Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
Matthew 5:7
The month of March is known for a few things – spring break, storms (especially here in the south), and March Madness. In case you aren’t a fan of college sports, March Madness is this weird time in college basketball where brackets are created, teams play each other, and we as fans all sit glued to our TVs, hoping our brackets survive whatever teams are playing.
I will admit, I used to create a bracket every year. I loved the competition and following the teams. One year I created three brackets, one based on statistics and how the teams statistically would compete against each other, one based on which mascot I liked more and thought would win in a fight, and one based on which team colors I liked more. I was disappointed when my bracket based on my personal opinion of the mascots did the best. Since then, I have not created another bracket.
The reason that bracket did so well is because of one minor anomaly. You can never predict the underdog. There will always be at least one team that surprises you and will defeat who you thought was the top team.
Just like David and Goliath, sometimes the most unexpected people will have the biggest impacts. The key for all these stories is that, when we are the individual who is bigger, more wealthy, more talented, more anything, that we are merciful to those who are not and those who are less fortunate. Instead of lording it over them, we show them mercy for their lacking and help them where and when we can.
Jesus shared through this beatitude the idea of sharing our wealth with those who are not and have not. Do we have any extra in our lives that we can give, whether it be money, food, or love? If we share what we can, not only will we be showing mercy, but in our times of need, mercy will be shown to us.
Discuss with your kids
Before Jesus was led away to be crucified, a very important vote was held that determined Jesus’s fate. Jesus had been brought before Pontius Pilate by the religious leaders in Jerusalem who wanted Jesus punished. Pilate, as well as Herod, did not believe that the crimes the religious leaders accused Jesus of to be punishable by death. Instead of remaining firm on this, he gave the opportunity to choose who would die to a group of people.
At the time of Jesus’s imprisonment, another prisoner by the name of Barabbas was being held for crimes such as rioting against the Romans and murder. As was tradition during Passover at the time, Pilate gave the crowd that had gathered the choice – save and have Jesus pardoned or Barabbas. The crowd overwhelmingly chose Barabbas and this led to Jesus’s crucifixion.
In this story, Barabbas was shown mercy by Pilate. In hindsight and as followers of Jesus, we know and wish that Jesus had been shown mercy, but we also know that this was not God’s plan. It is also not our place to judge whether it was right or wrong that Barabbas was shown mercy and not Jesus. But we can discuss all of these events from a more objective place as examples of mercy.
Pilate was controller of the area and of Jerusalem. He could have easily decided to not follow the tradition of the time and not shown anyone mercy. He could have kept both imprisoned or had both crucified. So the discussion comes down to what is mercy? How can we define it? Is mercy following the popular opinion of a crowd? Is it considered mercy if you are appeasing individuals?
Pilate didn’t claim any hand in the ultimate fate of Jesus or Barabbas. In fact, following the decision, he washed his hands in water, the basis of the phrase we use today “I wash my hands of this,” said when we want to have no personal part of something. And yet, though he may not have claimed it, we as Christians acknowledge his part nonetheless. We include his name when we repeat the Apostles’ Creed. We learn of his decision, his bending to the will of the Pharisees. We attribute Jesus’s ultimate fate of dying on the cross to the vote that Pilate gave.
So beyond all of this, was Pilate merciful? Was his pardoning of Barabbas merciful even though he sent Jesus to his death, knowing he did not agree with the idea that he had committed any crimes? Did Pilate follow what he believed or what the crowd wanted? Does God want us to follow the crowd?
Jesus wants us to be merciful. He wants us to hear the cries of the needy and to respond appropriately. He wishes for us to do all we can to help those less fortunate than ourselves. Even when we seem to have nothing to give, certainly there is something we have that can help because we have God in our corner. We should go to the defense of those who are the underdogs. As Kids of Integrity puts it, “we should be God pleasers, not crowd pleasers.”
Questions to ask
- What does it mean to be merciful? When can you show mercy to someone else?
- Have you ever seen someone who is sad or being bullied? What do you think is the right thing to do? How can you show mercy in these situations?
- How you have been shown mercy? What happened that you needed to be shown mercy?
- Why do you think that Pilate showed Barabbas mercy but not Jesus? Do you think this is the type of mercy that Jesus refers to in this beatitude?
- Who else could have shown Jesus mercy on that day?
Activities for those who wish to be more merciful
- Pray for sight to those who are in need. Many times we are so consumed by our own needs that we forget to open our eyes to the others who need more than we do. It is at these times we we can pray, thank God for all that He has provided for us, and to help us see those who could use our mercy and our help.
- Find individuals who are less fortunate or needy. Spend time volunteering at places like a local food shelter. For very young kids, spend some time making care bags for the homeless or goody bags for kids who go with their parents to the food pantries.
- Find a cause that is significant to your children and volunteer together. Think up ways that you can show mercy towards those involved with the cause.
- Stand up for those who are being bullied, who are needing compassion to be shown towards them. Sometimes it is hard to stand up to a bully, but God wants us to stand up for those who may be having a hard time standing up for themselves.
There are underdogs all throughout our lives. There are people and groups who are in need of compassion. There are individuals who aren’t likely to win, who aren’t likely to have someone on their side, and who may be in need of a someone to be on their side. We can show these underdogs compassion. We can be on their side when others pass them by. We can cheer for the people who are not the obvious winners, whether in a sports game or in life. Because in life, our bracket doesn’t matter – the final three have already been determined – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.