And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. Exodus 33:19
“Jesus, as an initiator of a revitalization movement within Judaism, opened up another aspect of the God of Israel – God as merciful and compassionate. Jesus was not handing down new tradition. He was simply reiterating a forgotten aspect of God – that He was merciful and gracious (Exodus 34:6) – and as a consequence, Jesus was urging His contemporaries to show solidarity and compassion towards one another.
Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). Jesus’ healing miracles, His acceptance of the marginalized of the time – the sinners, tax-collectors, and the women – was an indication that (a) God’s mercy was available to the very people who were cut off by the pharisaical interpretation of the law, and (b) that this was available without an intermediaries such as the law or the temple.
It is not unreasonable to surmise that it was Jesus’ retrieval of the availability of God to people without any mediating agencies which caused Paul to rethink His ‘former life of Judaism’. It was Jesus’ announcement of God’s generosity to the people who are not normally within the pharisaic pale that contributed to His death. It is this death which becomes Paul’s gospel, because in this death God demonstrated that He had abolished the impediments and the powers that dominate human life.”
S. Wesley Ariarajah in “Interpreting John 14.6 in a Religiously Plural Society” in Voices from the Margin: Interpreting the Bible in the Third World, ed. R.S. Sugirtharajah (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2006) 358.
I head to India today for 2.5 weeks so I plan to read key Indian and South Asia biblical scholars and professors to understand the mindset of the people I will serve. I appreciate your prayers for safe travel.
This post reminds us of God’s generosity which takes the form of His merciful and compassionate posture toward those society deems as undeserving. In a caste society like India this is a big message.
Those on top like to stay there and those on the bottom seem to have less value and worth. This post reminds us that God’s mercy and compassion are for everyone. Jesus modeled this trait of God for us.
We need to model this for others. God help me show mercy, compassion, and generosity to everyone I meet in India. And help every reader spread these gifts even as we receive them.
And I failed to save yesterday’s post so if you read it again below it should all be there for your reading edification. Thanks again for your prayers for me as I travel.