My soul yearns for the gift of mercy that is ever so close to me, a sinner

My soul yearns for the gift of mercy that is ever so close to me, a sinner!

The words of my heart when I realize that sin has confronted me in the time emptiness.  Of all the quotes of forgiveness we hear, it is that of “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”  (Mt 11: 28 - 30).

What does he mean by his burden is light?  As Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness he was tempted by the devil.  He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry.  The tempter approached him and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread,”  He said in reply, “It is written:  One does not live by bread alone, but be every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”  Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.  For it is written:  “He will command his angels concerning you” and “ with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”  Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”  Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.”  At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan!  It is written: "The Lord, your God, shall you worship, and him alone shall you serve.”  (Mt 4: 1 - 10).

Here we see the first of two times that Satan confronts Jesus, promising the world if he will succumb to his temptations.  The second time was when Jesus was in the garden of Gethseninee, by giving himself up and forgetting his mission to save mankind.  His twice encounter with Satan would be his failure to do His Father’s will and the success would be the devil’s glory and a complete failure of God’s sovereignty.

This is the fulfillment of a revenge that the devil would attempt to prove to God that he was just as powerful as God  and destroy his greatest creation; mankind.  Here is the scene of the heavenly expulsion of those who have given the name of their eternal existence called Hell!

Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.  But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.  The great dragon was hurled down, that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.  (Rv 12: 7 - 10).

“Take my yoke upon your shoulders and I will give you rest.”  The mercy we yearn for is a blessing for his love when we are tempted, once, twice, or an endless series of events throughout our lives.  Emulating the life of Jesus begins with temptations that do not seem to go away.  If Jesus, the Incarnation of God, was tempted to forgo his mission as the Savior, how much more should we also accept the same attacks to forgo our own mission;  trusting in God’s Mercy.   We are sinners and because of that God sent his Son to show mercy and forgiveness for each of us.  Remember the three temptations and their responses: (1) the need for sustenance, but adherence to the words of God; (2)  to seek power and notoriety, but not to put the Lord to the test; and (3) what appears to put us in control of others and their possessions, it is worshiping God alone where we shall find mercy and forgiveness from our sins.

Ralph B. Hathaway