Last week, I wrote about council elections and some thoughts on justice based on Micah’s words and the upcoming council elections.
Over the term of the current council there have been many unkind words spoken and I do not want to dwell on them since they have a detrimental effect on the life of the community.
Micah tells us that the Lord requires that we love kindness, and in other translations it is translated as love mercy.
Mercy is easier to understand, at least in my opinion, than justice.
Mercy involves, at times, some sort of compromise.
Mercy requires that we set aside something that we might gain in order to give a benefit to somebody else; and while it may be easier to understand than justice it still reflects the work of Jesus on the cross when it is done.
Jesus’ death and resurrection did not come easily.
Humans, as they lead a life focussed on themselves, separate themselves from God and God could quite rightly choose to reject them.
That was not the case though.
Not only did God, through Jesus, choose not to reject humans who rejected him, he chose to love them more deeply and bring them back into his love and presence, and he did that through Jesus on the cross.
God showed the ultimate act of mercy on the cross and joined humanity to him.
God set aside a just punishment, to show mercy. Why? Because we are loved by God.
When we think about loving mercy and the upcoming elections remember this: we expect a council that is merciful to the community, and they have a right to expect the same from the community.
And why is that? Because God, through Jesus the Son, has been infinitely merciful to all of us ... just a thought.
~ Contributed by Fr Tim Fogo from St Paul’s Anglican Church, on behalf of the Combined Churches of Deniliquin.
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