Mercy vs. Justice or Mercy with Justice

Why do Christians struggle to love one another?  Is it because we really do not take the gospel seriously? Is it that Christians themselves do not agree on what is meant by love? In either case, we are not modeling what we preach. Jesus teaches us how to love over and over again in the gospels. Jesus shares, if we love God, we demonstrate that love by loving one another. And yet we continue to get it wrong.

How do we invite others to see the importance of loving each other, of engaging in actions of compassion and community building during a time when the culture seeks to divide us? How do we call others to reflect the love of Christ when the prevailing political rhetoric is fear and hatred of the other? How do we help disciples of Christ remember our call to love and serve the least, the lost and the last?

At a United Methodist Gathering of the South Central Jurisdiction Church and Society conference, the Rev. William Lamar IV with Metropolitan AME  in Washington, DC, was explicit about a collective call to engage in acts of mercy and acts of justice. Mercy allows our hearts to break for one another, and justice compels us to do something about that heartbreak. By linking the two together, we work for our communities to reflect the love of Christ.

I grew up in an era where acts of mercy were pitted against acts of justice.  This past week I was challenged to embrace the concept of aligning them to transform the world. Both are important, and both are needed.  While these acts of mercy are meeting a direct need and not transforming systems, Lamar reminded us that they are opportunities to build community and share actions based in love. Both of which are in short supply today and needed in today’s world.

Lamar stated that in the United States, the concept of justice is based on punishment. This understanding shapes God into a divine being seeking vengeance, punishment and pain. To disrupt this cultural understanding, the church needs to tell the story of God that is revealed in the stories of Christ. Jesus reveals God’s justice that is centered in healing, restoration, and uplifting the community. Our group then discussed our expectations that acts of justice would build on acts of mercy to uproot the systemic issues.

After a lengthy discussion, Lamar also called us to reflect upon the fact that in the United States we have been used to organizing within systems that protected us, but in many cases we can no longer depend on those protections. As a result, we need to find creative and imaginative ministries that are acts of mercy combined with acts of justice. We need to embrace love, compassion and community building to address situations that call for a different type of organizing and strategizing. The church can be a place of safety built around love for one another.

As we shared insights and tips, it was clear that Lamar’s call to us was spot on — we must engage in acts of mercy with justice as a centering component. We need to engage in practices that open us to each other’s pain and work together to find a new way forward. How can your ministries embrace acts of mercy with justice to help others live into our call to love one another?