THE BEATITUDES (continued)
We now come to the fifth Beatitude and the first that is truly interactive in that it is by nature focused outward towards one’s fellow man. The first four could be considered to be more personal in their application as they more concern our own progress and our attitude toward ourselves, our God and our fellow man.
◊Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Unlike some of the words of virtue used in the previous Beatitudes, this one is rather straightforward and, as said above, it is an outward virtue. Poor in Spirit, Mourning, Meekness and Righteousness have all been Beatitudes where there is much room for interpretation of the meaning and the scope of what the Master intended when He said them. Here there should be no mystery; just a better understanding of the power and the importance of mercy. Again we begin with defining the word. From Webster’s we get this definition of merciful: Having or exercising mercy; compassionate; tender; disposed to pity offenders and to forgive their offenses; unwilling to punish for injuries; applied appropriately to the Supreme being. Compassionate; tender; unwilling to give pain; not cruel*. And of mercy we find: Forbearance to inflict harm under circumstances of provocation, when one has the power to inflict it; compassionate treatment of an offender or adversary; clemency. Compassionate treatment of the unfortunate and helpless; sometimes, favor, beneficence. Disposition to exercise compassion or favor; pity; compassion; willingness to spare or to help. A blessing regarded as a manifestation of compassion or favor*.
So what do we see here? In mercy there is meekness and there is righteousness as they were defined in previous posts and most important… merciful should be see as the outward sign of the Great Commandment of Christ; “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself“(Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31 and Luke 10:27). Now mercy is a quality of God and is spoken of throughout the Old Testament. In the gospels Jesus says “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:36) and this is in the same context as “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Both of these sayings by the Master tell us to be like the Father; to be merciful and to be perfect. In modern Christianity both of these terms have been pretty much watered down and somewhat ignored. For perfect many have substituted ‘mature’ as the biblical meaning. While this may me one of the lexicon’s meanings, it cannot be what was meant by Jesus when referring to the Father above and we, as the people He is talking to, are in the same sentence. Although the definition of mercy has not been changed literally, it has been lowered in its terms of usage. Who can say that they are merciful to the extent of the definitions above? Is this not what Jesus meant when he used the word in both instances? Is he not telling us clearly that we should be as the Father in terms of mercy, seeing all people as one; forgiving all for all, offering compassion, being tender, showing clemency and having pity for all the children of the One Father throughout the world?
Mercy is at the very root of our relationship with God and with our fellowman and, for being merciful, Jesus tells us that we are blessed and the we WILL receive mercy. This Beatitude should then lead us to a greater understanding of the Apostle Paul’s saying of “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth , that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7) which is true in all of life and in every department of human endeavor. This is the Great Law of Retribution; of Karma, and while is was not uttered by the Master in these terms it was put forth in even greater simplicity throughout the gospels. Forgive and you will be forgiven; judge not and you will not be judged and all is summed up in the teaching: Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12)
So what should we take from this Beatitude? We should take it as Jesus meant and if you search your hearts you will find that He meant it to be a guiding light to our interpersonal relationships. That we should be merciful as our Father God is merciful. That we should send out Love and Peace and Mercy to every man woman and child on the Earth without any distinction. That we should treat everyone we meet as we would treat our own child or mother or father or sister or brother. This is what the Master taught us to do.
The Lord put up no boundaries to our love and compassion towards others. God holds no prejudices and is no respecter of persons and our instruction has ever been to be like Him; it is in this that we have our salvation.
It is easy to be merciful to family and to friends and even to acquaintances but this is not the commandment of the Lord. He tells us to love everyone, to have mercy on everyone… no boundaries. And this is all summed up for us in this saying by the Master: “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust“. (Matthew 5:44-45).
We close this with a quote from James: “For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment” (James 2:13).
Note on the Quote of the Day
This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.
Then Peter opened his mouth, and said , Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. (Acts 10:34-35). There are no boundaries with God; there should be no boundaries with us.
- * Websters Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913
