Like Your Father
March 17, 2025 - Monday of the Second Week in Lent
Luke 6:36-38
Have you ever struggled to show mercy to someone who wronged you? In a world quick to judge and slow to forgive, Jesus’ invitation to “be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” can feel both challenging and countercultural. Yet this call is at the heart of who God is and who we are meant to be as his children.
The phrase “as the father, so the son” resonates deeply with the Gospel message. Jesus, the image of the invisible God, reveals the compassionate nature of the Father. One quality that immediately strikes readers of the Gospels is Jesus’ tender mercy. His compassion towards sinners, the sick, and the hungry is evident on every page of the New Testament and reaches its height in his prayer from the cross: “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.”
The Greek word for “merciful” (ἐλέημων, eleēmōn) occurs only three times in the New Testament, always in reference to God. In today’s Gospel, it appears twice, emphasizing the mercy of the Father. The third instance is in James 5:11, where the author reflects on God’s reward for Job’s perseverance: “The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” This phrase, drawn from the Book of Exodus, reveals God’s very nature. When God revealed himself to Moses, he proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6). This description became a cornerstone of Jewish faith and hope, frequently quoted by psalmists and prophets in times of hardship.
The very reason that Jonah was reluctant to preach to the Ninevites, the arch enemies of Israel, was God's mercy. He prayed, “Isn’t this what I said, LORD, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” (Jonah 4:2). Jonah’s frustration highlights a truth that brings both comfort and challenge: God’s mercy knows no limits.
This unlimited mercy inspires hope and lifts our spirits, but it also calls us to action. Jesus invites us to imitate our Heavenly Father, who “is kind to the ungrateful and wicked” (Luke 6:35). Over centuries, countless followers of Christ have taken up this call, inspired by his example.
Let us heed Jesus’ call to reflect the mercy of our Father in heaven. In doing so, we not only honor his name but also bring his light to a world in need of compassion and love.