MADISON Allan Wright, academic dean of St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization at Bayley-Ellard here, spoke on Feb. 8 on “The Mercy of God Poured Out...” about God’s mercy in the Old Testament, and on Feb. 9 on “Mercy in the Gospels,” about the understanding of mercy in John’s Gospel — among the center’s many observances and activities scheduled for the Jubilee Year of Mercy. What follows is coverage of both of Wright’s well-attended talks.
MADISON St. John the Evangelist took inspiration from Jesus during his short ministry on Earth, when writing to believers in the early Church of 90-110 A.D. that they need to be welcoming to people on the margins of society and religion. These outcasts included the chronically ill, the disfigured, women, those who were not Jews but Samaritans and people whom religious leaders considered “ritually unclean” or ignorant of Jewish law — among them the followers of Christ themselves.
That’s what Allan Wright, academic dean of St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization at Bayley-Ellard here, told an enthusiastic audience that attended “Mercy in the Gospels,” his Feb. 9 presentation about the understanding of mercy in John’s Gospel in a time when religious leaders marginalized people they deemed to be “outcasts,” “inferior” or of “lower status.” Yet, John uses the word “crowd” — meaning the outcasts — 20 times in his writings without any of the hostility often voiced by the religious leaders of the day. He took his cue from Jesus’ ministry — teaching parables, such as the “Prodigal Son,” speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well and welcoming people whom society considered outcasts, Wright said.
The compassion of Christ contradicted Jewish attitudes during his time that people who are healthy and control access to centers of society and worship should place the chronically ill at the edges of society and religion. Leviticus 21:17-23 lists those who are restricted from offering worship: those who are have a defect, are blind or lame, disfigured or deformed, have a crippled foot or hand, are a hunchback or a dwarf, have any eye defect or have festering or running sores, Wright said.
“According to the ancient Fathers of the Church, the Church herself was born from the wounded side of Christ, when out of his heart there poured out blood and water, symbolic of all the graces of the two chief sacraments, Baptism and the Eucharist (Jn 19:34) — God’s love poured out upon his people,” Wright said. “The face of mercy in the New Testament is Jesus. Everything that Christ says and does compels people to turn to God and show mercy as God shows mercy,” he said.
Pope Francis remarked in the Angelus address on March 17, 2013 that “Jesus’ attitude [toward the woman in the temple in John 8:11] is striking. We do not hear the words of scorn, we do not hear words of condemnation, but only words of love, of mercy, which are an invitation to conversation “ ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again.’ ”
“Brothers and Sisters, God’s face is the face of a merciful Father who is always patient. Have you thought about God’s patience, the patience He has with each one of us? That is His mercy. He always has patience, patience with us, He understands us, He waits for us, He does not tire of forgiving us if we are able to return to Him with a contrite heart,” the Holy Father said.
During the time of the early Church, John also was concerned with extending God’s love and mercy by ministering to people, who were geographically marginalized, including those from Galilee, who were considered to have complete faith, and the Jews and the Samaritans, who either had no faith or partial faith, Wright said.
Among those marginalized in Jewish society in John’s time were Christians themselves. John 7:49 describes “the crowd” as people, who do not know Jewish law. The religious leaders emphasized that they do not believe in Christ, because they know the law and are in a position to make sound judgments on the matter, Wright said.
“The ‘crowd’ represents the struggle of those who are open to believing but neither the Scriptures or the signs lead them to authentic faith. They, the crowd, are the world God loves,” said Wright.
The understanding of mercy in the New Testament originates from the Greek word “eleo,” meaning “loving kindness or tender compassion” and coming from a root word, meaning “oil that is poured out.” So “when the church sings in her liturgy the Greek words, ‘Kyrie Ellison’ and ‘Christie Ellison,’ she is praying that the merciful love of God will be poured out upon her children, like holy oil from above,” Wright said.
In contrast, the Latin tradition gets its understanding of mercy from the word “misericordia,” which means “miserable heart,” Wright said.
“Mercy can be described then as the state of having ones heart touched with pain for a person who is suffering and then doing something to alleviate that pain in the other,” Wright said. “St. Pope John Paul II wrote in ‘Dives in Misericordia:’ ‘The Bible, tradition, and the whole faith life of the people of God provide unique proof... that mercy is the greatest of the attributes and perfections of God’ ” (no. 13).”
MADISON Do you still hold fast to that image of an angry, vengeful God from the Old Testament? Well, it’s not exactly accurate. Instead, that ancient text abounds with many compelling examples of God either commanding the Israelites to show mercy to their neighbors — including the needy, foreigners, enemies and even animals — or personally dispensing mercy right from the beginning to Adam and Eve after their fall from the Garden of Eden.
So declared Allan Wright, academic dean of St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization at Bayley-Ellard here, who spoke Feb. 8 on “The Mercy of God Poured Out...” about finding God’s mercy in passages of the Old Testament that Catholics might not expect. From the start, the text showcases the Lord’s compassion after Adam and Eve fled Eden and tried to cover up their own disobedience [eating an apple from the Tree of Knowledge]. However, “this was not good enough for God himself clothed Adam and Eve because they that could now no longer walk before God in innocence” (Gen. 3:8), Wright said.
“The Old Testament shows a God who has mercy for his people and cares for his creation. The Israelite culture reflected that,” Wright said. “In these passages, the Lord also is teaching them how to treat foreigners, the poor and even animals. He is teaching us that this is what mercy is,” he said.
The Israelites also learned to show mercy in their everyday actions. Exodus 22:26-27 commands them to return a garment that they took in pledge of a debt before sundown — an act of mercy to ensure that their indebted neighbor would not shiver all night without covering.
“There is a beautiful promise that we see in the Psalms: ‘Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the Lord delivers him in times of trouble’ ” (Ps. 41:1), Wright said.
The Lord also commanded the Israelites to show kindness to animals, including wild creatures. Deuteronomy 22:6-7 instructs them leave a mother bird in the nest, if they found it sitting with its young or on the eggs — an act of mercy that results in their receiving mercy: many blessings. Many nations considered God’s chosen people to be merciful, as illustrated in 1 Kings 20:31. When Israel defeated the Syrians, the Syrians appealed to the kings of Israel for mercy, who had a reputation for being merciful — this in a day and age, “when it was common to impale enemies for public display or hang their heads upon the city wall,” Wright said.
The psalms sing the praises of God’s mercy. Psalm 136 repeats 26 times a refrain that echoes a popular theme of praise in the Bible: “His mercy endures forever.” A penitent David in Psalm 51:1 demonstrates that sinners must appeal to God’s mercy in his words: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.” Then, God assures the Israelites in Psalm 147:11 that he is pleased with this approach, “for the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in his mercy,” Wright said.
The Old Testament understanding of mercy originates from two Hebrew words that often are used in conjunction: “hesed,” which means “steadfast love” or “covenant love,” and “rachamim,” which means “tender, compassionate love that springs from pity,” Wright said.
“Thus, there is a special intimacy and responsiveness about this kind of love and a special concern for the sufferings of others,” Wright said. “Pope Francis sees ‘hesed’ as, in a sense, a masculine form of love — steadfast, dependable, righteous, being true to oneself and true to one’s promises — while ‘rachamim’ is more feminine — tender, responsive, compassionate like a mother responding in love to the sufferings of her child.”