Mercy To Mercy Series

Mercy . . . . Mercy

August 21, 2022

Matthew 5:1-7

Does anyone remember what happened on March 24, 1989? When most of us struggle with what we had for breakfast this morning, this one is a real brain tester. It was a cold night off the coast of Alaska. The captain of the tanker barked orders to a second mate, the orders were vague, the night was black and before they knew what happened, the collision was disastrous.

The tanker, the EXXON VALDEZ, had run aground in Bligh Reef, dumping 11 million gallons of crude oil into one of the most scenic bodies of water in the world. Petroleum blackened everything in sight; beaches, otters, whales, birds, fish and more.

This collision and others we can think of, like the Titanic, auto accidents, home and work accidents . . . They are never expected are they? But I want to focus on a different type of collision, sometimes it’s the results of an accident, it’s a collision of the heart. We’ve all been there. Someone doesn’t meet our expectations, promises are unfulfilled, or we we’re rejected by someone we love.

The result? A collision, an epic disaster of our hearts. The energy which escapes us is as black and ugly as the crude oil which escaped from the Valdez. Just like the water which was coated in black oil, our hearts, spirits, minds, our whole body becomes dominated by this darkness, which we call bitterness and grief. It controls us, some can’t escape it, joy is gone, and we feel suffocated.

This morning, let me ask you - - - is there a hole or wound in your heart?

Maybe the wound is old . . . you were abused, you were rejected, a mate betrayed you, a friend turned their back on you, a business deal went bad, a loved one became sick or died . . . and now, after all these years, you remain angry.

Or maybe the wound is fresh. The person who owes you money drove past you in their new car, the promotion you hoped for was given to someone else, your career path is not what you once thought it would be, sickness has invaded your body, your best friends went for a long weekend and somehow they forgot to ask you, the children you raised seem to have forgotten about you.

You’re more than angry, you’re seething, you’re like a kettle filled with steam, about to blow its top. You’re ready to scream, to hit, to punish something, anything . . .

You’re broken, and you’re bitter. Part of you wants to cry and give up, part wants to fight. There’s a fire burning in your heart, it’s blazing and consuming. And now you have a decision to make . . . “Do I put the fire out or stoke it? Do I get over it or get even? Release it or keep it? Heal or hate?”

You’re anger is eating you up. You’re filled with resentment. It’s built an iron wall around you. Resentment is when you’re stoking and poking and feeding the fire, stirring the flames and deliberately reliving the pain.

Oftentimes, the remedy is something we struggle with. Forgiveness. Without forgiveness, all you have left is bitterness. And that leaves you with a gaping hole in the hull of your heart. Not until we call the repairman, named Jesus, can we find healing.

And this is where we look at the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus went up on a mountain side and began to teach the people, He told them - - -

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL, FOR THEY WILL BE SHOWN MERCY.

This is the only Beatitude where you receive what you sow. The merciful are shown mercy.

In order to illustrate forgiveness and mercy, Jesus told a story in Matthew 18. There was a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. So he called one in who owed him about $30 million. Since the man couldn’t repay the king, the king was going to sell the man, his wife and children in order to recoup some of his money. The man fell at the feet of the king and pleaded for more time. The king was moved and canceled all of his debts. He was set free.

After leaving his meeting with the king, the man ran into someone who owed him $30. He demanded the money from him. When he couldn’t pay, he had the guards put him in jail until he could repay his debt.