Yesterday was Mother’s Day, of course, and I hope that all of the mothers who read this blog were honored and happy yesterday. I realize that we mothers all have times when we deal with not-so-happy relationships and experiences, but for the most part I hope that most mothers are glad they “signed on” for this role.
              In studying the Bible related to traits which help us to cope with life’s challenges, I was looking at the lives of various Biblical people who displayed resilience. Resilience is an essential quality often thought of as flexibility or the ability to “bounce back.” I have found that it is far more than that. Resilience is a quality dependent upon faith which enables us to forge positive lives in the midst of negative experiences.
              One Biblical character who displayed resilience was a young woman who found herself talking to an angel and making a choice which would put her at the mercy of her fiancé and her society as well as her God. I’m speaking of Mary, who at a very young age accepted pregnancy, carrying the Son of God, doing something with total belief when the situation was beyond human belief.
              Once she “signed on,” two major things would come into her life. First there was absolute joy – joy passing understanding, as she give birth to Jesus and was witness to His babyhood, His first steps, His first words, His growth and learning. What an amazing adventure Mary was part of with this baby/child/teenager/young adult who would be His people’s Savior!
              The second major thing of course, was sorrow. She “pondered in her heart” from the very beginning the idea that her heart would be broken before her motherhood was complete. Many mothers like me have to face the deaths of children of various ages, but can you imagine witnessing your son’s crucifixion? Also, to listen to Him consign your care to His friend before He died? The sorrow would be limitless, yet we also know that Mary knew of His resurrection and His return to the Father and saw the return of her joy in salvation.
              We mothers (and fathers) would do well to emulate a person who accepted God’s will with its accompanying joy and sorrow and the resilience to praise His name in all things.

                I’m sure that all of you have moments when you are forced to examine or re-examine attitudes or life itself. I had such an experience driving home recently, and I want to share some thoughts with you. The day actually began with an appointment and then a very nice lunch with my beloved brother and then a bridal shower for a very special young friend.
              However, at that event I spent time with a woman who has coped with a crippling disease most of her life and was dependent on a walker. She had actually dared -- after three years of caregiving with a loved one dealing with cancer as well as diabetes, loss of a foot and rehabilitation  – to leave him at a bookstore temporarily and attend an event on her own.
              At that same event I was aware that the bride’s mother was unable to attend because after years of coping with multiple sclerosis, she is less and less able to communicate or to go out in public. She will attend a small family wedding ceremony but not the regular wedding itself because crowds and pressure are beyond her ability to cope.
              They are all in my prayers, of course. But my drive home included much reflection as well as prayer. I realized first that I was able to drive my car the 100 miles home, something I take for granted as much as walking out the front door. Beyond that, of course, I have a busy schedule which takes me to multiple event in multiple places. How often do I thank God?
              During that drive, I realized that when my husband and I have periods of difficulty, dealing with his sporadic sciatica and lower back pains and dealing with my neuropathy in my feet, we tend to see them as major. Reflecting on the lives of people dealing with major illnesses and conditions, people being limited to the point of not attending events I would not consider missing, suddenly what my husband and I cope with seemed so minor.
              What would Jesus say about all this? During this Easter season, I have spoken of His compassion, and we see that compassion in all of His dealing with people. Jesus above all others would react with understanding and compassion for all that we deal with. Hallelujah!

               In churches which follow a liturgical year, yesterday was the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday. The concept of divine mercy is both interesting and essential to our Christian faith, but it is not always easy to understand. Since I wrote about compassion in my last blog post, it follows easily to write about mercy in this one.
              Jesus, of course, was a Lord of both compassion and mercy. The two of them go hand in hand, but compassion is basically an emotion, a way we look at others and move from looking at them that way to treating them that way. Compassion literally means “feeling with” and moves the concept of true love of humankind from something we do towards them to something we do with them, taking into consideration their real needs and feelings. Because of its true meaning, compassion is an emotion we hope all Christians feel and employ.
              Mercy is far more, particularly if we look at the meaning of mercy in the Bible. People can be merciful by being forgiving, kind and compassionate to others. Mercy is including in the Beatitudes as “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” We are expected to follow Jesus’ example in the way that we treat others, and God looks with favor on that mercy.
              But mercy in the Bible is overall about God. It is a quality which we can imitate but cannot attain in its entirety. Mercy is bound up in God’s covenant and promises to us and in His gift of His Son, in total forgiveness, and in eternal life. Such mercy is far beyond mankind’s mercy.
              God’s mercy is abundant and infinite. Abundance implies a lot, but infinite tells us that God’s mercy absolutely has no end. The other word which is my favorite for this concept is “everlasting,” as in one of my favorite hymns, “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” This kind of love isn’t going to end with divorce, abandonment, death or change of mind the way that human love can end. This love comes from a God known as “alpha and omega,” the beginning and the end, the eternal presence throughout all of existence.
              As we continue to celebrate Easter, let’s celebrate mercy, the great gift of the God of Love.

