On Thursday, I attended a Prayer Service for Peace at St Stephen’s Uniting Church in Macquarie Street, Sydney, led by my colleague, Rev Dr Manas Ghosh, a champion of interfaith dialogue and minister of Wahroonga Uniting Church. Manas is Chair of the Abraham Conference, a group of Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders that formed after the tragic events of what is called 9/11.
The order of service involved readings from the sacred writings of each tradition, followed by prayers for peace by leaders of the three faith communities. It was a remarkable and even improbable event, and yet – in the mercy of God – it happened, in the heart of Sydney, in a Uniting Church building, with about 70 people attending.
When it was the turn of the Christian community to read a Scripture, my friend, Columban priest Father Patrick McInerney, walked to the pulpit and read from Matthew 5:3-10. He chose the Beatitudes, those ten short statements that introduce us to the most profound ethical teaching of our Master, Jesus.
Today, as the war continues in Russia and Ukraine, and as the war in Gaza rolls on, and as missiles and threats of ultimate war fly between Israel and Iran, I want to reflect on the significance of the fifth Beatitude, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” In a world increasingly marked by division, competition, and indifference, where the weak are often trampled and the vulnerable left behind, mercy can appear quaint—perhaps even weak.
But in the fifth Beatitude, Jesus calls his apprentices to a counter-cultural way of life that reflects the heart of God. He calls them to model mercy.
In the Hebrew Bible, when Moses expresses a desire to know God more fully, and more personally, God famously describes himself not in terms of systematic theology but in ethical terms.
God reveals himself to Moses not as omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and eternal, or other such categories, but in terms of moral character. God self-describes as “a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin” (Exodus 34:6f).
Above all, in contrast to all of the gods of the ancient world, the God whom Moses has come to know is a God of mercy and compassion. As the Hebrew psalmists loved to sing, “His faithful love [mercy] endures forever” (e.g., Ps 136:1ff). Similarly, the ancient prophets call Israel to return to a merciful God who longs to forgive.
The mercy of God is supremely expressed in the person and work of Jesus. The father in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son runs to meet his wayward child, not with condemnation, but with mercy. God does not deal with us as our sins deserve; he bears in himself the shame of our failures and the cost of our forgiveness. The death of Jesus is the ultimate expression of divine mercy. Paul writes, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ” (Eph 2:4-5).
To be merciful is to reflect the character of our merciful God. There’s a beautiful glimpse of this mercy in the life of Jesus in the story of the blind beggar near Jericho (Lk 18:35-43).
Marginalised, helpless, penniless, the beggar sits by the roadside day by day, in need of mercy and grace. And one day, he hears that Jesus is passing by, and cries out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” The crowd rebukes him, but he shouts all the more.
Jesus stops and asks, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The man replies, “Lord, I want to see.”
And Jesus responds with mercy: he says, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.”
Those who knew him ignored the man, but Jesus notices him. Jesus listens to his cry. He considers the beggar worthy of his time and attention, and gives generously, and demands nothing in return.
The beggar’s cry has been immortalised by the church as “the Jesus prayer,” that brief sentence prayer recited daily by millions of Christians who recognise their spiritual poverty and crave the mercy that only Jesus offers.
Notice the promise in the Beatitude: “They will be shown mercy.” This is not a transaction, as if our acts of mercy earn God’s mercy. It is a recognition that those who have truly tasted the mercy of God will show mercy toward others, and in doing so will experience the mercy of God afresh.
What does it mean for us to be merciful in 2025? Mercy is not merely a warm feeling. It is compassion expressed in action. It is demonstrated by sacrificial love for the unlovely, aid for the helpless, forgiveness for the undeserving.
Mercy asks us to see. Mercy begins with opening our eyes, asking God to help us see the suffering we would rather ignore.
Mercy requires us to slow down. It is easy to be too busy, preoccupied with our own plans. But Jesus slowed and allowed divine mercy to break into the beggar’s life.
Mercy takes bold action. Mercy does not ask if the person in need is worthy. It does not simply feel sorry but attends to real needs (see James 2:16). Mercy is generous. It welcomes the stranger. It forgives. It offers hope.
Since antiquity, ethicists have spoken of three universal rules: the Iron Rule, the Silver Rule, and the Golden Rule. The Iron Rule authorises rule by power and force: might makes right. This rule was first illustrated in Genesis 4:1-8 where Cain, jealous and angry, and having the power to do so, attacks and kills his brother Abel.
Military leaders find the Iron Rule convenient in their thirst for power and dominance.. Corrupt politicians who manipulate their power and authority for personal advantage also love the Iron Rule, as do bullies and those who abuse their spouses.
The Silver Rule seeks to civilize the Iron Rule, introducing constraint. It says, “What you do not wish done to you, do not do to others.” The classic Rabbi Himmel said, “What is hateful to yourself, do to no other.” Confucius also favoured this approach. When asked by a student if there was one word that will keep us on the right path, Confucius replied, “Reciprocity! What you do not wish yourself, do not unto others.”
The Golden Rule, taught to us by Jesus in Matthew 7:12, turns the negative of the Silver Rule into a positive, and in doing so transforms it: “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” The Golden Rule rules out sins of omission as well as sins of commission. More than that, it counters passivity and demands positive action. It demands a posture of mercy, and acts of mercy.
Mercy is no easy challenge. It can be costly, inconvenient, and messy. It goes the extra mile. It goes against our instinct for self-protection and self-promotion. But there is a promise associated with the call: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
As we extend mercy to others, we draw near to the heart of God, we reflect the heart of God; we become participants in the mission of God.
What might it look like for us to live this Beatitude? It may mean:
- speaking with kindness when we are wronged;
- offering practical help to someone in crisis;
- promoting social policies that reflect God’s concern for vulnerable or voiceless people in our community.
This Beatitude is not merely an invitation to reflect on a moral ideal. It is a call to embody the character of God in our relations with others. It is a call to live as those who have been shown infinite mercy, and who are now free to extend mercy to others.
May our hearts, our decision-making, and all of our relationships, increasingly reflect the mercy that God has shown to us: the quality of mercy essential to God’s own character, and natural for those who identify – as we do – as the people of God.
Sermon 813 copyright © 2025 Rod Benson. Preached at North Rocks Community Church, Sydney, Australia, on Sunday 15 June 2025. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The Christian Standard Bible (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020).
Image source: grace truth blog
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