Be Merciful

“For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”

If the essence of God could be captured in a single thought it would be that of sacrificial love. God is sacrificial love. Sacrificial love is a love that wills the good of another. Love for another always comes before love of self. It is in this image and likeness that we were created. Sin is taking for one’s self that which God does not freely give. Sin is putting love of self over love of God. Sin veils the image that we were created in. We have been given this life to recover that image. We have been given this life to learn to love the way God loves.

In the first reading, David’s enemy was delivered to him. He had the opportunity to kill the man who was trying to kill him. David did not kill King Saul because he was able to see Saul the way God did. Saul was God’s anointed, set apart and consecrated by God to lead Israel. God loved Saul. Who can harm God’s anointed and not go unpunished? David was merciful and mercy was shown to David for the rest of his life.

God loves each of us with that same sacrificial love. We are commanded to have that same love for one another. Mercy flows from this love and we are to extend that mercy just as David gave mercy to Saul. If we want 100% of God’s mercy in our lives, we have to give 100% of our mercy to others. In the Lord’s Prayer we ask God to forgive us only as much as we are willing to forgive those who have wronged us. Are you holding a grudge against someone? Have you not forgiven someone for a wrong they have done to you? Holding on to hate will keep you from entering heaven. Hate is a poison that kills the soul and shackles us in slavery to the devil. To forgive means to let go; to let go of the resentment, the anger, and the hate that keeps us from loving the way we should. Forgiveness is liberating. It frees us to be who we are called to be.

What do you do when someone has hurt you so badly that you cannot bring yourself to forgive them? Take it to prayer. Tell God that you can’t forgive that person. Give him permission to forgive the person for you. Then ask God to soften your heart so that one day you can forgive as God forgives.

“I give you a new commandment, says the Lord: love one another as I have loved you.”