Mercy you have given

Rather than a particular devotional program or Bible study course, I tend to use the daily Mass readings as a jumping off point for reflection. Some days the words pass in and out, leaving little impact, and some days I find particular phrases lingering. I ponder a message or teaching for days, working through it's nuances and applications for daily life.

Friday, July 15th was one of those lingering type days. The gospel reading was Matthew 12:1-8 and included the following phrase:

I desire mercy, not sacrifice.

Reading the rest of the passage will certainly put the message in perspective, but I've been seeing that phrase mean so much over the week.  Irish Jig is, like many toddlers, a little cranky at 5 PM.   She's out of sorts from the length of the day, still tired from a shortened nap (having been awakened so that she'll go to bed before 10), and clingy.  Amazingly that's the same time of day everyone else wants a little piece of time and attention.   And, of course, a meal is being prepared. Lately, meals are prepared like this:

Mr. Neoclassic (or me if I'm the chef) slows the process down and encourages her help.  It's certainly not the most expedient method at a time of the day that demands expediency.  We could look at it like a sacrifice of time. Or, we could see it as a merciful outpouring of time.

Then, there's the story about a generally sweet boy who requires so many hours of sleep that a fight ensues nearly each morning when he's awakened to face the day.  Recently, though, Zydeco's had several middle-of-the-night nose bleeds, requiring assistance and bedding changes.  After the first two, he just asked for the new bedding and told me he could handle the situation.  I could go back to sleep and leave him to it.  Or, I could sit with him until it passed, help change the bed, and remember to let him sleep later in the morning.   A sacrifice of sleep or a merciful tending?  It's all in the perspective.

You can thank me for skipping the nose bleed photo opportunity.  Let's enjoy this one, instead!

There's a thin line, sometimes, between sacrifice and mercy.  One can certainly be shaded in the other.  I am choosing, hopefully, to practice the mercy.  There's too much self absorption in sacrifice. 



Yes, I'm having the nose bleed issue addressed.
Today's post title from You Alone, by Sarah Hart and Dwight Liles