The works of mercy
“By works a man is justified, and not by faith only” (James 2:3)
The true fruit of a Christian's faith is love and mercy. Faith without love and mercy is dead. Dead too is love without good works. Love for God is shown in love for one's neighbour. And our neighbour we must love as ourselves. We must deal with him as we wish him to deal with us.
The first among good works is almsgiving. This does not mean only to help one in need, or to sympathise with those in a hard state; it means to put oneself in his place.
The works of mercy are of many kinds; each of us must choose the work suited to him and strive to do good. The law of Christ we must fulfil by deed, and show forth our faith.
“It is impossible, wholly impossible, without mercy to reach even the gates of paradise. Without mercy prayer too is fruitless,” says John Chrysostom.
John Climacus calls good works that provision for the road which a Christian will certainly need when he departs from this world.
“A Christian is he who, so far as is possible for men, imitates Christ in deed, in word and in thought.”
People suffer, fall ill, die. Illness comes to a man by God's particular providence; often God sends a man sickness even to sober him and bring him to his senses.
The Saviour healed the sick, raised up the paralysed, opened the eyes of the blind, gave hearing back to the deaf. To most of the saints the gift of healing was granted by God.
But we, who are not able to heal a person in a wondrous way, must at least imitate the Saviour in this, that we show care for the sick and help them.
To visit a sick man, to ask after him, to comfort him, to hearten him, to help him bodily or materially, is the duty of a Christian. We must help a neighbour who is in weakness to be brave, not to lose faith and the fear of God. We must remind him that sickness will help a man in his cleansing and in the redeeming of his sins. Besides, the weakness sent by God may perhaps spare him some greater trial.
A Christian must help his neighbour in deed and in word, bring him relief and further his recovery.
The visiting of the sick is a work of bodily mercy.
“Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake” (Luke 6:22)
How must a man act when he is dealt with unjustly?
This is what Anthony the Great counsels us: “If any of you has met with slander from men, let him receive this trial with joy and offer it all to the Lord, Who alone is righteous and is the Judge.”
A Christian must not remember with ill will the one who does evil and insults him, but must grieve for him, for he is more “worthy of great weeping than those to whom they do evil”.
Humiliation and insult must be borne with patience. To bear injustice calmly and without murmuring is a great worth. If we have strength enough for this, we shall receive from God that blessedness which the Lord promises to the insulted and the persecuted.
“Pray for those who do you evil, that you may be like your heavenly Father,” John Chrysostom teaches us.
The patient bearing of injustice requires of a man great spiritual strength, firmness of faith and the keeping of Christ's commandments. This is why the holy fathers counsel us that, when someone deals with us unjustly, we should remember the Saviour and His suffering in this world. What we endure is as nothing compared with the passion of Christ.
With patience and meekness we can turn an enemy into a friend.
The patient bearing of injustice is a work of spiritual mercy.
Ketevan Shonia
