DO YOU HAVE MERCY 

ON YOUR SELF TEST? 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for  is, “Do You Have Mercy on your Self Test?”

Today’s readings stress mercy and forgiveness, faith and love, peace and we’re in this together.

Please God - mercy flows like a river - through our life and through our world - each day.

I was brought up with the stress that this 2^nd Sunday after Easter is "Doubting Thomas Sunday". That theme was a forever. Then a new stress in our lifetime showed up: with this being Divine Mercy Sunday. For some this stress became more important than Easter Sunday.  I assume all these stresses and themes are around – more or less – for every Sunday.

POPE FRANCIS 

Our Pope Francis is making the theme of mercy central to his preaching and his proclaiming of the gospel. We’ll be hearing it big time when he comes to the United States. Mercy.

What’s your take on Mercy?

I know I have to sit down and come up with 3 to 5 nuances or key pushes on the theme.

BIBLE

It’s a theme that certainly is heard all through the Bible – page 3 to the last page.

We were taught that mercy, kindness, in Hebrew - HESED – H  E  S  E  D – is a key understanding of God – a key characteristic  of God.

As we went through our 4 years of  studies after college, we heard the word “mercy” “HESED” over and over again as we went through our Bible studies. We had big time Bible Study – 2 years on the Jewish Scriptures and 2 years on the Christian Scriptures. "HESED". was always coupled with another Hebrew word “EMET” – often translated into English as “ongoing” – “secure” “firm” “can be depended upon”.

In the Psalms – in much of the Jewish Scriptures – we hear “HESED EMET” – God is ongoing mercy – God is loving kindness – always with us mercy. You can depend on God for Mercy.

Well Pope Francis wants us  to have those two words – those two messages – as our way of being like God – as our way of living in the image and likeness of God.

How do you see God? How do you see Christians? How do we see ourselves?

SELF TESTS

Somewhere along the line I discovered that people love self-tests?

I’ve often noticed in doctor’s waiting rooms Reader’s Digest or some other popular magazine – and in the table of contents – I see “Self Test” or “Score Yourself” and when I turn to that page the test has been ripped out or marked by someone else. 

I’ve also noticed when doing retreats and workshops, people like self tests.

I found out that businesses and organizations often give their employees the Jungian Type Test.  One finds out that some people are extraverts and some people are introverts – in varying degrees.  One finds out who’s neat and time conscious and who are the opposite – also in varying degrees –– the intuitives.  I call them the slobs – the dreamers – vs. the practical. Just listen to preachers and you know who’s who. Show me your celler or garage or the trunk of your car and you can guess who’s who. I’ve lived in rectories most of my life with other priests. You walk into a room to see a guy and I know in a second – the self test of one’s room. I’ve lived with guys who get rid of the morning’s newspaper by 6 PM that evening and I have newspapers from 25 years ago on one of many piles here and there in corners or under my bed – etc. etc. etc. I see something. I gotta save this. Then there are the thinkers vs. the feelers – head vs. heart – emotions vs. analysis.

I personally like the FIRO self test – made by a guy name Schultz – who was asked to help figure out issues and characteristics for people in submarines. The key 3 issues are Control, Inclusion, Affection.  Some people’s main issue is to control the issue, some like one to one’s, some like to feel part of the group. These are all more or less – expressed or unexpressed.

If you felt any energy in my last 200 words you got that.

MERCY TEST

Well the scriptures are read out in church to challenge us on how we stand when it comes to mercy – as well as other issues.

So we have those 3 guys coming down the road to Jericho and they see or don’t see the 4^th person who has been beaten up and robbed? Who stops to help? Who doesn’t? Who thinks that the person who stops is a sucker? Who thinks I’m going to miss God and Synagogue if I stop?

So we hear about rock throwers who seem to only see women who are having sex outside of marriage as law breakers – not as someone who needs help and protection by some higher or better law than the law that says she should be stoned to death?

So on a scale of 1 to 10 – 10 being the highest – how would I score myself as a person of mercy and forgiveness?

CONCLUSION

I heard of a priest  – whom everyone from miles around – went to for confession.  He would only say one thing to every person – “Don’t we all? Don’t we all?” So he was called, “Father Don’tWeAll.”

I want that nick name.  

Don’t we all?