But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:13
“What sacrifices can we make for the poor which will seem enough, when we reflect that mercy to them is our only means of repaying Jesus Christ, who sacrificed His life for us?”
John the Merciful (d. 610) in The Lives of the Saints by Alan Butler, 1894 (Global Grey edition, 2019) 9 April reading.
This patriarch of Alexandria was also known as John the Almoner for his care of the poor. He called them the list of lords. He served the poor as if serving Jesus Christ with a list like the list of widows in Ephesus (see 1 Timothy 5:9-10).
Speaking of lists, that’s what we saw in Kharkiv. The first church where I preached (and Michael Cherenkov translated), Redemption Church, had a list of widows and other needy people. Each one got a bag of food to make it through the week.
Imagine 400 people meeting in a concert hall each weekend. As most families with children fled Kharkiv because it is only about 25 miles from the Russian border, most of the congregation looked like middle-aged adults and elderly people.
Our visit delivered hope and help. I preached (and Michael translated) from Acts 4. The five main points: Don’t be afraid. Don’t miss out (presenting the gospel from Acts 4:12). Don’t be silent. Don’t be discouraged. Don’t hold back.
While Redemption Church shows mercy to people whose lives have been destroyed, we live in a world where there is little mercy and an over emphasis on justice. Friends, if we all got justice, it would be the death penalty for everyone.
God is the only righteous judge. Our job is to go and learn what it means to show mercy. That’s what Jesus desires. It matches what He extended to us. My prayer from the war zone is simply, “Lord, have mercy.”
It was actually hard to preach after seeing the devastation in the region that morning. More pictures to follow. But this snapshot with a list was a bright moment demonstrating organized care to the most needy widows, widowers, unemployed, and war-torn people.
I close a stretching day with the prayer etched on the wall outside Westminster Abbey. It seems fitting. “May God grant to the living grace, to the departed rest, to the church and the world peace and concord, and to us sinners, eternal life.”
Read more