• "Mercy - God's Loving Kindness"
• Sermon for the First Sunday after Easter
• April 3, 2005
• The Reverend David A. Brounstein

The first Sunday after Easter is commonly called "Low Sunday" in comparison to the exalted solemnity of our Easter celebration last week. St. Augustine called the days following Easter the "days of mercy and pardon" and this Sunday, "the compendium of the days of mercy," since our Easter octave is now complete. Our appointed lessons for today's Morning Prayer and Eucharist reflect this theme.

The word for mercy in Hebrew is chesed. It speaks of that awesome attribute of God: his loving kindness. This is more than a simple, loving attitude or a gentle, kindly spirit. Rather, it denotes an act of forgiveness. Mercy is a blessing by which God goes beyond the boundaries of justice. It is pure and unselfish giving that confers a benefit upon the recipient. It is the Old Testament _expression for what the New Testament refers to as grace.

The refrain of the Psalmist in every verse of the 136th Psalm, to each and every work of God, is to declare that His mercy endureth forever. The Old Testament sacrifices and oblations were used as the means of begging for God's mercy in response to our sins. On the annual Day of Atonement, the focus of all Israel was on a scapegoat that carried away all sin from the nation. It was the outward and visible sign of the physical removal of sin and the surety of God's promised mercy and forgiveness.

In this morning's gospel, St. John tells us of an Easter evening appearance by Jesus to the disciples to whom he shows the nail prints in his hands and feet and his pierced side. The resurrection appearances by Jesus are the outward and visible signs to the Church that his death on the cross, that preceding Good Friday afternoon, was accepted by the Father as the "full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world" (BCP, p. 80).

Jesus tells his disciples, "as my Father has sent me, even so send I you," as he implements the transfer of his own mission to what will become the Church. He then breathes upon them to receive the Holy Ghost, speaking the same words spoken when life was breathed into Adam at the Creation. The disciples are then given further instructions: "Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained" (John 20:23 KJV).

This same receiving of the Holy Ghost and these same instructions concerning the remission and retention of sins are incorporated into our Anglican liturgy for priestly ordination (BCP p. 546).

In the Christian life, all sins are forgiven at baptism. This caused many in the early Church to wait until they were on their deathbeds to avail themselves of this sacrament. For sins committed after baptism, St. John reminds us, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (John 1:9).

Anglican spirituality is rooted in the Book of Common Prayer and the daily offices of Morning and Evening Prayer. In addition to the readings from Scripture and prayers of praise and thanksgiving, there is the General Confession. We are prompted to a period of recollection. It is a daily opportunity to examine the thoughts and intents of our hearts and to confess our faults. Invariably we observe that, "We have left undone those things which we ought to have done and we have done those things which we ought not to have done" (BCP p.6).

There is also an Anglican tradition of confession in the presence of a priest. The traditional Anglican attitude has been that "None must, all can, and some should." It has been suggested by Martin Thornton in his work, English Spirituality, that this be changed to "all should and some must." Confession provides an opportunity to hear the words of absolution spoken on a personal level. It is also an opportunity for healing, for counsel, and for spiritual direction.

At St. Matthew's, individual confession is offered at various times throughout the year. It is always available by appointment with either Fr. Scarlett or myself.

Today's psalm for Morning Prayer, Psalm 103, is one that praises God for his mercy and his forgiveness of our sin. It is particularly appropriate for this morning: "Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thy sin, and healeth all thine infirmities... The Lord is full of compassion and mercy, long-suffering, and of great goodness... He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our wickednesses. For look how high the heaven is in comparison of earth; so great is his mercy also unto them that fear him. Look how wide also the east is from the west; so far hath he set our sins from us."

Let us rejoice this Eastertide, and always, that Jesus Christ has reconciled us to God by bearing all our sins upon his cross. For his mercy endureth forever.