Mercy me! But what about Justice?

Mercy me! But what about Justice?

We will soon be completing the Jubilee Year of Mercy. The Dominicans will seal this special 800^th Anniversary year with final celebrations. The liturgical year is nearing end. The harvest time is upon us. Where is the fruit? What growth can we find in the rich loam of our humanness, in our very earthy human struggle? Lord, have mercy!

Yes, indeed. When we learn that real mercy means compassion for one who does not deserve it, the shoe fits. This is not about somebody else. This is about me. I try, I really do. But inevitably I come up short. Always. So scripture these days seems to understand. We really want to “…do something beautiful for God…” as Mother Theresa would say, but we don’t quite make it.

So I don’t know about you, but I come before God, holding the thimble of my puny efforts. I stand helpless, so much lacking. Then a voice next to me speaks up…”I will supply what is lacking, Father…” Then it clicks. I know how it works. The justice is tucked into the mercy. And the One who has bent so low to lift us up supplies both. For in the One who loves us justice and mercy are one. They are not opposed. They kiss.

So ordinary time plays out. The fields become rich with grain. The corn is a bumper crop. The grapes hang on the vines, and the pumpkins await the knife to be emptied out to show a toothy grin. And me? I do my little thing. Somehow God makes it enough. More often than not I need the mercy of my falling short. Then Big Brother supplies, and I remember that without Him I can do nothing. Mercy me!

* * * *

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

Indeed.

Mercy me when I come with so little.

Mercy me when I forget, and point the finger of my judgment toward another.

Mercy me when I need your compassion.

Mercy me when I do not measure up to your justice.

Mercy me.