Patti Burris

Luke 13:10-13

¹⁰ On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, ¹¹ and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. ¹² When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” ¹³ Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

Pope Francis has proclaimed the time between December 8, 2015 – November 20, 2016 as the Year Of Mercy. This should be a time for us to step outside of our comfort zones to minister to those in need. This should be a time for us to open our eyes to those who are living lives of quiet desperation in our own spheres of influence and do something to help alleviate their suffering.

In Luke 13:10-13, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, when He noticed a woman who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She could not straighten up at all. Jesus saw her. He noticed her need and did something to help her. He healed her. Jesus didn’t ignore her condition. He didn’t tell her to go away. He had mercy on her and healed her.

I am blessed to work at the Mother house of the Sisters of Providence. Over the 175 years that the Sisters of Providence have been here, they have founded and been a part of many ministries of mercy. Collectively, they have taught me the meaning of mercy in their humble service to those in need in our community.

In the Spring 2016 issue of Hope magazine (a magazine of the Sisters of Providence), there is an article about Father Dan Hopcus (Providence Associate and Priest Chaplain of the Sisters of Providence). Father Dan exemplifies kindness and mercy in his ministry to the elderly Sisters and the residents in Providence Healthcare. There is a quote in the article that really speaks to the heart of what mercy is,

“As Pope Francis has spoken so many times, at least the way I understand it, mercy is shown by reaching out to people where they are and not waiting for them to come to you. So in a way, it is to be alert to the needs of someone. The need to be loved, to be accepted, to be important. I think Pope Francis’ approach to a year of mercy has again called people to be more aware, more alert, to that.” Father Dan Hopcus.

Jesus gives us the example of reaching out to those in need. He never sat in one place and waited for the suffering to come to Him. He went to those in need. His eyes were open to the suffering around Him and He acted to help those in need.

We need to take a lesson from Jesus, Father Dan and the Sisters to go out and meet those who are hurting right where they are. We have numerous opportunities in our daily lives to minister to others and we don’t. We are either to busy, to tired, or have a million other excuses to keep us from showing mercy to someone else. I know life gets crazy. I’ve given those excuses myself. I’ve had a hard time making the sacrifice myself. But, if we are to be examples of Jesus to this world, we need to quit making excuses and start making sacrifices. We need to get off our rear ends and start loving people to Jesus. We need to start being examples of Jesus to the hurting of this world.

A Challenge: I challenge you to keep your eyes and heart open as you go about your daily tasks. I want you to step out and meet the need of one person a day for the next week. I challenge you to show mercy to those in your sphere of influence and love others to Jesus.