“Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.”
Our readings today reflect on the divine trait of mercy. Pope Francis, in one of his first books as pope, wrote that “The Name of God is Mercy.” Mercy is essential to the nature of God, and to the nature of God’s love. This is a joyful and mysterious aspect of our God. Our first reading reflects on the wonderous love of God who – despite having every just reason to punish his people – responds in mercy and salvation. In the Gospel, Jesus counsels his followers to imitate God’s mercy in their relations with others, primarily expressed as forgiveness and generosity toward others.
Just like our God is merciful, the season of Lent is a season of mercy. It is not just a season to show mercy, but to experience mercy from God. I’m drawn to the story of the sacrifice of Isaac that we read yesterday. Isaac was expecting to die, and that his life was going to be taken from him. Unexpectedly, and mercifully, God stopped Abraham before he killed Isaac. What was Isaac feeling as he got off the altar? I imagine he was experiencing one of the most transformative experiences of mercy. Isaac had his life returned to him by a God who embraced him and delivered him. I can only imagine his joy, and I bet it was something like that expressed in the first reading.
When have we experienced God’s mercy analogously to Isaac? We, guilty through our personal sins, deserve only God’s justice. And yet, God does to us like he did for Isaac, he deals with us with mercy, treating us according to his love and not according to our sins. St. Paul says God’s love is proven in that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ’s passion is the greatest act of God’s merciful love and Christ’s grace that he pours out upon us through prayer, the sacraments etc. are no less transformative than getting Isaac off that altar. This lent, let us pray for the grace to be touched by God’s gift of mercy towards us, and how we are called to show this mercy to those in our life.