The Quality of Mercy

Late February - Early March 1960

California

There have been many ages in the world's history. There was the stone age; there was the bronze age, there was the iron age, there was the age of discovery when brave explorers set across unknown seas and finally found the New World; there was the age of the Renaissance which brought a reaction against the Medieval backwardness and caused a flourishing of the arts and sciences through such men as Bocaccio, Petrarch, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Erasmus of Rotterdam, and others. And in more recent times we have the age of Colonialism with such nations as France, England, and the United States to the fore. And now we have what might be called the atomic age, the jet age, or I have another title we might use - "The Age of Gunsmoke!"

Now when I call our age the Age of Gunsmoke I am not referring to not or cold wars or any real physical combat. I am referring to Dodge City and Matt Dillan. The time is 10:00pm and all through the house and all through the country not a sound can be heard, not eve from a mouse, for everyone is glued on the screen. "You better get out of town pardner," says brave Matt. "No," says bad Black Dawson, "Smiley Pete insulted me by crossing my shadow and I'm going to gun him down." Matt then gives Black Dawson a shove; Black Dawson get mad at Matt, and they draw for their guns and, "Bang" somebody's dead and it isn't Matt.

Roughly this same scene is enacted at many different periods during the week with other heroes. There is Wagon Train, Maverick, Wanted Dead or Alive, and of course you cannot forget Paladin and "Rave Gun, Will Travel." If you don't like Westerns, you have the detective shows, Hawaiian Eye, Perry Mason, and others.

Now I am not saying I don't like westerns. I find them among the most interesting things on television, but I am trying to bring out something that western's reveal about us as men - the desire for revenge. If Matt, Paladin, Jesse James, or Tom Mix gets insulted there is only one course, get the six shooters out and gun the opponent down.

Turning to our text for today, we read in the 20th and 21st verses, "I do not pray for these only, but also for those who are to believe in me through their word, that they may all be one even as Thou, Father, art in me and I in Thee, that they also may believe that Thou has sent me."

In one of his final prayers for his disciples and all Christians we find Jesus here Praying two basic things. One, Jesus prays that all Christians might be one or in other words united. Secondly, Jesus prays that the world might believe or in other words that all men might become Christians.

There are many things that can cause division in the church among us Christians. Perhaps someone does not smile at you the way you think they should. Perhaps you feel offended because you were not appointed to some committee. Perhaps someone said a gruff word to you. Perhaps the guild or the church council or some other organization doesn't follow your suggestions. Perhaps the pastor doesn't call on your house or preach the way you think he should There are many occasions in the church where we are wronged or at least we think we were wronged. The church isn't a group of people already made perfect. The church is a group of people trying to improve, to grow in the image of Christ. "And we not only have trouble in the church."

Now what is sometimes our action when we are wronged, or we feel described by what happens on Gunsmoke. We strike back. True, we don't gun down our brother in cold blood, but sometimes we may gossip down or shoot down our brother "in cold blood." In many ways we may not be too far removed from the frontier days when guns were worn on the hip.

You see, here is the strategy. If the enemy of our souls can get us Christians fighting with each other, a great victory is achieved. Resentment, ill will, jealousy, and the rest can greatly hinder the work of the church. These things can hinder us from being one as our text today says we must be.

But the question arises - why should we be so merciful? If someone slaps me in the face, why shouldn't I slap him back? If someone says an unkind word about me, why shouldn't I do the same? If someone ignores me, why shouldn't I ignore him?

Christ answered the problem in several different ways. One way Christ answered was ""Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." You see the implication is if we do not forgive our brother, God will not forgive us. Christ also gave another answer. An unrighteous servant was forgiven many millions of dollars, and then he would not in turn give his fellow servant twenty dollars. The result was the unjust servant was not forgiven by his master.

The implication is again the same. If we are not the type of people who forgive others, we are not the type of people God will forgive. This is not to say we are saved by works; this is simply an illustration of the necessity of forgiveness.

Jesus also gave another example of the necessity for forgiveness. There was a group of men gathered in a circle. In the middle was a poor, beaten looking woman. The Pharisees were asking Jesus whether or not this poor beaten, dejected woman should be stoned for committing adultery. Jesus stopped thought for a while, and then he stooped down and wrote on the ground. Finally, He rose and made the remark, "He that is without sin among you, cast the first stone." Slowly and one by one the Pharisees left, for they all realized they also had sinned.

