Father Richard names forgiveness and mercy as two of God\u2019s essential qualities: <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n I once saw God\u2019s mercy as patient, benevolent tolerance, a kind of grudging forgiveness, but now mercy has become for me God\u2019s very self-understanding<\/em>, a loving allowing, a willing breaking of the rules by the One who made the rules\u2014a wink and a smile, a firm and joyful taking of our hand while we clutch at our sins and gaze at God in desire and disbelief. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mercy is a way to describe the mystery of forgiveness. More than a description of something God does now and then, it is who God is<\/em>. According to Jesus, \u201cMercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice\u201d (Matthew 9:13, 12:7). The word is hesed <\/em>in Hebrew, and it means steadfast, enduring, unbreakable love. Sometimes the word is translated as \u201clovingkindness\u201d or \u201ccovenant love.\u201d God has made a covenant with all of creation (see Genesis 9:8\u201317) and will never break the divine side of the covenant. It\u2019s only broken from our side. God\u2019s love is steadfast. It is written in the divine image within us. It\u2019s given; it sits there. We are the ones who clutch at our sins and beat ourselves instead of surrendering to divine mercy. That refusal to be forgiven is a form of pride. It says, \u201cI\u2019m better than mercy. I\u2019m only going to accept it when I\u2019m worthy and can preserve my so-called self-esteem.\u201d Only the humble person, the little one, can live in<\/em> and after<\/em> mercy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The mystery of forgiveness is God\u2019s ultimate entry into powerlessness. Look at the times when we have withheld forgiveness. It\u2019s often our final attempt to hold a claim over the one we won\u2019t forgive. It\u2019s the way we finally hold onto power or seek the moral high ground over another person: \u201cI will hold you in unforgiveness, and you\u2019re going to know it just by my coldness, by my not looking over there, by my refusal to smile.\u201d We do it subtly, to maintain our sense of superiority. Non-forgiveness is a form of power over another person, a way to manipulate, shame, control, and diminish them. God in Jesus refuses all such power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If Jesus is the revelation of what is going on inside the eternal God (see Colossians 1:15), which is the core of Christian faith, then we are forced to conclude that God is very humble. That is amazing, and difficult to imagine. This God seems never to hold rightful claims against us. Abdicating what we thought was the proper role of God, this God \u201chas thrust all my sins behind God\u2019s back\u201d (see Isaiah 38:17). <\/p>\n\n\n\n We do not attain anything by our own holiness but by ten thousand surrenders to mercy. A lifetime of received forgiveness allows us to become<\/em> mercy. Mercy becomes our energy, our meaning. Perhaps we are finally enlightened and free when we can both receive mercy and give it away\u2014without payment or punishment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “If you are too busy to read, then you are too busy.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n – <\/strong>Richard Foster, Founder of Renovare<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the modern world, everything seems to be bidding for our attention. There is always another movie or show to watch, some clip that went viral, some social media account begging for our reactivity…<\/p>\n\n\n\n And so this metric of “being too busy to read” feels appropriate. If we do not have the time to sit and read even a paragraph of something worthwhile, that likely means that our lives are too overrun with nonsensical things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As soon as I am done writing this week’s newsletter, I will absolutely sit down and read for a bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Si comprehendus, non est Deus (If you can comprehend it, it is not God)<\/strong>.<\/strong>“<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n – <\/strong>Augustine of Hippo, Early Church Father<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n God is beyond our comprehension but not beyond our apprehension. Besides, God is less of an idea or concept to grasp as much as a Loving Mystery to be held by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I am neither of the East nor of the West, no boundaries exist within my breast.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n1.<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n 2.<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n 3.<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n