The Lord be with you
his short, downloadable, Mercy Essay is only six pages (well, seven if you count the discussion topics at the end). Written by Matthew Harrison (president of the LCMS), he writes of “the rough edge of the church’s life (the mercy edge!) as it is confronted by real physical and spiritual need.” Just as Jesus faced “complexities, misunderstanding and challenges” during his ministry, so the Church throughout the ages, including today, face the same issues. He writes about his dissatisfaction with the “bait and switch” approach to mercy missions and suggests a much more biblical, dare I say Lutheran, approach to mercy. He writes that it is certainly the command of Christ that we show mercy, yet the Law really isn’t our motivation for being merciful. He writes about Divine love and its place in both redeeming us and in meeting temporal needs.
This would be an excellent study for a small group. It could be done at a single meeting. I give it two thumbs up.