Lord have mercy....

I have started into a discipline of practicing the daily office prayers every day. There is a section that is called "Prayers of the People," in which we offer prayers for others and then say "Lord have mercy," then followed by, "Christ have mercy." The prayer then acknowledges that God knows the necessity of each situation and knows our shortcomings when it comes to thinking we have some control. It is a confession that we are not in control, and that we desire mercy.

In the season of Lent, I am often reminded of the passage in Luke 18 about the Pharisee and the tax collector. In that story, which is a Lenten passage, you have the self-righteous pharisee and the humble tax collector. The pharisee offers extravagant words of prayer, and the tax collector, so ashamed as to not even look towards heaven, simply says "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." A powerful picture of acknowledging our place before God, broken.

I share this to say that instead of wanting all of the answers, I need mercy. Instead of acting as if everything is fine, I need mercy. For my attitude towards others, especially those who cannot help themselves, Lord have mercy on them, have mercy on me, a sinner.

On this road to the cross, may we all desire mercy in our acknowledgment that we are all lost in need of redemption; we are all broken in need of reconciliation; and we are all in desperate need of a savior.

Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy.