Mercy Triumphs over Judgement

Occasionally God conspires against us.  Not for our ill or downfall but rather for our raising up.  Raising up is what He does.  It has always been what He does.  Christ's rising from the dead is just the culmination of what God has been working at since Adam and Eve fell into death and took the rest of us with them.

I feel that I have been conspired against these past few weeks.  Everywhere I turn I have been confronted with the same theme: Mercy, compassion, and what it means to truly live the life of love.

I have been studying the letter James wrote to those first century refugees from Jerusalem, the "Diaspora" as he calls them.  We read in Acts about the stoning of Stephen and the persecution that broke out against the Church following that and how the Jerusalem church was scattered to four winds of the known world, fleeing for their lives.  James, as the spiritual leader and Bishop of Jerusalem writes to his scattered flock about suffering and trials, not in a philosophical vacuum but to a people who were suffering greatly. He also repeatedly turns to the topic of mercy. He starts with this overarching injunction:

1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Whatever else you think religion is about, James puts this at the center of the discussion.

In chapter 2  James begins by condemning the showing of personal favoritism to the rich over and against the poor. He ties this in to a discussion of law breaking to show that favoritism makes us no less of a law breaker than murder and adultery.  He exhorts us to live as those who will be judged by the law of liberty, but the one thing that triumphs over judgement, regardless of whatever other law we have broken, is mercy.  "Mercy triumphs over judgement."

Where James enters in to his often debated passage on faith and works he again inserts (quite deliberately I think)  to illustrates that faith without works is dead the example of a "brother or sister naked and destitute of daily food" coming into the assembly and what the proper response to them is: not words of "peace and be warmed and filled," but rather material mercy in the form of food and clothes.  This is the mark of living faith.

But the conspiracy continues, as if that is not enough.  I came across this passage from St. Symeon the New Theologian some time back.  I was struck when I read it about my selfishness with the generous provisions God has bestowed upon me, but I am good at distracting myself from such conviction.  Yet like an unwanted pop up on a website or an earwormy song you can't get out of your head it keeps intruding on my thoughts.

"When a man really considers his neighbor as himself, he will never tolerate having more than his neighbor. If he does have more, but refuses to share things generously until he himself becomes as poor as his neighbor, then he will find that he has not fulfilled the commandment of the master. He no longer wants to give to all who ask, and instead turns away from someone who asks of him while she still has a penny or a crust of bread. He has not treated his neighbor as he would like to be treated by him. In fact, even if a man had given food and drink and clothes to all the poor, even the least, and had done everything else for them, he has only to despise or neglect a single one and it will be reckoned as if he had passed by Christ and God and He was hungry and thirsty."

-St. Symeon the New Theologian, The Practical and Theological Chapters

And then this week I read this article by Dr. Elizabeth H. Prodromou highlighting the tragedy of global proportions playing out in the Middle East and Africa. It's not that I have not been unaware of the horrific crimes against humanity being committed in many places around the world but I confess, I have learned over the years to keep my heart at a distance from such tragedy. I am tempted to think my heart is already stretched to the limit with the less dramatic and catastrophic but nonetheless personally significant, tragedy and challenges close to home, from a wife with chronic illness to relatives with mental illness and friends with job loss. How can I possibly take on the burden of a Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Nigeria ad nauseum. But then I am reminded of the book by Archimandrite Zacharias, The Enlargement of the Heart. It's been a long time since I read the book I can't even really remember a specific quote but I remember clearly the idea that the heart's capacity to love is limitless. We can, by God's grace, embrace the whole world in our hearts. This is something I have to take by faith. I certainly don't feel it possible but I trust the witness of the Saints and the Scriptures. Does not John say "But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him." (I John 2:5) God's love is perfected IN him. Is there any limit to God's love? Oh yeah, and by the way, he also has something to say about mercy: "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?" (I John 3:16-17)
I have a lot of this world's goods.  I live and work in one of the more affluent cities in Texas. Sure, I support my World Vision kids and give to the local parish. So what?  How much do I spend on myself and my flesh. I have not really made a sacrifice to do those things. I have not given my two widow's mites. How much did I spend on dinner and a movie this weekend?  How much do I spend on a venti-mocha-caramel-extra-shot whipped cream frappa ching$ latte on a regular basis.  What is my entertainment budget for the month? How much do I spend eating out for lunch most days because I am too lazy to fix a sandwich at the house before I leave in the morning? Sigh. The list goes on.

The great conspiracy has come to a head. So, now what?  I don't know yet, but repentance by its nature requires a change.  I may not be able to do much for the Middle East.  After all, I have just 5 loaves and few fish among tens of thousands of hungry mouths. But I can do more than I am.  What if we all did a little more than we are?  We have seen how far a few loaves and fish can go in the right hands.

Below are some links to trusted and respected charities.  I exhort you, give up a coffee this week and send 5 dollars to one of them. And then maybe do it again next week.  And the week after that ...

If we are willing to engage these tragedies with our hearts (even if we start small), I believe, I trust, that we will find our hearts enlarging and our desire to see what God will do with our two mites and loaves will increase. This is the first step to resurrection.  God is wanting to raise us up out of ourselves so that we can embrace the whole world, so that we can be filled with His love.  This is life.  Nothing less will satisfy or bring lasting joy.

International Orthodox Christian Charities
World Vision International
Direct Relief