The Bungee Cord. 9-9-24

Hello,

“What’s mercy?”

That was the question that I was asked by the young man travelling next to me on a recent air flight. The young man was not from the USA, so English is a second language to him. As we talked, I told him that I was a Lutheran pastor, and that opened the door up to some discussion on faith, his and mine. He asked me about my faith, and I told him that I have come to see that my God is most concerned with forgiveness and mercy. He listened to me, pondering what I said, and that is when he asked me, “What’s mercy?”

Apparently, mercy was not part of his vocabulary. It wasn’t that his vocabulary was small, he was very conversant in English, but for some reason the word mercy had not made it into his personal dictionary. I got to thinking about that, and I found myself with only one conclusion: he had never heard the word before.

Considering that, it occurred to me that when I hear a lot of Christians talking about their faith, I hear them talk a lot about God leading them to do the right things. Their faith was helping them be good people. You can’t imagine the number of people who have told me when I have gone to a visitation before a funeral that I am going to preside over, “I know that she’s in heaven. She was such a good person.” Additionally, I have heard many Christian people speak of someone who has done something horrendously awful say of that one, “I am sure that there is a special place in hell for him!” Rules. Judgment. Obligation. Those are the words that many people speak when they speak of their Christian faith. Not mercy.

I am not quite sure why so many perceive the Christian faith to be one centered on rules, judgment and obligation. I am inclined to say that such a perspective on faith allows one to elevate oneself amongst others. One can be holier. One can be better. One can be a more “real” Christian. After all, if you look around, you can always find someone who needs to get their act together more than you do. Such a view of Christianity seems to make it a lifetime of ladder climbing. A lifetime of exhaustion from every day bringing another rung. A lifetime of frustration from never reaching the top. A lifetime of misery that comes from being so broken that you cannot climb.

I don’t think that this young man is alone in wondering what mercy is, because for many it is a word that has not become part of their faith vocabulary.

So, I tried to answer the young man’s question. “ What’s mercy?” I stumbled in my efforts, and I said, “It is forgiveness when you don’t deserve it. It is forgiveness based on love, not worthiness. It is a God who takes you as you are and doesn’t give up on you until he has molded you into a beautiful work of art.” If I had had my dictionary with me, I could have looked it up to make it clearer, “compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.” (Webster’s)

When I read the Bible, I see mercy to be the core of what God is all about. From the stories of creation to the visions of the end of time, I see a God whose response to a broken and dysfunctional world to be mercy. God doesn’t give up on us, even in the story of the flood. God doesn’t say, “You made your bed now you have to lay in it.” No, God, in Jesus joins us in our bed of thorns we have made. God doesn’t say as Marie Antoinette, “Let them eat cake,” and dispassionately watches us suffer from afar. God set his feet on our ground and subjected himself to being spit at, whipped, betrayed, crucified, and even shut in a grave. Driven by a divine reactor of love, the God who has revealed himself in Jesus Christ is a God of mercy.

To be treated mercifully is life giving. I hope that my short encounter with the young man in my flight was a life-giving event for him. I hope that it added a word to his vocabulary of faith. I hope this Bungee Cord is a life-giving event for you, and a word has been added to your vocabulary of faith. I hope that it is a word that becomes the primary word for you and him, and you ponder your relationship with God, your faith. The word: mercy!

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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