A merciful God, a merciful people

"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." Matthew 5:7

     Do you know this African proverb? When two elephants fight, the grass gets crushed. As black on black, and black on white violence escalates in your beloved country, and food is being increasingly used as a political weapon to starve critics and political opponents, many innocent people are being mercilessly crushed as the elephant's battle without peaceful resolution. The elephants of brutality, cruelty, growing anarchy and mercilessness can destroy a nation faster than all the combined famine, drought, disease and economic collapse.

     Mercy begets mercy. God, who is rich in mercy, shows mercy to the just and unjust without racial prejudice or favoritism. We have a merciful God. God expects us to be a merciful people. "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."

     Err on the side of human kindness and compassion. Mercy is compassion in action, as we see and feel the misery of fellow human beings. Our sympathy often leads to personal involvement and society can be transformed with the help of God.

     Mercilessness begets mercilessness. The opposite of mercy is vengeance and punishment. If we seek an eye for eye retaliation, the world would soon be completely full of blind people. But the way of Christ is mercy towards friend and foe alike. When our enemies are hungry and thirsty, give them something to eat and drink. Jesus expects this of us.

     A minister once served as a chaplain in the army during the Persian Gulf war in the early 1990's. His assigned battalion had the difficult job of guarding Iraqi prisoners of war. The victors had no sympathy for the obvious suffering of their enemies. The desert was very hot. There was not enough water for everyone. The victorious soldiers had priority water rights and even that was strictly rationed, so they could fight another day.

     The chaplain saw a young prisoner dying of thirst. Although his comrades encouraged him to save his water for himself, the chaplain knelt to one knee and lifted his water bottle to the dying man's lips. This courageous Christian minister was willing to go thirsty, so his suffering enemy could have a moment of relief.

     I tell you this story with good reason. God, who is rich in mercy, can and will help us be merciful to one another. With God, all things are possible. In showing mercy, you are paving the way towards the healing of your land. Your mercy will eventually defeat the destructive elephants of brutality and mercilessness. Your mercy will save, not destroy lives.

     Prayer: God, have mercy on us all. For Zimbabwe, mercy. For her suffering citizens, mercy. For comrades languishing from hunger and beatings, and those in jail, mercy. For friends and families, mercy. For our enemies, mercy. Amen.

Written by Rev. Dr. Sandy Bochonok
http://soulfoodministry.org
August 19, 2002
Permission is given to freely distribute and share this reflection with the people of Zimbabwe.