“But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness!”
This is a cry, a prayer of hope by the prophet Daniel, who implores God to have mercy on His people amid the loss and sadness of the Babylonian exile. The kingdom of Judah had been devastated by the superpowers of the day. Many were killed, exiled, and enslaved. The prophet attributes this devastation and abandonment to the rebellion of the people—not just the powerful among them, but all the people. The prayer of the psalmist, “Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins,” resonates with his. Daniel hopes in God as healer, as restorer. He trusts in God’s faithfulness, in His compassion, and in the hope of forgiveness. He hopes that the Lord has not forgotten His people, even though they seem to have forgotten His ways. He claims as his hope God’s compassion and forgiveness.
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus enjoins His disciples not only to hope in that mercy but also to be that mercy. “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Wow! That is huge. Jesus always kicks up the ante. How can we even begin to be merciful like our Father in heaven? What could that possibly look like? Well, He says, start by refraining from being judgmental or making ungrounded assumptions—and forgive; don’t hold grudges. Treat others with kindness. Treat people with respect. Basically, treat others the way you would like to be treated. Be compassionate and generous with your forgiveness and your care. Be a constant bearer of abundance and hope. And you will know if you are being abundant when…
“…a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, [and] will be poured into your lap.”
To me, this evokes an image of someone going out to buy flour or sugar or beans—something that needs to be weighed out—and instead, the seller just keeps piling or filling your bag recklessly until it can hold no more. To me, it means that God’s mercy is abundant beyond our imagination, which is pretty limited. Overwhelming and immense generosity! And this is what Jesus tries to show His disciples—that as limited human beings, we are called to think big. “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
So, this is our challenge: as disciples of Jesus, we can strive to embody that compassion, trusting that God will complete and supply what we lack.
Like the prophet Daniel, we can claim and hope in God’s mercy and compassion even in the most challenging of times. But as Christians, we can also hope—with the grace of God—to be the face of His compassion and mercy in the midst of our world.