This story is not, however, a story that just involves this woman. It wasn't just that woman in the circle. It was you and I. We too are always on trial. We too are worthy of stoning. We too have committed many grievous sins. But we're not only in the circle, we are also on the edge of the circle and any time we want to cast stones or criticism, we won't be only casting them at our neighbor, but also at ourselves - for we are as guilty as our neighbor.

Sure, people do slight us at times, people do say unkind things, People do resent us on occasion. We are all probably offended at many points in our lives, and this even happens within the church, but we are not on the receiving end, we are also on the giving end. None of us can cast stones. We all must be willing to forgive. The words ever remain true "If thou O Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, who should stand."

Just think if God should harshly punish us for our thoughts and actions for the last year, or month or even day. God's love and mercy know limits, and neither should ours.

It is when we truly recognize that we too are sinners that we begin to be merciful. What type of person do you like to be with and what type of person do you admire and respect? You like to be with someone who forgives and overlooks you faults, and you like someone who is not proud or arrogant, who is not a know it all, but rather a person who realizes his limitations and has love and humility.

You can be certain that the woman convicted of adultery was very humble and very forgiving after Jesus forgave her. You can be certain that she knew her limitations and that she was not contemptuous of others. It is when we too realize that we as sinners stand forgiven in the eyes of a Holy and almighty God that we will have the mellowness and the compassion that we should have. It is then that we will begin to demonstrate the quality of mercy.

Gunsmoke or Have Gun Will Travel are good entertainment, and I am certain none of us follows the ideas of Gunsmoke or Have Gun Will Travel. But I think they reveal the universal trait in us of the desire for revenge. It may look thrilling to be the big man and prove how superior we are by always getting even. But isn't this the policy Russia is also following? It is said modern Russia bases its ethics on rights - they have not on forgiveness and mercy. You see the result in tension fear, world turmoil, and the danger of atomic war and world destruction.

We and all other men don't need the philosophy of getting even. We and our fellow men need compassion, kindness, and mercy or in other words forgiveness. If we continually fight for our rights and get even, life gets hard and crusty like ground that constantly is trampled upon. Such ground needs gentle rain. Gentle rain may seem like a week thing but falling on hard crusty ground it renders such ground pliable and usable. And this is what we need, all of us - the soft gentle rain of forgiveness. We and the rest of the world need mellowness added to life. The smooth oil of forgiveness has to be given out by each of us.

"That they all may be one." This is the prayer of Jesus. And we can only be one as we accept each other and forgive each other. The eternal prayer stands: "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."

Shakespeare put this another way as Portia utters these words in the Merchant of Venice: "The quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth as the gentle rain from haven upon the place beneath; it is twice blessed; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes." We must not ask for a pound of our brother's flesh." We must not gun our opponent down. We must show mercy. We must forgive and in doing so we will be blessed, and our brothers will be blessed.

If we do not forgive, if we do not sow mercy, we will not be able to be one. We will have division. Division is bad. One of the theories of war is divide and conquer. In the second World War as Hitler's Panzer division rushed across France in 1940, they followed the policy of divide and conquer. The Allies in 1940 had almost an equal number of men and materials, but they did not have unity of command. First the Germans isolated King Leopold up in Belgium, and then the French and English were divided when the English were bottled up at Dunkirk barely escaping complete destruction. And now in our day the Russians try the same policy. Nikita Khrushchev flies to Paris and tried to Maneuver DeGaulle and the Russians also work in South America, Asia, and all over the world trying to split the friends of democracy into manageable groups.

We must be one, united we stand, decided we fall, and the only way in the church we can stand united is by applying forgiveness, by not following the policy of Gunsmoke or Soviet Russia, but Jesus Christ. Jesus says we must be one "That they also may believe that thou hast sent me." In other words, Jesus is saying we must in the church be one that we can lead non-Christians to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Few things are as hard on the cars as an air hammer which shakes the whole street or the screeching of chalk across the blackboard. These sounds and the sound of people angrily arguing causes us to feel uneasy and irritated. But the sounds of beautiful organ music or a smooth saxophone causes us to feel relaxed and at rest. Music is sound working in harmony and that is probably the reason we like music. And this is what we need in the church, Christians need to work together, to work in harmony, to be one that the sweet music of the love of God might come to men, that men all over the world might live in the love of God. Certainly, in our age of fear - turmoil- men need God.

The words of one of our hymns goes "There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole. There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin - sick soul. The balm that we and all men need is the balm of forgiveness.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.

May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.