Have Mercy, Redirect Me
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Sunday, September 8
Psalm 57
Toward You Running for his life, hiding in the shelter of a cave and gripped by fear, surrounded by dangers—this is far from my lived experience, yet not far for so many in my sphere: newcomer families fleeing war and famine hoping that central Minnesota will be their cave, and international students risking a dream across the world when opportunities are scarce at home, who find community on the shores of the Mississippi.
I can hear the cadence of David’s song as I listen to their stories, their heartache and heart song, their prayers. Often in the hard places of their journeys, there are moments of praise like David hiding in a cave, yet drawn out to the beauty of the heavens and the truth that reaches to the skies. God is merciful to hear the cries and anguish of life and also to grant the shelter of a cave from which to sing. Though not my lived experience, I can companion others and be an instrument of God’s mercy to weary travelers around me.
Breath Prayer: Lord, have mercy. // Redirect me toward you. Amen.
Have Mercy, Creator Makes Us Worthy
Monday, September 9
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
Recently at our quirky local liquidator I discovered the delight of chocolate-covered fortune cookies. Each one wrapped around a short message is almost exactly how I read Solomon’s wisdom sayings in Proverbs. Small bites that we savor and share with others at the table, and sometimes tuck into a pocket for later.
All three messages in today’s passage point to same truth: The Lord is maker of us all. This is the unifying and equalizing context for each message: Rich or poor, a good name is better than gold, sowing generosity is a mutual blessing, and rob the poor at your own peril. There is no rich or poor, righteous, or ruler in God’s kingdom aside from the image of God reflected in us; therefore, mercy toward one another is our standard posture as we continue to learn from the One who is mercy. We have capacity to both extend and receive mercy, not because we earn it, but because God says I am worthy, so are you, and your neighbor too.
Breath Prayer: Lord, have mercy. // Creator makes us worthy. Amen.
Have Mercy, Turn Privilege Upside Down
Tuesday, September 10
James 2:1-9
Imagine four quadrants with the horizontal axis being “poor” on the left and “rich” on the right, and on the vertical axis, “faith” is at the top and “favoritism” is at the bottom. Where do you fall on that grid? Where are your friends and family? Where are your neighbors and coworkers?
As a campus missionary at a public university, I am able to offer presence to faculty and graduate and international students only by partnering well with family and friends, community and congregations. It’s a humbling experience to invite others into partnership prayerfully and financially, but it’s a deeply formative practice as well. The practice for me is to move out of the toxic assumptions and favoritism of engaging a “wealthier” person over a person of “modest means” and move toward a mercy-loving, mutual relationship that centers God in prayer, partnership, and faith—that God will do on campus what God has planned to do with me, without me, or in spite of me—to God’s glory.
Breath prayer: Lord, have mercy. // Turn privilege upside down. Amen.
Have Mercy, Ever Breaking Ever Healing
Wednesday, September 11
James 2:10-13
I laughed aloud reading James’s extreme example of breaking and keeping the law. “Suppose you don’t commit adultery but do commit murder. Then you have broken the law” (v. 11, NIRV). On a sliding scale of terrible trespasses of God’s law, I would have at least reversed that.
Much to my children’s dismay, my husband and I lay down the law about screen time. Exploding emotions, then bargaining follows in rapid succession. They argue that diverting online homework time to unsanctioned gaming in another window will help them ultimately refocus on their task. After a round of parental doubt, frustrated sighs, and reasoning, the question remains: what is the most merciful path? What is the “law that gives freedom” (v. 13)?
To soberly assess our ever-breaking of both the law and the spirit of the law is to recognize our need for mercy and care rather than judgment. As parents, we discovered it is more loving not to merely decide screen or no-screen, but to sacrificially come alongside them in their homework struggle, and free them to learn and often create better free time as a result.
Breath prayer: Lord, have mercy. // Ever breaking ever healing. Amen.
Have Mercy, Jesus Leaves No Crumbs
Thursday, September 12
Mark 7:24-30
“Whoa, Jesus. That’s harsh. Why are you disrespecting like that?” This story of an outsider, a desperate plea from a mother, is met with less hospitality and welcome than we normally see when Jesus encounters the poor and brokenhearted. Where is the mercy for those considered other or outsiders or odd in our communities, congregations, and schools?
Jesus left no crumbs, as my Gen Z teenagers say about someone who has fully completed a task. In this small story, Jesus expands in one deft exchange the kingdom offer from the insiders to those on the margins of the feast. The mother’s desperate theology places her very practically in the sphere of the metaphor Jesus has laid down. Jesus mercifully scoops her up with kingdom mercy and comforts her heart with the words “Good! Go…” Jesus’s kingdom leaves not even crumbs unclaimed at the banquet table. Just come.
Breath prayer: Lord, have mercy. // Jesus leaves no crumbs. Amen.
Have Mercy, Lived Faith Leaves Receipts
Friday, September 13
James 2:14-26
Last semester I was granted the gift of a long overdue sabbatical. After pivoting life, ministry, and kids for the pandemic and swiftly followed by surgery and chemotherapy—well, I desperately needed a refresh of faith and a shift from doing to being.
James’s “faith and/or works” theology has been preached, studied, and quoted often. He packs six examples into just a few verses that illustrate this relationship in practical (clothes, food), historical (Abraham, Rahab), and philosophical (spirit/body, faith/deeds) ways. Or, put another way, faith leaves receipts. It’s our testimony not to God, but to our living, breathing, embodied faith.
The semester away from faculty and students whom I love continues to call me back to really living my faith breath by breath, morning by morning, week by week, and from season to season—so that all that doing becomes simply the receipt of an overflowing relationship with Jesus.
Breath prayer: Lord, have mercy. // Lived faith leaves receipts. Amen.
Have Mercy, Rescue Me from Anger
Saturday, September 14
Psalm 109:21-31
Imprecatory psalms are particularly intense, and in this psalm David cycles through a mournful wronging (vv. 1-5), venomous anger (vv. 6-20), a hallowing despair (vv. 21-25), and then pleas that God will fulfill the promises (vv. 26-31).
During a large research project, a faculty member and her team were preparing to make the final submission for publishing when it was surreptitiously modified and claimed by another. The emotions roiled the team with feelings of betrayal, frustration, angst, and anger. How does one find their footing on such a roller coaster?
Like David, we make our case and cry out. The Lord is present in whatever your circumstance and can handle all your imprecatory songs! God’s love for you never fails, and returning to a refrain of promises fulfilled between the verses rescues us from being consumed until God provides a solution as an unmistakable answer to our pleas.
Breath prayer: Lord, have mercy. // Rescue me from anger. Amen.
