Faith Works 1-30-25

Faith Works 1-30-25

Jeff Gill

Mercy as the gentle rain from heaven

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An online etymology dictionary says of "Mercy (n.): [the origin of the word dates to the ] late 12th century, "God's forgiveness of his creatures' offenses," from Old French mercit, merci (9th C.) "reward, gift; kindness, grace, pity,"… in Vulgar Latin "favor, pity;" … in Church Latin (6th C.) it was given a specific application to the heavenly reward earned by those who show kindness to the helpless and those from whom no requital can be expected."

There's been an ongoing reaction to a preacher asking a president to have "mercy." Yet she did "ask," and there was little if any specific insistence on what that mercy would be. To ask of a sovereign "mercy" is a request that still acknowledges their power, but asks of them a use that might not be the full exercise of what they could do. What they should do is still up to them. Nothing rude or overbearing about that. Just a simple plea from the pulpit: "have mercy."

Where I specifically don't agree with Pres. Trump's reaction is in his initial retort to a reporter asking him about the service. His reply on the West Wing colonnade was "Not very exciting. Did you think it was exciting?" Of course there was more pointed criticism later on social media, calling the Bishop "nasty" (his go-to insult for women in any role, it seems), but he went on to reassert "the service was a boring and uninspiring one." So I'd like to focus on his initial response. "Not very exciting." This is a challenge many clergy face, and when leaders press the "make it exciting" button in such a public setting it's going to trigger a surge of similar criticisms for local ministers, well beyond any policy oriented preaching or political overtones.

Worship is not always exciting. Or as Rick Warren said in his best-selling "The Purpose Driven Life": "It's not about you." There's a question of spiritual formation here around what people have been taught to expect of an occasion for spiritual assembly. If "is it exciting?" becomes the primary measure of a quality service, then exciting worship becomes the expected norm. And I can hear the objections already: why shouldn't it be exciting? Why can't each service be exciting, moving, uplifting & transforming? Isn't that what you preachers & worship leaders are supposed to be crafting & delivering, a compelling service of sermon & song & excitement?

Routine & ritual & regular rhythms of the Christian year, quiet devotion & corporate thanksgiving, all that might be set aside in the pursuit of excitement. Psalmody, unison prayer, even silence might all get tossed onto the ash-heap of history in favor of jarring percussion, driving chords, startling graphics, and yes, fog machines.

When I'm preaching, my walk up song isn't "Crazy Train," it's more likely to be "Surely the Presence" or even the "Gloria Patri." I think good worship even includes sometimes choosing the live musician that isn't so good, versus the recorded track that slaps.

I know, many of my clerical friends are concerned about other aspects of the aftermath of that "Service of Prayer for the Nation" [link to outline below if you want it ~ ed.]. But I'm haunted in parallel with that reflexive "Not very exciting." It's a tendency that doesn't need encouragement. Quite the opposite. 

Let William Shakespeare have the last word, from Portia's speech in "The Merchant of Venice":

The quality of mercy is not strain'd.

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.

'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes

The thronèd monarch better than his crown.

Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and preacher in central Ohio; he's preached a few unexciting sermons in his time. Tell him where you think mercy could be a gentle rain at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack77 on Threads or Bluesky.

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https://cathedral.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Service-of-Prayer-for-the-Nation-2025-Online.pdf