Biblical Reflections for the Year of Mercy (1):Beatitude of mercy

In fact, in his teachings Jesus exhorts his disciples to be merciful. On several occasions, the disciples witness how their master shows mercy to people, especially to sinners who approach him with a repentant heart. Being recipients of his teachings and witnesses to his healings, the disciples of Jesus are ultimately invited as well as resolutely challenged to show unconditional mercy to others. Keeping this focus in mind in the Jubilee Year, this monthly column attempts to offer some reflections on the selected biblical texts that accentuate the theme of ‘Mercy’.

One of the concrete texts of mercy, in which Jesus promises a blessing to those who are merciful is found in the Sermon on the Mount in Mt 5:7, otherwise known as the ‘Beatitude of Mercy’—“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” As we can recall, the Sermon on the Mount is the first major discourse of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel (5:1—7:29). It can be considered as ‘the manual of discipleship’ that defines what it means to be a committed and faithful disciple of Jesus. In this Sermon, one can find Jesus’ authoritative teaching concerning the disciples’ identity and their lifestyle; and also their relationship with God, with Jesus and with others.
The beatitudes (vv.3-12) serve as an ‘introduction’ to the Sermon, in such a way that they function as a door to enter into the profound depths of the Sermon. They are not practical tips for a successful Christian life, rather they are expressions of blessings, unfolding the advent of God’s kingdom to those who are doing God’s will and are practicing Jesus’ message in their lives. In other words, the beatitudes encapsulate the ‘essence’ of Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom. From the structural point of view, the beatitudes in Matthew (vv.3-10) follow a tripartite structure: firstly, there is a proclamation of being ‘blessed’ (result); secondly, the characterization of those people, who are proclaimed blessed (cause); and finally, the promise of the eschatological blessing (announcement of the reward). With this background, let us consider the fifth beatitude in v.7: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.”

1. Blessed – Proclamation of a Beatitude
The Greek adjective makarios (happy, blessed) declares certain people to be privileged and fortunate, describing a state of happiness. In classical Greek, this adjective makarios (Latin, beatus) was basically used for the gods showing the supreme happiness of their life, which is free from every limitation including toil and death. In addition, it was also used for the deceased heroes, who were in a happy state similar to that of gods. However, its equivalent word in Hebrew ashre, which comes from the noun ‘happiness’, refers to a person supremely happy, fortunate and blessed. In the OT texts, the understanding of one’s well-being or one’s happiness consists in the blessing of life or security or deliverance or military success or prosperity or posterity or help, justice or abundance of food, etc. Further, in the wisdom literature, ashre underlines the happiness of the person resulting from a wise and prudent life. In the NT, one can identify about forty-four such beatitudes, though they lack uniformity in form and content. Coming back to beatitudes in Mt 5:3-12, to be ‘blessed’ is a state of happiness, because a person is favored by God and his kingdom. On a similar note, we have another example in Lk 1:48, where Mary expresses such a state of bliss in her Magnificat, “for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed.” In short, to be proclaimed ‘blessed’ is a special privilege of being favored by God.

2. Merciful – the Cause for being ‘Blessed’
In v.7, the beatitude is addressed to the ‘merciful’. Mt uses the Greek term ele?mones for ‘merciful’ (cf. Heb 2:17), to refer to those who practice or exhibit the divine quality of mercy (eleos). However, he does not elaborate what it is to be merciful in v.7. According to Robert Guelich, a NT scholar, the biblical concept of ‘mercy’ can be understood in two ways: pardon and kindness. (a) Firstly, pardon to those who have done wrong (cf. Ex 34:6-7; Isa 55:7 Mt 18:32-34). We can recall Ex 34:6-7 that contains an appropriate description of the nature of God in the OT: “God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping mercy for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin”. Similarly, an echo of this portrayal is found in Jonah, who describes God’s compassionate nature, while complaining, “for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing” (Jon 4:2). These texts clearly illustrate that mercy as an act of pardon and forgiveness to both the Israelites and non-Israelites alike is applied exclusively to God. (b) The second aspect of being merciful consists in showing kindness to those in need (cf. Ps 86:15-16; Isa 30:18; Mk 10:47). Read in the context, to be merciful is to reach out to the one in dire need (cf. Lk 10:37). Most likely, Mt too understands merciful in these two directions. To illustrate this, let us consider three texts that shed light on the ‘merciful’ in Mt’s gospel.

