavenly King are sure to show mercy. Those who do not show mercy will face merciless judgment; but “mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13b).
