A WORD FOR TODAY 9 OCTOBER 2019

A WORD FOR TODAY

SHOW US MERCY, O LORD, FOR WE HAVE SINNED AGAINST YOU

The story of the first reading of today shows how Jonah got angry that the lord showed mercy to the people of Nineveh. He said that he made haste to flee away from the Lord to Tarshish, because he knew that the Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in mercy. Yes, mercy is one of God's attributes and He shows mercy to whom he chooses to show mercy irrespective of what we think, because he does not rejoice at the death of a sinner, instead He wants the sinner to repent and come back to life.

In order to teach Jonah a lesson, the Lord made a plant grow near him where he sat outside to cover his head from the scorching sun, but by the next day the tree withered and this made Jonah to be angry. The Lord now said to him, you are angry just for a plant you do not know how it comes and goes, how much more should I show pity to the people of Nineveh created in my own image and likeness who have gone astray and are in need of repentance.

_Indeed, God's ways are not the way of men. God is rich in mercy and anyone who comes to Him seeking mercy will definitely find it, because He is always searching for those who have gone astray to bring them back to the sheepfold. His mercy never comes to an end, it is always available to anyone who humbles himself to turn away from sin and come back to Him._

The issue is not whether God will be able to forgive our sins which in our understanding is grave and mortal, but if we will genuinely repent and turn away from sin so as to find life in Him who is always looking out for us to return even when we have wandered away deeply into sin. God is willing and ready to show us mercy, we only need to rise up from where we have fallen and come back to Him with a humble and contrite heart.

Jesus in the gospel reading taught His His disciples how to pray. In this prayer they will ask for God's forgiveness of their sins, however, they are going to be ready to forgive others who offend them. This simply means that in as much as we come to the Lord to receive mercy and forgiveness, we are bound also to show mercy and forgiveness to others who may have offended us._

We are God's children, created in His image and likeness. When we sin, we offend Him deeply, but if we turn away from our sins and repent we shall find mercy and forgiveness. We must also be ready to learn from God who does not treat us according to our shortcomings, but gives us time to repent so as not to perish. We must support those who are weak to become strong and we must be merciful to others so that we shall continue to receive God's mercy when we seek His face.

Good morning dearest one. Smile😊as you do your work and do have a merciful day. May God's mercy save you from destruction and may you show others mercy as He has shown you mercy. Amen. *And may the Almighty God bless you: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Meditation: Jonah 4:1-11/Psalm 86:3-6,9-10/Luke 11:1-4

Watch-Word: You are slow to anger, O Lord, and abundant in mercy.

Our sins may be grave and mortal, but God's mercy and love will heal and restore us, if we come to Him with a humble and contrite heart and make amends.

(Wednesday of the 27th Week in the Ordinary Time, Year 1)