Mercy

Mercy means: compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm; an event to be grateful for, because it prevents something unpleasant or provides relief form suffering. What has been your experience with mercy Dear Reader? This question sends me back in time to childhood memories. Do you recall wrestling as a child? When pinned, the underling could say mercy, the rule being that the captor would release their hold. When mercy was asked for, the honour went to the victor for winning the match and for nobly relinquishing their hold on the weaker player in the game. I don't know about you, but it made me frantic to be pinned and when I was released, I felt relief mixed with something akin to resentment, with a desire to retaliate. Upon reflection, I see how uncomfortably vulnerable it is to be pinned down and reliant upon the kindness of another in the form of mercy. In my adulthood, I see how mercy has flowed in my direction. How what I deserved I didn't get. How when I could have been made to pay by someone more powerful than I, they chose to release me instead...for the love of God, for the love of relationship, for the love of dignity and all that is good, mercy is forgiveness rather than a choke hold with strong dominating weak. I could be made to pay, you could be made to pay Dear One but alas, we are given many free passes with the gift of mercy. And what about you? Have you given what you have freely received? Does mercy flow from you? Do you withhold what is deserved in favour of being gracious and noble for the sake of love? You cannot give what you do not believe you have received. We give because we have first received. The beginning of mercy is the knowing, that I, that you, have been set free from paying for the mistakes we have made, the sins we have committed. The next part is the relief for not being punished or harmed, followed closely by the desire to be merciful, compassionate with someone we could crush or hurt in their vulnerable, weakened state. The stunning thing I have learned about mercy is that I didn't know it was there, not really, until I started to plead for it, feeling pinned. Mercy, I cry out mercy, release me...release him, her, them...mercy.