Over the past 24 or so hours, I've had reason to feel lots of things -- particularly at the way in which certain folks have been sinfully treating me for some time. And responding with mercy.
Jesus constantly preached mercy. It sounds like an abstract theological principle, but I'm clinging to it, afloat in what is an overwhelming sea of human sin.
What's more, this overwhelming sea of human sin is inexplicable. Whenever I try to explain the stupidity, vanity, meanness, thoughtlessness, shallowness, duplicitousness and self-absorption of myself and others I am, more and more often, using this shorthand assessment: "It's just sin".
Which makes me sound like a Christian fundamentalist. But language matters, so let me try to parse how I mean this statement.
"It's just sin" isn't meant out of rage or judgmentalism. Instead, I use it out of pity, sympathy, and sad resignation. We are, pretty much all the time, a sad and sorry lot. And say what you will about Christian doctrine, but the label "sin" does more to describe the human condition than any term from the beautiful discipline of psychology.
And all that sin, in ourselves and in others, demands a response. How are we to live with all this sin? I think we must point to Jesus. Mercy. That's how we move through the world. That's how we must deal with each other, and with ourselves. Mercy.
More and more, that's what my theology boils down to.
Sin and Mercy.
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As I was writing that last line, I was struck by something I wrote above and just seemed to pass over: Words matter.
For the past few weeks, I've been attempting to reclaim Christian words that have been abused by Christian sisters and brothers. For example, Jesus' warfare imagery is designed to subvert violence. Jesus' lived discourse around sin is designed to point, unequivocally, to mercy, not to judgment (he wasn't a Pharisee, after all, even when lots of Christians make good Pharisees these days).
I'm not remotely a fan of "name it & claim it" theologies (I'm looking at you, Joel Osteen). But I suppose I am a huge fan of "name it & reclaim it" theology.