LOVE, PEACE AND MERCY

The God that created this universe did so without violence. The creation of earth was done with love, healing, compassion, mercy and forgiveness. The intent was never for us to kill, maim and hate our brothers and sisters in His name. Somehow, we have turned our creative powers into the opposite of what the Creator intended. Yet, hope springs eternal.

One of the tenets of the Sermon on the Mount (The Beatitude) Matthew 5: 7 says:  “Blessed are the Merciful for they shall obtain Mercy.”  We have seen this displayed on the battlefield where mercy is sometimes shown to the “enemy”. We saw mercy on display after the South Carolina massacre. The grieving family extended mercy, love and forgiveness to the perpetrator.  We saw, after the Lebanese war, a Lebanese Christian intelligence officer, who had killed many Muslims during the war, ask for forgiveness in an open letter to the Muslim society.  All around us are examples of redemption, forgiveness and mercy.

As we strive to overcome the malaise of war, strife, anger and bitterness, I am reminded of yet another tenet of the Beatitude: “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God”, Matthew 5:9. When we make peace with our “enemy” with unconditional love we are living up to our full potential. We were created to live peaceable with our neighbors, within our community, and our neighboring countries.  Therefore, as we ponder these lines of scripture, we are reminded that these tools were given to us to embolden our lives to demonstrate mercy and peace. It was the blueprint for us to live and breathe through our daily existence.  Now is the time for us to re-center ourselves and demonstrate divine love and mercy for each other. Remember, we are all one. And since we are all creators we can create and manifest a world of love, joy and mercy.

Instead of elevating violence and bigotry we can bring peace within ourselves and to our fellow human beings.  Let’s understand the doom and gloom heard on the news and use it for its true purpose: to remind us that we are here to create all that is inherently good in us: love, joy, mercy, charity, compassion and peace.