The Spiritual Works of Mercy

Let us approach the spiritual works of mercy, which we are taught are:

                To admonish sinners.

                To instruct the ignorant.

                To counsel the doubtful.

                To comfort the sorrowful.

                To bear wrongs patiently.

                To forgive all injuries.

                To pray for the living and the dead.

I suggest that in the 21^st century we should consider these works globally as well as individually.  What are the global sins that should be admonished?  What systems of power and domination should be challenged that maintain people in ignorance of their beauty and their personal value, indeed of their rights as human beings?  How can we help those who are bound by doubt of their own rights and responsibilities, or by the way their wounds make them act out?

Note that we are admonished to bear wrongs patiently…where is the line between that patience and abuse?  How do we learn to forgive in a way that heals us, even if the other party does not care about forgiveness? 

Praying for the living is fairly obvious; we regularly do this and ask others to do it.  Prayer for the dead in this day and age should include the spiritually dead, and extinct species and other living things of the world. 

We are works in progress, we Christians.  We can only begin to glimpse the Kingdom during our lifetimes…let us work at the spiritual works of mercy with a view to uncovering more and more of the Kingdom within ourselves and in our world.

Some Thoughts About Love

“Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

            1 Cor. 13: 4-8

In other words, love is as love does.  Love is an action word.  It concerns itself with the other, not with the self.  When we are a channel of the love of God, we get out of the way and let God love through us.  In so doing, we are changed utterly. 

Loving someone may mean telling them no.  It may mean speaking truth to power.  It may be risky.  But it is our great joy as well.  It is love that keeps us going when we can’t go on.  In the end we realize it is God’s love that is and has been doing that all along. 

This kind of love is not shallow or sentimental.  It is not romantic love as the teenager would have it. It is not even erotic love.  This is the love that is stronger than death.  This is the love that throws itself into the fray with joy knowing that the battle is with powers and principalities, and will cost us everything we are.  Knowing that in dying to self, we are born to joyful life. 

Because he first loved me, I can dance in the rain, laughing at illusory fears.  Because he rescued me, I can leave it all on the field when I pass through the veil, knowing that there too, I will be available to love all in all. 

Don’t believe me?  That’s all right.  Take the actions you would take if you did believe it.  Moment by moment, day by day, you will come to see that the hard work is being done in you by the One who loves us all.  Bit by bit you will realize you have become happy, independent of all the people, places or things around you.  You will know peace.  You will become the change you would like to see in the world.  See you there!