Agents of Mercy

God’s mercy can make even the driest land become a garden, can restore life to dry bones (cf. Ez 37:1-14). … Let us be renewed by God’s mercy, let us be loved by Jesus, let us enable the power of his love to transform our lives too; and let us become agents of this mercy, channels through which God can water the earth, protect all creation and make justice and peace flourish.

Easter Urbi et Orbi message on March 31, 2013

Easter is the feast of hope, direction, purpose, meaning, and community. We’re all in this together. 
Richard Rohr 

Hello everyone and happy Easter!

Our republic finds itself in a dark place these days. The Trump administration is hell-bent on implementing the white nationalist policies detailed in the Project 2025 manifesto, which has echoes of Adolf Hitler’s manifesto“Mein Kampf.” I wish the comparisons of the current administration to the Nazi regime were overblown, but they’re really not. Trump advisor Stephen Miller has been caught sharing neo-Nazi posts; and there is no need to say anything more about Elon Musk’s Nazi salute at the inauguration. Trump himself has been quoted as saying that immigrants are “vermin” and are “poisoning the blood” of good Americans. These words are taken directly from “Mein Kampf.”

This world is indeed in darkness, and how few can see the light!
The Dhammapada

With so much darkness around it is no surprise that so many are experiencing feelings of despair and hopelessness. But we do not need to give into the darkness. We do not need to despair. We are Easter people living in the light of Jesus’s death and resurrection. As John’s gospel reminds us: “What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.” (1:3-5)

The challenge for each one of us to be a light in the darkness. What does Jesus expect of us? Jesus expects us not to despair and give up, but to be agents of God’s mercy. We can be angry and fight for those who cannot fight for themselves, but that anger should be tempered with love. We are called to be light, not to add to the darkness.

Easter people grieve and need to be comforted. And, yes, Easter people get angry … but we must seek to channel that anger in constructive ways. Be angry enough to say and to seriously mean, I will commit my life to living out the Baptismal Covenant: seeking and serving Christ in all persons, loving my neighbor as myself, striving for justice and peace among all people, respecting the dignity of every human being.   

Episcopal Bishop Barbara Harris 

If you are thinking that this sounds impossible, you are half right. Left to ourselves it would be impossible. But we are not alone. God has promised us the Holy Spirit to illuminate and guide us. Nothing is impossible with God. Look at Pope Francis. He followed Jesus into the light of life and he achieved things no one thought possible because everything he did was saturated with the love of God.

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12

Grace to you and peace this Easter season.