Psalm 82

Pentecost +7 - Year C

Psalm 82

We have heard of a Mercy Inn and a Plumb Line. We now hear about G*D holding judgment, doing justice. This is the result of a plumb line of mercy that was unused, set aside for a more pressing issue, and eventually justice was needed to rectify the results of folks being unkind, unmerciful.

If you don't want to face judgment, justice for having gone awry, then show mercy, no matter what the provocation to express something else. Mercy is preemptive Justice. Mercy obviates the need for justice.

If you are among the G*Ds, then your call is to exemplify Mercy so that Justice need not be brought to bear. In the long run Mercy is the most efficient behavior, even when dealing with the unmerciful. Without Mercy non-violent resistance is simply a variation on violence and a will to power.

The longer I sit with this, the more untenable Mercy alone is. Second thoughts arise by the dozens, rationalizations for unMerciful behavior leap into being from nowhere, and satisfaction of revenge is very strong.

Mercy needs a community able to consistently remember Mercy as an option, a multitude of spiritual disciplines, and all the fruits of the spirit to be engaged together. Even then, in our world, Mercy is miraculous in its presence and effect.

Rise up, O you G*D, be merciful.

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"I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice."
-Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. President (1809-1865)