(Ibid. 815), and those who hate bring hell
into their life. (See Ibid.1608.3)
The Lord did not hate the tax collectors
and sinners; He loved them unconditionally.
And so the Lord answered them:
Those who are well have no need of a
physician, but those who are sick. Go and
learn what this means: “I desire mercy, not
sacrifice,” (Hosea 6:6), for I did not come to
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
(Matthew 9:12,13)
We can emulate
Him by serving
all people without
judgment. It is
possible for us to
love one another
unconditionally. It is
possible to practice
non-judgment, if
not every day, then
on our best days.
The Lord asked the Pharisees to learn
what mercy is. The Heavenly Doctrines
provide us with a very specific definition: it
is the effect of the Lord’s love upon those who
are suffering (see Arcana Coelestia 587), and
“looks to the salvation of the whole human
race.” (Ibid. 598) In the largest scope, our
Lord Jesus’ very soul, the God-Essence itself,
Jehovah, is nothing else than mercy, which is love toward the entire human
race. (See Ibid. 2253)
We cannot comprehend this fully, of course, but the effect of the Lord’s
Divine mercy can be illustrated plainly. Imagine that you are witnessing
someone drowning, and he is struggling and calling out to you. Being moved
with love for him, you throw out a life vest and pull him to safety. Such is the
Lord’s mercy with each of us.
Mercy operates in a more subtle fashion also, for “it is the Lord’s mercy
alone that affects the will with love, and the understanding with truth or faith.”
(Ibid. 30) With this teaching in mind, consider another illustration: imagine
mentoring someone who you truly love, imparting to her all of the fine points
you want her to understand, shepherding her step-by-step so she may be led to
fulfillment and joy; this also reflects the Divine esse of mercy.
Once the word spread throughout Israel that the Lord could heal, many
people who were suffering came to Him, and called out: “Have mercy on me.”
(Matthew 9:27; 20:30-31; Mark 10:47; Luke 16:24; 17:13; 18:38; 18:39)
And so, in Matthew, chapter nine, we witness Divine mercy in action:
healing the paralytic, raising the ruler’s daughter from the dead, healing the
woman with the issue of blood, healing two blind men, and another who is
mute and demon-possessed. The Lord showed them what mercy looks like in
a very direct, Divine way: it means pure, unconditional love for the salvation
of the human race.
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