Mercy

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 

Mathew 5: 7 

 Jacob doted on his son Joseph. He was the eldest child of his beloved wife Rachel. But this made his other sons very jealous of the excessive attention that Joseph received. Jacob gave Joseph a coat of many colors and gave many other special privileges. Joseph as a child had been blessed with the ability to have prophetic dreams. He must have had a very special relationship with God. His father may have seen this ability in him and realized from the start that he was an extraordinary child. When Joseph spoke of his dreams his father listened and so did his brothers. His brothers were greatly offended by his dreams. His dreams portrayed Joseph as their ruler in front of whom they all, including his parents, bowed. This sparked off seething rage among his brothers. They were ready to kill him, instead they sold him to slave traders who were on their way to Egypt.

 Joseph went through many years of darkness imprisoned and betrayed by those very close to him – first by his brothers, and later in Egypt by Potiphar’s household where he was a slave. In prison he met the baker and the cup bearer of Pharaoh and correctly interpreted their dreams. When the cup bearer returned to Pharaoh, he forgot about Joseph, but remembered him eventually when Pharaoh had dreams that no one could interpret. Pharaoh was so impressed by Joseph that he made him his right hand man. All of Egypt now bowed before Joseph. Yet when he faced his brothers who begged for food to live, he forgave them. He said that what they meant to do as evil, God used to preserve them all. 

 Joseph saw the hand of God working through tragedy to preserve the future of the children of Israel. It was Joseph’s love for his brothers, despite all they had done to him, that overwhelmed him. He burst into tears from the sheer joy of seeing them, and restored a relationship that had been torn apart by so much hatred and jealousy. Joseph’s mercy and his brothers’ repentance united them together as a family again. 

Here we see this beatitude being fully manifested in the lives of the father's of the tribes of Israel. When we find ourselves in powerful positions, do we use them to lash out at all who betrayed our confidence or ignored us? Or do we use our power to foster a stronger relationship of trust, love, and understanding with those around us? Could Joseph have ever seen himself thousands of years later on a Broadway stage or a huge Disney production? Yet his story today is one of the most popular shows on the power of mercy. Do we have a real life story that can be preserved for many generations? 

 The image of Christ on the cross saying “Father forgive them”, is a very powerful image of one who is merciful. Under extreme torturous conditions he could beg God to forgive. Blessed are those who are forgiving of one another. It is this unconditional love displayed through Jesus’ words of forgiveness and mercy that we are challenged to live by as Christians. It is the sacrifice made by Christ that is found pleasing in God’s sight. When we completely surrender to God’s will in our lives, we can view through the lens of love that which is done with evil intent. Often it is one harsh word, one wrong deed, one lost moment that cause relationships to be permanently broken. 

 Christ is calling all who are in need of mercy to come to him, and he will forgive and be merciful. As Christians, our biggest stumbling block is self-righteousness. Do we see Christ as God of mercy? Do we see mercy in the lives of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? Do we look at our neighbors with a sense of self righteousness or with unconditional love? When we are merciful we will find mercy in Christ. Just as Christ was merciful we learn to be merciful.