Lord Have Mercy

"To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”  Luke 18:9-14

 There are times when you hear the same thing repeated in multiple places and you know that you need to slow down and pay attention. This has happened recently for me with what is known as "The Jesus Prayer". I first read it in the book "Sacred Rhythms" about a month ago and it resonated with me. Then, the other day, I heard it in a podcast I was listening to. My friend Leigh Ann posted on her blog (His Artist) about  a podcast she was listening to at a website called "UnQuiet Life". So, I decided to pop over and check the site out. I was so glad I did! The site is a place where two guys are in a continual conversation about what it is to live a contemplative life. I listened to a few of the podcasts the other day and one of them was called The Jesus Prayer. There is was again.

In addition to the example of prayer in the above passage in Luke 18, there are multiple places in the gospels where people who are in need of something from Jesus, cry out to Him to "have mercy".

As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” Matthew 9:27

A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”  Matthew 15:22

“Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. Matthew 17:15

Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” Matthew 20:30-31

When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Mark 10:47-48

He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Luke 18:38-39

In their podcast on "UnQuiet Life" they spoke of how this prayer has been used throughout the centuries by Christians to help them focus on their proper place before God; that this prayer helps us be present in the moment to God.

I'm not sure what is in this for me right now, but just as repeated words and phrases in Bible study should get us to pause and  slow down and pay attention, I think running across repeated things in life should make us pause and pay attention as well. So, I'm in the midst of pondering right now.

By the way, I encourage you to visit my friend Leigh Ann's blog. We've never met face-to-face but have begun a wonderful friendship through our blogs and through email conversations. Leigh Ann does wonderful collage work and shares her art on her blog as she ponders her life of faith. I used to feel it was not possible to build friendships and community online without physical presence, but have changed my feelings about this as I have gained great and deep friendships with many people through blogging and participating in online art groups... but that's a topic for another day's blog post.

30 Day Blogging Challenge day 9.