Daniel 9:3-10, Psalm 79, Luke 6:36-38
The mercy of God is like a well made ice-cream cone.
The way I make an ice-cream cone is not like they do it at the shop downtown. Sure they make it look pretty; one or two big scoops piled up high and of course they have more flavors then I have at home. But when you start into one of those you get through the ice-cream pretty quick on a hot day and then suddenly it’s nothing but dry cone. They try and fool you by giving you a fancy sugar cone but it just doesn’t do it for me.
When I make an ice-cream cone I start with small bits of ice-cream and I cram it all the way to the bottom. I fill that cone right up and then put a scoop on top; then when I eat into that cone its ice-cream right to the bottom, no dry cone for me. By the time I’m just about finished there is warm ice-cream melted from the heat of my hand running out of the bottom of that cone through the napkin and down my arm. That’s how you make an ice-cream cone and that’s how I picture the mercy of God.
Luke tells us God’s mercy is, “A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.” That’s a good description of abundance, God’s mercy is abundant. The rich symbols of baptism are meant to capture this abundance for our senses. We use a baptism candle that’s decorated and four feet tall. We use a bowl of water that’s big enough to submerge a baby in. We use beautifully scented oils to cover the child with God’s goodness. There is no containing oil once it is out of its bottle, it gets everywhere. The pages of my Baptism ritual are all crinkly from Chrism oil and I’m sure many mother’s go home and wonder how they will get the oil stains out that new baptismal gown. God is just laughing, “You can’t wash out the grace that I will give you.”
God’s mercy is so abundant that it becomes like the air we breathe. Unless we stop and notice our lungs moving in and out we begin to take it for granted. We can spend our lives recklessly and then stop and wonder, “is God still there, or did I leave God behind?” But there is no leaving God’s mercy behind. The prophet Daniel knew this as he begged upon God’s mercy on behalf of the people. I’ve experienced this in counseling with middle aged people who wonder if they still have a chance to turn their life around and all I can do is remind them yes, yes, yes. You can still turn back to God. God’s mercy is abundant.
The reformation theologian Calvin said that human beings are like a pile of manure in the barnyard and that God’s mercy is like snow that covers us like a pure white blanket. It might look nice but underneath it’s still…you know what.
I think God’s mercy is more than this.
I think God’s mercy is more like the perfume the woman used to anoint the feet of Jesus; the smell must have stayed in that room for weeks. I think God’s mercy is like the barrels of water that Jesus turned into wine at the wedding in Cana; did they drink all of it or did they just have a good time trying? I think God’s mercy is like Jesus speaking to the repentant thief on the cross saying, “of course its not too late to turn your life around, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Given the abundance of God’s mercy maybe it wouldn’t hurt if we shared a little bit of it with others. Jesus asks us to forgive, not to judge and not to condemn others. Can we show a little mercy as our heavenly Father is merciful to us.
Fast from Gossip today, speak only kind words about others.
Perhaps you can make the first move in restoring a broken relationship.
