Matthew 5:7
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
"Whereto serves mercy, but to confront the visage of offence?" asks Portia in The Merchant of Venice. It's a good question and one which most of us don't really think about these days. We typically think of "mercy" as a synonym for "excuse." We have "mercy" on people who "couldn't help it" or "didn't know any better." The problem is, that's not what mercy is for. Excuses are not mercy. Excuses are excuses. They are reasons why somebody who appears to have acted in malice did not really do so. Therefore we excuse children, or madmen, or unwitting people who step on our toes. We do not excuse people who look us directly in the eye and punch us in the nose in order to take our wallets and run. We blame them. And it is precisely for those people who are truly blameworthy that the Gospel commands mercy. We who live in the shadow of September 11, 2001 are now confronted with one of the hardest challenges the Gospel confronts us with: not merely the challenge to make war against injustice, but the challenge to be merciful toward — not make excuses for — the truly evil and unjust. Humanly speaking, it can't be done. But with God's help, His commands — including "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us" — can be obeyed.