a) In his gospel, Mt who has a penchant for quoting the OT, while emphasizing the divine mercy quotes from Hosea 6:6, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” on two occasions in 9:13 and 12:7. The first is in the context of Jesus’ table fellowship with the tax collectors and sinners, after the call of the tax collector Matthew to be his disciple. Jesus’ action of reclining with the sinners, according to the Jewish rule of conduct (Halakha) amounted to a grave scandal in terms of ritual defilement. When the Pharisees questioned the disciples about their master’s unlawful behavior, Jesus’ prompt response to them by quoting Hosea reflected his merciful nature, “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.” In this way, Jesus relativizes the law by upholding the mercy of God in relation to the sinners, who are not to be condemned as those who cause ritual defilement. His table fellowship, in this sense, can truly be called “banquet of mercy”, at which God prefers the company of the sinners, who are in need of his mercy rather than remaining undefiled as a prerequisite for offering the sacrifices in the temples.

b) In the second text in 12:7, Mt employs Hos 6:6 in Jesus’ defense of his disciples against the allegations of the hostile Pharisees concerning Sabbath laws. Without judging the actions of his disciples on the basis of prevalent laws and condemning them, Jesus reveals to his opponents that what God desires is mercy that empathizes with human misery and not legalism that condemns the sinners and discards the guilty. In this way, showing kindness to his hungry disciples, Jesus affirms that mercy of God takes precedence over man-made rules, norms, laws and regulations.

c) Finally, in Mt 23:23, Jesus lashes out at the scribes and the Pharisees for ignoring justice, mercy and faith, the three weightier matters of the law and for focusing on externals and insignificant matters like tithes. In neglecting justice, mercy and faith, they have failed in their responsibility towards their fellow human beings and in the process, have lost sight of the larger picture. For their failure to practice these three weightier matters, Jesus resolutely condemns the inconsistency between their faith and their action.

So, in the light of the above references, we can conclude that being ‘merciful’ is a divine quality or a weightier matter that is manifested in offering pardon and forgiveness to the sinners by foregoing judgment and reaching out with kindness to those in need. Those who exhibit this divine quality have already experienced the forgiving mercy of God in their life in some way or the other. And since they value God’s mercy, they seek to communicate their experience of mercy to others by their words and deeds. In doing so, they become healers, who strive to put right what has gone wrong and to remove everything that prevents people from approaching and experiencing God’s pardon and kindness. As a result, their reward awaits them.

3. They Will Be Shown Mercy – the Future Reward
The eschatological reward promised in the beatitude concerning receiving mercy in the future is the work of God. The Greek text illustrates this with a ‘divine passive’ here. The promise clearly indicates the type of treatment the merciful will receive at the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31-46). On that day everyone will receive according to the measure he/she has given. In the account of the Last Judgment, the evangelist clearly points out that the God of mercy will not overlook even the little deeds the merciful people have done by offering pardon and showing kindness.
Finally, what does this ‘beatitude of mercy’ convey to us? Firstly, being ‘merciful’ is a kingdom value. Therefore, showing mercy that consists in forgiveness and kindness is not a sign of weakness, rather an act of courage and strength that springs from God’s forgiving mercy. Secondly, the beatitude praises the merciful, who forgive unconditionally their brothers and sisters and show kindness to the needy. In the light of the Matthean texts, mercy does not consist in some deeds of charity, rather accepting those who have done us wrong or those whom we find unworthy of our love. This is because, we have already received the mercy from God, when we sinned against him and felt deprived of his love. Finally, God values mercy. What God values becomes a reality for those who have lived and practiced it as a value. It is a sign of God’s blessing and the future in which God will judge the merciful will be a time of mercy and reward and not of condemnation and punishment. The merciful God will be by their side and the kingdom will be theirs. May the beginning of this Jubilee Year of Mercy be a time of recognition that God is merciful to those who are merciful.

Naveen Rebello, SVD