Good morning…
The rains held off, and we walked in wonderful weather, mild and inviting. Along our way, we ran into two ‘soul friends’ also walking and talking at the horse farm. One is supporting her husband through treatment for his pancreatic cancer and the other is blossoming beautifully on the other side of a divorce and remarriage to the love of her life. Both are being schooled by the Spirit, moment by moment, in the art of letting God’s grace gently unfold.
When I returned home, I revisited our blog post, Let The Day Gently Unfold. Then a really weird thing happened. A song I had shared in our Just Mercy book study two months ago began mysteriously playing on my phone. Don’t ask me how. Electronics baffle me. I chalk it up to the unfolding of God’s grace leading me to an invisible voice singing these touching lyrics.
*****
Mercy Now by Mary Gauthier
My father could use a little mercy now
The fruits of his labor fall and rot slowly on the ground
His work is almost over it won’t be long, he won’t be around
I love my father, he could use some mercy now
My brother could use a little mercy now
He’s a stranger to freedom, he’s shackled to his fear and his doubt
The pain that he lives in it’s almost more than living will allow
I love my bother, he could use some mercy now
My church and my country could use a little mercy now
As they sink into a poisoned pit it’s going to take forever to climb out
They carry the weight of the faithful who follow them down
I love my church and country, they could use some mercy now
Every living thing could use a little mercy now
Only the hand of grace can end the race towards another mushroom cloud
People in power, they’ll do anything to keep their crown
I love life and life itself could use some mercy now
Yeah, we all could use a little mercy now
I know we don’t deserve it but we need it anyhow
We hang in the balance dangle ‘tween hell and hallowed ground
And every single one of us could use some mercy now
Every single one of us could use some mercy now
Every single one of us could use some mercy now
******
God’s unfolding grace leads us to our deepest truth: every single one of us could use a little mercy now. Whatever we are facing, God’s good, gracious mercy mysteriously surrounds, supports, sustains. I just learned a new thing. In the biblical Hebrew language, the word for “mercy” (רחם; racham) shares the exact same three-letter root as the word for “womb” (רחם; rechem). Based on the close linguistic connection between these terms, God’s “mercy” toward every single one of us denotes the same kind of divine protection that a baby has in its mother’s womb. What a comforting connection.
“The reason I can ⌞still⌟ find hope is that I keep this one thing in mind: the Lord’s mercy. We were not completely wiped out. His compassion is never limited. It is new every morning. His faithfulness is great” (Lamentations 3:21-23, GW).
We all love life and, morning by morning, life itself needs the generous mercy of our faithful God. As we each let this day gently unfold, what might be gestating in the compassionate womb of God?
…Sue…
