Mercy, Mercy Me

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy (Matthew 5:7)."

It is said that “justice without mercy is too hard and mercy without justice is too soft”.  What is difficult to balance is how to have mercy on someone who is unrepentant.  Or if we should!  In the parable of the unmerciful servant, cited in a previous post here, we see a vivid example of how much God has forgiven us and how little our neighbors "owe" us, and how gratitude to God should infuse our relationships with others.  

Jesus tells this parable in response to Peter asking how many times we must forgive our brothers and sisters, "even seven times?"  No, Jesus tells him, seventy times seven times.  And preceding that section is Jesus’ teaching on dealing with sin within the church.  Step one, take your brother aside and point out his fault, just between the two of you.  If that doesn’t work, step two, take two or three believers with you “so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”  And if that doesn’t work, bring the matter to the entire church.  “If they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”

This is the basis of the Amish practice of “shunning”.  According to the book Amish Grace, shunning has about a 90% effective rate of bringing sinners back to the fold.  However, to my mind, cutting someone off seems quite un-Christ-like.  What is not clear to me is whether I should treat that person as I would treat a tax collector, or how Jesus would treat a tax collector.  I suspect the latter, because that is much harder. 

Jesus' teaching shows us how we can have justice and show mercy and so does his life. I believe Jesus forgave pagans like the Samaritan woman at the well, and tax collectors like Bartimeus, just as he forgave Simon the Pharisee for insulting him. We should seek justice, not revenge. If the other is willing to work toward reconciliation, the relationship can be healed and the love strengthened. If they will not, shunning goes too far, but perhaps we would no longer worship together. However, Jesus was known for eating and drinking with the tax collectors and sinners.

Mercy is a theme throughout the Sermon on the Mount. Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. If you forgive others, your Heavenly Father will forgive you. Judge not, or you will be judged. This, I believe, is the difference between one who Jesus will acknowledge and this warning in Matthew 7: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’"