Compassion for Clancy?

Given all the attention the story has received recently you must know at least the outlines of a horrific story out of Massachusetts. A young mother, Lindsay Clancy, killed each of her children not long after the birth of her third child, then cut her own wrists and jumped out of a 2^nd story window in attempted suicide. The tragic aftermath so very dark – there are three little bodies buried, she lives as a paraplegic, her marriage ended, and an extended family lives with awful grief.

Her trial ended this week with a hung jury, 11 voting to acquit her by reason of insanity, 1 voting for conviction on murder charges.

I listened to people talk about the case this week and heard a range of responses. Some think she should receive a death penalty. A few suggest she should die an awful death like her children did. Some think she really was out of her mind and should be treated with compassion.

Ours is a culture that knows little about mercy. “Give’em what they deserve,” we insist. American jails and prisons are full to overflowing. Our political system is in a state of constant war, the ‘win’ valued more than trying to think about the issues with an understanding for the other guy. We take a perverse delight in the fall and/or destruction of the famous, the powerful. 

So, on which side do you tend to lean – for blind justice or tender mercy?

Having known grace, the mercy of God, I desire to lean into it for others. Yes, I find the results of evil often repulsive, and my reflex is to “Give that person what he deserves!”  But, often with a silent prayer, I ask God to forgive me first, and then to create a tender heart in my that is willing to enter the experience of another with the hope of redemption.

What is mercy? It is showing another compassion or forgiveness when it is without your ability to punish or condemn them. It goes beyond withholding judgment out of politeness as in thinking ‘what an idiot’ but not saying it aloud.

Mercy causes a person to consider the needs of the other, to actively pursue the best interest of one that may well justly deserve anger or rejection. Mercy is not to be confused with being naïve or incapable of facing reality like a grandmother who just cannot face up to the truth about her beloved grandson who is a brat for whom she makes all kinds of excuses.

Evil is real. People do awful things, sometimes because they are truly evil, without conscience, consumed by sin’s darkness. It is wrong to excuse all wrong, to ignore the need for justice and judgment, however, we should come to that place carefully, prayerfully, and only after weighing ALL the factors.

Yes, justice is good, but our ‘justice’ is frequently flawed, often colored by self-interest, or fails to account for the context of the actions of another. We need to think about the possibility of redemption or change. We get angry when someone is unkind, or selfish, or hurtful and we want them to pay … except that Jesus calls us to be different. Are you full of mercy? Jesus says that it is a pathway to joy! "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." (Matthew 5:7, NIV)

The mercy to which God calls us is modeled after His own. He knows us inside out, seeing our core motives, knowing even our ‘secret’ sins. And He holds out hope and renewal. "Where is another God like you, who pardons the sins of the survivors among his people? You cannot stay angry with your people forever because you delight in showing mercy. Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!" (Micah 7:18-19, NLT)

If we keep a careful record of every slight, every hurt, refusing to be merciful – we become a captive of anger, turning into a sour, cynical individual. No wonder Jesus tells us mercy is a choice that leads to ‘blessedness.’

Dear Christian, are you harsh?
Are you quick to judge?
Do you live in the Old Testament law – “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth?”
Are you a critic?
Do you cast blame on others?

Our word from the Word calls us, in the Spirit, to a new way. "Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible. Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God.

For it is written, “I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it,” says the Lord. Instead, do what the Scriptures say: “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink, and they will be ashamed of what they have done to you.” Don’t let evil get the best of you but conquer evil by doing good."
(Romans 12:17-21, NLT)   

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Father, help us! It’s hard to let You judge,
to release those who hurt us from our condemnation.
Teach us to be merciful, compassionate, and wise through the Spirit.
In Jesus’ name. Amen

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Video at https://www.youtube.com/@JerScott55

Morning Prayer 91

 

Abba, a new morning brings challenges, dreams, work, and hopes – some old, some new. I pray that the Spirit will renew my heart and mind making me ready to meet this day as You would desire. May my will be shaped to Yours.

This world shudders and quakes;
floods, fires, wars, and human cruelty visiting suffering on millions.

