MERCY: EVERYWHERE AND ALWAYS
Author: Fr. Michael Byron February 24, 2019
This month
the archdiocese circulated a draft of a proposed revision of the employee
handbook for everyone who works in local Catholic parishes and schools. It’s basically a policy manual for how people
are to conduct themselves in the workplace, not unlike those used in many
businesses. But of course the church,
while it is a business in some respects, is very much unlike a lot of
others. What goes on here is ministry,
not just work. Employees here are part
of a Christian community, not just people with jobs.
And so one
of the stated reasons for the revised employee handbook is to better conform
its contents to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the teachings of the
church. That sounds like a noble aim. The document runs about 45 pages and with 3
appendices. It discusses the typical
stuff like hiring and firing protocols, grievance procedures, a code of
conduct, etc.
But the word
“forgiveness” is not to be found in all those rules and policies. My first thought upon realizing that was,
“Well of course it’s not—this isn’t that kind of a document. It’s policy and procedures, not the
gospel.” And then I wondered more about
that. Why isn’t a workplace that
deliberately calls itself Christian willing or able to speak of mercy and
forgiveness at work as part of its primary expectations among employees? The gospel doesn’t call people merely to be
just and fair and respectful. Any
business expects that from its members, and there’s a whole industry called
employment law to make sure that those things are made to happen. But disciples are called to all of that and
something quite a bit more, and actually, quite a bit more difficult. Is it so unthinkable to propose in writing
that ones’ first instinct upon feeling wronged at work would be to make an
attempt at forgiveness rather that to initiate a grievance proceeding? And as an employer, when an employee makes a
big mistake in the course of his or her performance, might it be imaginable to
extend mercy and forgiveness as a first response, rather than to start a
discipline file?
It is true
that in church—as any place else—there are some offenses for which there must
be zero tolerance and for which even a single instance will get you fired. But even when that has to happen, then
what? Is the offender simply shunned and
banished and erased from memory? Or
might mercy be a stated policy goal there too? Our local Catholic Church sends chaplains into prisons every week
because of our conviction that even the most sordid of criminals are deserving
of our attention—even if they have done terrible things deliberately. Perhaps it’s not so crazy then to articulate
a policy of mercy and even forgiveness as a goal of any organization that would
presume to call itself Christian, and especially among the ministers who work
there. It’s not in the handbook yet.
And the
reason we are obliged to consider such a thing is that this is at the top of
the priority list of expectations of the Lord whom we wish to serve.
Jesus was a
direct descendent of David, of whom we hear in today’s 1st reading. So Jesus would certainly have
been very familiar with the story of this encounter with King Saul of Israel.
David’s only
offense here was that he was becoming too popular and charming among the king’s
subjects, and Saul deeply resented it. David was an innocent man, but King Saul was literally chasing him
around the wilderness trying to kill him. And by great good fortune, David was presented with an opportunity to
turn the tables when he discovered the king asleep and a lethal weapon right
there for using. David had the chance to
kill the one who was trying to kill him, and one could argue that he had the
right to do that. But he didn’t, for no
reason other than mercy.
Is that any
less outrageous than a stated policy of mercy and forgiveness in the church
office? And speaking of outrageous, let
us turn again to Jesus’ instruction in today’s gospel of Luke. In case you missed, here’s what he says we’re
supposed to do:
Love our
enemies
Do good to
those who hate us
Bless those
who curse us
Pray for
those who mistreat us
To one who
presumes to take from us, give that person even more
Lend without
repayment
Do to others
as we would wish them to do to us—even when they don’t
Why in the
world must we do all of these crazy things? Simply because God does. God’s
name is mercy. God’s name is
forgiveness. Jesus came to tell and to
show us just who God is, and to invite us into God’s very life. But let’s not pretend that that’s always easy
or that it seems always reasonable. Forgiveness sometimes requires courage and heroism, but if it is truly
our desire to be like God, there is no option otherwise. It is no surprise that many who heard Jesus
preach chose not to follow him. This
gospel can be very demanding.
So about
that church employee handbook…
I’m aware that 99% of people here right
now are not formal employees of any Christian organization, but all this
pertains directly to all of us. Because
all of us strive to live as true Christian disciples in families, in schools,
in places of work, in communities, in political societies, and yes, in
parishes—where there may not be policy manuals to order our behavior or to list
the expectations for our being together, but the priorities must be the same
ones: Mercy as a first response when we
feel injured or insulted by others, and a willingness to forgive even those who
have done great harm—if not right now, then maybe someday. This is God’s summons to us. It may not be completely outrageous, but it
can be pretty close.
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