Conventional wisdom says that the quality we most dislike in others is the one we struggle hardest with ourselves. For me it’s the sin of judging. “Stop judging and you will not be judged,” says Jesus. That’s easier said than done, say I. My first impulse is to judge, and I have worked much of my adult life to temper that go-to behavior.
I recently attended a talk where the following two sentences broke over me like dawn: Grace is when God gives us
something we do not deserve. Mercy is when God does not give us what we do deserve.
Yes.
God’s grace gives us the tools we need to change our ways. God’s mercy cuts us some slack when we fail. I try to follow Jesus’ directives to stop judging and condemning, to start being more forgiving and generous, but my earnest efforts require both grace and mercy. I judge myself harshly too: maybe, to be merciful with others, grace will help me first to be merciful with myself.
“O Lord, we are shamefaced,” confesses Daniel in today’s first reading. Daniel suspects that if God were to mete out justice to the people, their sins would land them in big trouble. We know the feeling. Along with Daniel and the psalmist and every shamefaced sinner, we’ve prayed: “Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.” While we are grateful for God’s grace, we are wildly thankful for God’s mercy.

Valerie Schultz

Valerie Schultz is a freelance writer and essayist. She is author of Overdue: A Dewey Decimal System of Grace and A Hill of Beans: The Grace of Everyday Troubles.