MERCY NOT SACRIFICE

Monday, February 23, 2015

MERCY NOT SACRIFICE

Old Testament covenants were confirmed in blood according to recent readings in this Lent’s “Little Black Book.” Even in Prophet Isaiah’s writing this was being completed, in a new direction—and fulfilled in the Person of Jesus Son of God, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice, says the Lord.” Mt 9:13

2-9-15 -- ISIS targets bombed by Jordanian strikes -Getty images

But mercy is seldom found in the midst of our nation’s current rules of engagement with other cultures. They show us little mercy in return. The tactics of ISIS are abhorrent to us. The world becomes a more dangerous place. USA Today focused on this, in a shortened story that appeared in our local Sunday paper {full article worth reading}. At its center is the testimony of an aid worker Kayla Mueller, recently killed while kidnapped by ISIS. She was reportedly [not denied by our government] a casualty of our own allied Jordanian fighter jets, during a targeted retaliatory raid on ISIS that we’d encouraged. Undaunted by the dangers, she’d stated [and many other aid workers feel]—“For as long as I live, I will not let this suffering be normal.”

Even those who deliberately choose not to live by the sword, on both sides of the conflicts, are killed by swords. Our task as Christians, is to put away this proliferation of swords.

From "The Last Supper" [Catholic Worker table of hospitality] by Fritz Eichenberg

There is innocence, though completely unearned, in every child in the womb. There is innocence, however contradicted by guilt, in every enemy.

In today’s lectionary reading we have Matthew 25’s last judgment scene. God does not ask us sheep or goats if we’d determined if those “least of the brethren“ we’d encountered, appeared worthy of works of mercy.

There is risk in giving service, the same risk that Jesus took for us, and calls us to take, even for those last on our list.