April 22, 2019
 
          COMPASSION
A man in pain, hanging there
Close to heaven but closer to hell,
Bearing His own humanity
And all our human wrongs as well.
 
In His eyes are sorrow and more –
Compassion for those who stand below –
And in His heart more of loneliness
Than even God should have to know.
 
He dies – quickly is hidden away;
Only a few even know the place.
His mother mourns, and those who had seen
The tears of God upon His face.
 
At Easter dawn the tomb is bare,
And in the garden now He walks.
“’Though I am gone, I’m with you, too,”
He speaks love’s greatest paradox.
 
A world in pain, spinning here,
Full of those living in daily fear,
Bearing burdens of death and hurt
And needing His great comfort near.
 
“‘Though I am gone, I’m with you still,
For I’ve seen death – I know its touch.
I’ve looked down in loneliness upon
The world I loved so very much.”
 
As Easter dawn comes once again,
No tomb can hold a Lord who dies,
And we, in Easter joy and hope,
Still see compassion in His eyes.
 
            I have been sharing this poem during this Easter season, a poem I wrote while contemplating a painting called “Compassion” by artist Dena Roush, a close friend of my mother’s. I wanted to share it again in this blog because the subject matter has been on my mind as pertinent to this Easter season extending to Pentecost in June.
              Of all the qualities that Jesus displayed during His life on earth, compassion was foremost. He saw people as children of God in need of forgiveness and mercy but also in need of the God of Love to cure their afflictions, calm their fears, and rest their minds and souls. During His time the common people were seeing the very worst of the abuses of power and ambition. The Romans were in charge, and their domination of the world actually went to the extreme of declaring the “one true god” to be their emperor.
              Such a “god” had no compassion, as shown by the abuse of people by his soldiers, the extreme taxation which kept the poor poorer, and the brutality of such practices as crucifixion and “circuses” with people versus lions. No wonder the people of Judea flocked to listen to Jesus as He spoke of the importance of those who were meek, merciful, peacekeeping and “poor in spirit,” a term meaning humble and obedient. They needed His healing of spirit and mind as much as His physical healing.
              In the spirit of “pass it on,” may these days after Easter be a time when we imitate Him and find the compassion within ourselves and share it with others. Imagine a whole world of compassion – Jesus could!

April 15, 2019
 
              This is Holy Week for Christians. It is the most passionate week – going from praise to despair to betrayal to death to Resurrection, summoning every human emotion. I want to focus on one day, because I believe strongly in its significance.
              Holy Thursday – or Maundy Thursday, which refers specifically to the ceremony of washing feet – contains in it strong parts of Jesus’ legacy to us. We need to remember that this was originally the day of Passover commemorating God’s killing of the firstborn of the Egyptians which secured the Israelite’s release from bondage. The significance of that should be obvious.
              At this time, Jesus is a few days away from being hailed as a king and welcomed by the people into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Now in the Upper Room He has to complete some vital things with His Disciples before He faces His death. First, He washes the Disciples’ feet against protests by Peter, a gesture of kindness toward guests. But the washing of feet is far more than that; it is His way of establishing Himself as servant of all and summoning us to service to each other.
              Next, Jesus gives us the symbolic meal of bread and wine, a sacrament commemorating forever His body and blood given for us in fulfillment of God’s covenant. During that meal, He also identifies His betrayer, moving this from a simple meal to a last gesture before the rest of this evening, for Jesus is troubled and needs to talk to His Father. He takes the Disciples to Gethsemane, where He prays the prayer He bequeaths to us all: “Not my will, but Thy will be done”, a prayer which costs Him sweat and tears before He goes to His betrayal and mock trial.
              At the end, He is betrayed and taken to Pontius Pilate for a long night which leads to His crucifixion. And thus ends a single day which should speak to all of us who walk at least at times in darkness, who deal with human challenge and tragedy and need the Lord of Light and what He did for us.
              Through service we follow Him, through bowing to God’s will we follow Him, through prayer we follow Him, through accepting death and the promise of resurrection we follow Him. Each of these acts of following Him helps us through times of darkness and reminds us that it is in following Him that we embrace the Light. May you have a contemplative Holy Week and a Happy Easter.