“Sin is easier to write about than grace, I suppose, because the territory is so familiar and because, too, it is of the nature of grace, when we receive it, to turn our eyes not inward, where most often writers’ eyes turn, but outward, where there is a whole world of needs to serve far greater than the need simply for another book. I was too occupied with my job to think much about the next novel I myself might write, but it occurred to me that, if and when the time ever came, it would be the presence of God rather than his absence that I would write about, of death and dark and despair as not the last reality but only the next to the last.” (Buechner, Frederick. Listening to Your Life. HarperOne. Kindle Edition.)

The Greek word for mercy is “Eleos” and it is understood as “kindness or good will toward the miserable and afflicted, joined with a desire to relieve them.”  How important is mercy to Jesus? We know in the beatitudes Jesus proclaims “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7) And the prophet Hosea declares the Lord’s intent: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of G-d rather than burnt offerings”. (Hosea 6:6).  

G-d wants us to show our love for G-d in how we express our feelings of affection toward each other, especially in showing mercy to those who are afflicted and in need of reprieve. Or in other words, G-d does not want a people who do their religious duties but refuse to be merciful to those who most need mercy.

The Pharisees were a group where Jesus saw just such a dichotomy. They were perfectly religious but they lacked the mercy to love the unlovable.  Their lives seemed to be a mechanical implementation of rules. Something huge was at stake here. But they could not see it or feel it. They were enslaved to the trivial issues of a ceremonial faith while believing others were the ones who did not understand what G-d desired. 

Not everyone will possess the gift of mercy to the same degree, but a heart for mercy is something that needs exercising. Remember, if Jesus said “Blessed are the merciful…” then we should seek to be merciful through our actions and our conversations.

Pastor Dave

As a seminary student, Buechner was assigned to work part-time in an East Harlem parish. Here he is commenting on the regular parish staff members: “They had caught something from Christ, I thought. Something of who he was and is flickered out through who they were. It is not easy to describe. It was compassion without sentimentality as much as anything else, I think—a lucid, cool, grave compassion. If it had a color, it would be a pale, northern blue. They never seemed to romanticize the junkies and winos and deadbeats and losers they worked among, and they never seemed to let pity or empathy distort the clarity with which they saw them for no more if no less than what they were. Insofar as they were able to approach loving them, I got the impression that they did so not just in spite of everything about them that was neither lovely nor lovable but right in the thick of it. “No one is good but God alone,” Jesus says, and surely that is what the parish staff would I think have said too. At their strongest and saintliest, I believe, they knew that in the last analysis they weren’t really a spiritual elite, not really better than other people. They were just luckier.” (Buechner, Frederick. Listening to Your Life. HarperOne. Kindle Edition.)

The word “Leader” literally means “guide” and carries with it the idea of one who steers a ship. One with the gift of leadership rules with wisdom and grace and exhibits the fruit of the Spirit in his or her life as they, hopefully lead by example.

How does the world define Leadership?  I would venture to say that most people would define leadership is the ability to steer a ship of people through calm and through stormy seas – therefore the gifted leader is one who makes the decisions to manage the course of action as he or she works through conflict, and listens to various voices to determine the best direction for the group. 

By definition there cannot be a ship full of leaders – or the ship will never stay on the same course, nor will it work together to accomplish its main goal. Successful corporations and churches alike may have multiple people with the gift of leadership, but there is one who announces the ultimate direction – who has the voice of ultimate authority.

In the Christian church, the “One” who has ultimate authority is found in Jesus Christ and the teachings of Jesus. Jesus should be the one who ultimately sets the course for the individual churches as the called and elected leaders look for the church’s mission and ministry.

When a church gets off course it is usually because too many people without leadership qualities, or without the authority given by elected lay people, begin to steer the ship through their own power or influence. As we see in the racing phenomenon known as “The America’s Cup”, a ship is only as good as its captain and the willingness of the crew to listen to its leader.  When the church understands that Christ is our ultimate leader, and the individual members work together in humility electing leaders and allowing them to lead, then each ship will find its way through stormy and glassy seas alike, accomplishing the goals that Christ determines through the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Dave