Who am I to judge?

“Who’s side are you leaning on? Leaning on the Lord’s side”, is the familiar action song in Guyana. We need someone to lean on, especially when we cannot keep our head erect. Who is that someone in our lives?

As we begin the Jubilee Year of Mercy, whom do I want to give myself to lean on? The official song for the Year of Mercy, which is composed by Fr. Eugenio Costa SJ, sings as a praise song by lyricizing the Merciful like the Father. It also sings about the Holy Trinity, who with wisdom created, saved and sustained the universe with a boundless mercy. This way mercy is an attribute of God, in other words mercy is an intrinsic quality to the nature of God. The experience of God’s people in the Scriptures is that God’s mercy cannot be exhausted. Hence, it is part of the basic disposition of God’s love towards people and it directs His actions ultimately in ways that benefit his people.

God’s mercy is displayed in the Ministry of Christ. God’s Mercy is shown to the people who are need of it through Christ. Christ is the Mercy personified. He simply worked out the mercy of God at the human level. This is clearly seen in His acts of healing and this way God was sympathetic with the people plight.

“Blessed are the merciful for they shall be shown mercy” (Mat 5:7). The more we are merciful, the more we receive mercy. As Pope Francis said as he opened the Holy Doors of Mercy, “We have to put mercy before judgement, and in every case God’s judgement will always be in the light of His Mercy.” “They know not what they are doing? Father forgive them” were the words of Jesus as he was surrendering His spirit, an ultimate paradigm of mercy and not judgement.

It is easy to judge someone else and say he/she is this and that, but it takes courage and liberty to show mercy to someone who is already been pained and hurt. We might also have experiences of being judged, labelled or victimised, let us not lose heart because our God is merciful and never let you down. When we lean on to Christ, we will hear those gentle words, “son/daughter you will be with me in paradise.”