Bible books PDFs

Bible books PDFs

*​What is the true meaning

of mercy?*

The world seems to be

witnessing increasing
levels of violence, fear and
hatred that challenge us
each day. There are
ongoing debates about
how or whether to
welcome immigrants and
Bible books PDFs

refugees to the United

States; news headlines
remind us about the plight
of Syria and about the
horrors of the Islamic
State.

In such times, talk about

mercy may seem more
like wishful thinking. But
mercy matters – now more
than ever.
Bible books PDFs

The extraordinary Holy

Year of Mercy called by
Pope Francis ended in
November 2016. Pope
Francis has encouraged
President Donald Trump
to draw upon “the rich
spiritual and ethical values
that have shaped the
history of the American
people.”
Bible books PDFs

I recently wrote about

mercy in a book, “Mercy
Matters: Opening Yourself
to the Life Changing Gift.”
Mercy has touched my life
in many ways – such as in
my recovery from
alcoholism and through
my experiences as an
adopted child. So, to me,
mercy is a “love that
responds to human need
Bible books PDFs

in an unexpected or
unmerited way.”

At its core, mercy is

forgiveness. The Bible
speaks of God’s love for
sinners – that is, for all of
us. But the Bible also
relates mercy to other
qualities beyond love and
forgiveness.
Bible books PDFs

So, how can we begin to

understand the true
meaning of mercy?

*Mercy in the Hebrew

Bible*

Christians usually
understand the “Hebrew
Bible” as the “Old
Testament,” which is
replaced by the “New
Testament” of Jesus
Bible books PDFs

Christ as found in the

gospels of Matthew, Mark,
Luke and John.

How Christianity has

interpreted the Hebrew
Bible, often not fully
appreciating its Jewish
context, continues to be a
matter of scholarly debate.
But many Christians see
connections between
themes expressed in the
Bible books PDFs

“Old Testament” and

Christ’s later teachings
about the importance of
mercy.

The Hebrew Bible.

FirewallJC, CC BY
In the Hebrew Bible, there
is a cluster of related
words that are often
translated as “mercy,”
depending upon where
Bible books PDFs

they appear in the text.

There is “ahavah,” which
refers to God’s enduring
love for Israel, much like
the love between husband
and wife. Then there is
“Rachamim,” which comes
from the root word
“rechem,” or womb, and
therefore might be more
literally understood as
suggesting a “maternal
Bible books PDFs

connection” between God

and human beings.

In a famous passage from

Psalm 85 that speaks of
the Israelites’ return from
exile, it is said that when
“mercy and truth have met
together, righteousness
and peace have kissed.”

“Chesed,” the word

translated as “mercy” in
Bible books PDFs

this verse, additionally

suggests God’s quality of
“steadfast loyalty.” The
psalm thus relates
steadfastness and mercy
with “truth” – in Hebrew
“emet”– which means
behaving ethically and
being faithful to God’s will.

*Mercy in the Christian

gospels*
Bible books PDFs

A point of connection
between the Jewish and
Christian traditions is what
is called the “Great Hallel.”
Hallel means “praise” and
refers to a group of
psalms regularly recited at
the time of the new moon
as well as during
important Jewish feasts
like Tabernacles or
Sukkot, which
commemorates the period
Bible books PDFs

the Jewish people spent in

the desert on their journey
to the Promised Land.

The great Hallel is the

refrain of Psalm 136 that
celebrates how God’s
“mercy endures forever.”
Some scholars believe
Jesus sang the Great
Hallel with his disciples
when they went out to the
Mount of Olives after the
Bible books PDFs

Last Supper, the final

meal that he shared with
his Apostles before his
crucifixion.

Mercy sets the context for

many of Jesus’ teachings.
In the Gospel of Matthew,
Jesus tells the story of the
“unmerciful servant” who
has his own debt wiped
away but refuses to
forgive another servant
Bible books PDFs

who only owed him a few

cents.

The story teaches us that

we need to forgive others,
because we have been
forgiven ourselves.

*Jesus as the face of

mercy*

Also in Matthew’s gospel,

Jesus tells his disciples to
Bible books PDFs

understand the meaning

of the phrase:

“I desire mercy, not

sacrifice. For I have not
come to call the righteous,
but sinners.”

Perhaps most significantly

for Christians, Jesus
shows us what it means to
be merciful: He healed the
sick, welcomed the
Bible books PDFs

stranger and pardoned

those who persecuted and
killed him.

As Pope Francis tells us in

Misericordiae Vultus, his
letter introducing the Holy
Year of Mercy, Jesus’
mercy is not abstract but
“visceral” – it’s something
that quite literally changes
us from the inside out.
Bible books PDFs

And Christians believe

that this visceral aspect of
mercy comes in the
personal relationship
Jesus promises to all of
us: a relationship based
on forgiveness and love,
reconciliation and truth. As
Pope Francis writes in the
very first sentence of
Misericordiae Vultus,
Bible books PDFs

*“Jesus Christ is the face

of God’s mercy.”*

Practicing mercy
According to the Bible,
mercy does matter: It
matters because we all
need forgiveness. But
mercy also matters
because it is what can join
us all together in spite of
our differences.
Bible books PDFs

Protest against the

immigrant ban in
Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Fibonacci Blue, CC BY
But what does it mean – in
concrete terms – to be
merciful to the refugee,
the immigrant, not to
mention to those nations,
institutions and
communities that face the
challenge of welcoming
Bible books PDFs

them? What does mercy

mean in Syria? What is a
merciful response to the
atrocities of the Islamic
State, or ISIL/ISIS – a
group that has been
merciless in persecuting
Christians, Yazidi and the
Shia? How might mercy
shape the Trump
administration’s response
to Iran following its missile
tests, or to the Chinese
Bible books PDFs

expansion in the Spratly

Islands and the South
China Sea?

I certainly can’t say how

mercy can be specifically
applied to these
challenges: The
possibilities, and pitfalls,
are as numerous as the
various meanings
associated with mercy in
the Bible itself.
Bible books PDFs

But I would like to suggest

a starting point for thinking
about how mercy matters.
In a recent discussion
about my book “Mercy
Matters,” a participant
related how she’s been
watching both Fox News
and MSNBC in a effort to
expose herself to different
views about crucial issues
facing the United States. I
Bible books PDFs

never learned whether she

was a Democrat or a
Republican; a liberal,
conservative or libertarian.

But what I did learn is that

mercy begins by opening
oneself to those with
whom one might strongly
disagree. Mercy doesn’t
end there, of course, but it
begins with such small
acts of understanding,
Bible books PDFs

which can lead to

life-changing experiences
of love.

Contact us for more information

7382992041