Mercy

Merciful  by Kaze

     Jackie confides in me as we sit on the sidewalk where she sleeps. “I don’t mind that it is so cold at night. I focus so much on how my fingers and toes could fall off that I don’t think about how miserable it is on the streets.”

     Eric, a homeless man who has been listening to us digs into his backpack and hands her a blanket. “Take this one. I’ve got lots of extra clothes I can wear at night.” He waves goodbye.

Jackie looks amazed. “I’ve never been treated so kind.”

I pat her on the shoulder and leave.

This is about mercy, not pity. Mercy includes feeling kinship with the other rather than handing out something from superiority.

Priscilla H. Wilson and I studied these beatitudes to see how they related to us.

5.    Blessed are the merciful: for they will be shown mercy

Mercy is kindness even when we don’t know the person.

       Mercy is an open mind and open heart when we see misery. It is being generous when we look upon despair. It often comes unexpectedly.

We know the opposite of this well. We use harsh judgment for those with whom we disagree, or we listen to someone constantly picking apart someone else and we do nothing.

Being merciful opens our channels for compassion, for generosity, for a non-judgmental stance. When we exhibit mercy, we see mercy everywhere. When we don’t act merciful, we don’t recognize mercy when it flies into our face.

      Blessed are the merciful: for they will be shown mercy