Based on Matthew 5:7

MEMORY TEXT:  “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God” (Micah 6:8)?

A few years ago, Hildegard Goss-Mayr of the "International Fellowship of Reconciliation" told this true story.  In the midst of tragic fighting in Lebanon in the 1970s, a Christian seminary student was walking from one village to the next when he was ambushed by an armed Druze guerrilla fighter.  The Druze ordered his captive down a mountain trail where he was to be shot.

But an amazing thing happened.  The seminarian, who had received military training, was able to surprise his captor and disarm him.  Now, the table was turned, and it was the Druze who was ordered down the trail.  As they walked, however, the student of theology began to reflect on what was happening.  Recalling the words of Jesus, "Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; turn the other cheek," he found he could go no further.  He threw the gun into the bushes, told the Druze he was free to go, and turned back up the hill.

Minutes later, he heard footsteps running behind him as he walked.  "Is this the end after all?" He wondered.  Perhaps the Druze had retrieved the gun and wanted to finish him off.  But he continued on, never glancing back, until his enemy reached him, only to grab him in an embrace and pour out thanks for sparing his life.  Mercy expresses itself in the act of forgiveness.

A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son.  The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death.  "But I don't ask for justice,” the mother explained.  “I plead for mercy.”

"But your son does not deserve mercy,” Napoleon replied.

"Sir,” the woman cried, "it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for.

"Well, then,” the emperor said, "I will have mercy.”  And he spared the woman's son.