Mercy, mercy choices have consequences

The virtue of mercy is the theme of the texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary. The Book of Daniel relates many episodes of Hebrew imprisonment as a consequence of the neglect of their relationship with God. The psalmist cries out to the Lord with a petition that the people not be dealt with as they deserve because of their sins. Luke relates Jesus exhortation to not to judge or condemn others. We are advised that the measure we give of forgiveness and mercy will be the measure we receive. This advice is in tension with the idea that experiencing the consequences of our decisions is really helpful to us. The concept of “original sin”, which is associated with Baptism, recognizes that the poor choices, the sinful choices of people have generated a background or societal turning away from God. This perhaps is most easily seen in the injustice and unfairness in the world economy. The consequence of poor choice in how we treat each other is famine and death from natural disaster in some regions and a high level of protection from these evils in other regions. Personal responsibility for this situation is difficult to assign. The wealth of the north may have the poverty of the south as the consequence. Choices produce consequences and require us to seek mercy.