Mercy is Believing

December 3: Friday of the First Week of Advent, Year C2

Isaiah 29:17-24; Matthew 9:27-31

Once, in Chad, I said to a young boy, “Take me to the chief!” He had been disrupting a retreat for teenage girls. I made him lead me to the chief’s mud-and-straw hut. Before the entrance, he clapped his hands to announce us and said, “Bram?”

I knew I should leave right then. “Bram” means “Dad.” It left no doubt whose side the chief would be on. Their relationship was not just chief-subject; it was father-son. I didn’t have a chance.

If I call God my Father–Bram–what should I be afraid of? “The LORD is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid?” I am assured of “mercy” because of our relationship.

The two blind men who cried out to Jesus, “Son of David, have pity on us!” knew he had to have pity - because of the title by which they called him. They believed he was the Messiah. Jesus knew what their answer would be before he asked them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” And we know what his answer will be when we ask him for mercy–if we believe in the relationship that we have with him.

Giving and receiving mercy comes down to believing in relationships.

Daily Practice: Before you pray for anything, remember your relationship with the one you are praying to.

Advent Prayer: Begin each day praying the Our Father as a conscious claim on relationship.