Oh, Lord, I pray for that “Your kingdom would come, that Your will would be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”  Come, Lord Jesus, and reign over us, defeating sin’s curse and bringing Heaven’s joys to earth.

Make us aware of our own failures to love well. When we turn to You may the Spirit flow into us and then through us so that we will be a source of hope and genuine care for others. Take our selfishness away and give us generous hearts that choose the best, the highest, the true.

I thank You for the profound grace in the Gospel of Christ Jesus – the message of restoration to You, our Father, through Him. Keep us from religious pride, from trying to do what You have already fully done – remembering that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

I love you, Lord, and pray these things in the Holy Name of Jesus. Amen.

Heart Broken?

Are you crying? Is your heart broken?

I do not like to spend time talking about sorrow. It is not my way to ‘moan’ my prayers or to rehearse my disappointments, and yet I know that our days include many things that cause pain, that we walk through seasons of terrible grief. Yes, I have known a broken heart and my life as a pastor has led me close to the tears of many.

When tears flow and my heart is crushed, I bring this Word to mind: "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18, NIV)  

John’s Gospel lets us see the heart of Jesus. His friend, Lazarus, died and when Jesus went to Bethany, Mary and Martha, both accused Him of being uncaring, for not showing up when they called on Him. Their words are full of both grief and anger - “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”  And how did the perfect Man respond? Not with defensiveness nor by pulling away from them. John tells us simply that “Jesus wept." (John 11:35, NIV) We have the advantage of knowing ‘the rest of the story’ and see that Jesus was displaying His authority even over death itself when He raised Lazarus from the dead. But it moves me to know that He entered into the grief of those sisters letting His heart be broken with theirs.

My friend, He knows your sorrow. He knows the sting of rejection. He knows the disappointment of being misjudged and/or falsely accused. He knows the pain that comes with suffering in the body. Isaiah, that that majestic 53^rd chapter, reminds us that "He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief ..., it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down.”  The prophet goes on to tell us that from His willingness to endure that grief came our salvation, our healing, our hope of restoration to our Father.

My friend, your broken heart can be the means that God uses to turn you to Himself or a way that He makes you aware of the need to lean on Him with true faith. “If through a broken heart God can bring His purposes to pass in the world, then thank Him for breaking your heart.” (Oswald Chambers) From experience I know that suffering can break us from self-reliance, from pride making us grace-filled, tender hearted, focused more clearly on eternity.

Not long after I walked with Bev through months of awful sorrow and pain and then lived with the crushing grief of her death, someone told me - “You are a much better Pastor these days. You know how we feel when we are sad.” I am not just trying to find a silver lining in those dark clouds! While I still wish my lovely wife walked by my side, it is clear that the sorrow of that loss has made a true difference in me.

Are you dealing with a broken heart? Be willing to let God do His work. The natural desire is to find some diversion, some way to avoid sorrow. Instead, let yourself feel the suffering and enter into it with Christ at your side. Don’t try to numb your soul by turning up the noise or burying yourself in pleasure. Those things offer no balm for the soul.

No, we need not wallow in self-pity, nor must we live with a long face! But, there are times when we do well to quietly wait on God. There can be healing when we allow our tears flow. Be gentle with those who try to rush you from the process of grief offering well-meant platitudes and clichéd words of ‘comfort.’  Perhaps they have never hurt in the way that you do but they mean well.

Do not forget to ask the Holy Spirit to protect you from becoming a cynic, seeing only the worst, the awful, and the failures of others. Descending into that way of life does not heal or help. It just makes a person one who is self-absorbed and mean!

Finally, I want to tell you, with the words of David that “weeping may remain for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”  (Psalm 30:5) Truly God is the healer of broken hearts. Our ultimate hope rests on the promise of an eternal home.

The word from the Word is a shout of triumph from John, the apostle who had known great sorrows. The Spirit inspired him to assure us of this -
"I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making all things new!” (Revelation 21:3-5, NLT)

Hold on! Let sorrow do the work it must and, by faith, let Jesus walk through the darkness with you. Then, receive the joy that comes with the morning.

Amen.

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Video at https://www.youtube.com/@JerScott55