Matthew 5:7

The Merciful

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Matthew 5:7.

If you went to the city of Florence in Italy, you would see there the beautiful marble Cathedral which stands in a great square. If you had gone there some six hundred years ago you might have seen, lounging in its shadow, during the heat of the day, a number of porters. In those days cabs and carriages were not used. Instead, ladies were carried about in litters by these porters as our own ancestors were carried in sedan chairs; and the men waited near the Cathedral to be hired as cabmen wait on a stand. They were often idle for hours, and while they hung about talking to each other they frequently used oaths and bad language. It troubled one man very much to hear this, and he set himself to put a stop to it. He persuaded the others to agree to pay a fine every time they used an oath. In this way a little money was collected, and then the man, whose name was Pietro Borsi, proposed that they should buy litters with it, and that on these litters the porters should carry to the hospital sick persons, or people wounded in the fights which often took place in the streets. Each man was to take his turn.

From this small beginning there grew a famous society. It was recognized that it was a good and pious thing worthy of anyone to care for the sick and helpless. The society gradually came to include not only porters, but men of all classes tradesmen, professional men, and noblemen, and it was considered an honor to belong to it. It was called the Brotherhood of Mercy.

We are familiar with the name Sisters of Mercy given to an order of women in the Roman Catholic Church, but the Brothers of Mercy are not so well known. The Brotherhood is still in existence, and for six hundred years the Brothers have done their daily deeds of kindness. Every day they meet at a small church in the Cathedral square for prayer. They put on an odd black dress which envelops them completely. Their heads are covered with black hoods and their faces with black masks so that no one knows who does the good deed, and no Brother in particular gets the credit of it.

At church they are told what they must do. Some take up their litters and go to carry a man to the hospital. Others may be sent to nurse a sick man in his own home, or to attend to some dying person. Sometimes there is a sudden need of help. Then a bell is rung in the street, and any Brother who hears it, be he workman or nobleman, must leave whatever he is doing and hasten to do the deed of mercy. He must take no reward but a cup of cold water.

That seems a very fine thing to do, and it is an honor indeed to belong to such an Order. But without going as far as Italy, or wearing a robe, or bearing a name, we may all be Brothers and Sisters of Mercy There is still plenty of room for followers of Pietro Borsi, for those who will do deeds of kindness and love, without show, and without seeking for reward.

1. There is one way open to everybody, rich or poor the way of mercy to animals. The dumb creatures depend upon us for their happiness, and we are responsible for the way in which we use them. One little boy told his mother that he had joined a society for chasing cats, but his membership was immediately ended. Another boy belonged to a society which “did not kill toads.” These are odd societies. But it is not necessary to belong to a society in order to be kind to the animals with which we come in contact, in order to try to persuade others to be kind to them.

A little Edinburgh boy saw a carter ill-using his horse. He was a very little boy, and he was afraid to speak to the man, “But,” he said, “I had to stop him, so I just said, ‘ Man, don't be a cad to your horse! '”

And here is another story of how a small boy was kind to animals. It is told us by a Scottish poet, George MacDonald.

In Regent ' s Park, one cloudless day,

An overdriven sheep,

Come a hard, long, and dusty way,

Throbbing with thirst and hotness lay,

A panting woollen heap.

But help is nearer than we know

For ills of every name:

Ragged enough to scare the crow,

But with a heart to pity woe,

A quick-eyed urchin came.

Little he knew of field or fold,

Yet knew what ailed; his cap

Was ready cup for water cold;

Though creased, and stained, and very old,

Twas not much torn, good hap!

Shaping the rim and crown he went,

Till crown from rim was deep:

The water gushed from pore and rent,

Before he came one-half was spent

The other saved the sheep.

O little goat, born, bred in ill,

Unwashed, half-fed, unshorn,

Thou to the sheep from breezy hill

Wast bishop, pastor, what you will,

In London dry and lorn!

2. And there is another way in which we can all show mercy. We can be kind and helpful to those around us who are in trouble or need. There are few people so poor that they cannot be kind to someone still poorer.

To a school in the East of London five hundred poor and hungry children came for basins of soup. Just as the soup was going to be served a gentleman mounted the platform and announced, “Boys, we haven't enough soup to go round. What shall we do?” Promptly the answer came “Give it to the girls!”

So the girls were served, and still there was some soup left. Again the gentleman spoke “Boys, we have still some soup, but not enough for all. What shall we do?” Like a flash the answer came back “Give it to the thin uns!” So the “thin uns” were fed and the strong ones went hungry away.

3. But when we speak of mercy, we most often think of it as a quality shown to those who have done wrong. It has often happened that the best way of preventing wrong-doing has been to show mercy to the guilty one.

During the Crimean War the late Admiral Lord Clarence Paget was in command of one of the British ships in the Baltic. One day a sailor called Dudley was brought before him for some offence. The man was a sort of “black sheep.” He was always getting into mischief of some kind, and everybody seemed to think there was no good in him.

Now the Admiral intended to order Dudley to be flogged, but he had noticed, during the examination, that the sailor seemed to consider that every man's hand was against him; so at the last moment he changed his mind and resolved to try what kindness would do. Accordingly he forgave the criminal and ordered the officers and men to treat him as if he had never been guilty of any offence whatsoever.

Some weeks later cholera broke out in the fleet, and the surgeon reported to the Admiral that Dudley had been his right-hand man, attending to the dying day and night, and never sparing himself, Paget was so touched that he resolved to have the sailor called up on deck and publicly thanked. But that night Dudley caught infection and died. So this man whom everybody had thought good for nothing gave his life in trying to save others.

But why should we be merciful?

We should be merciful because we ourselves need mercy from God.

There was once a governor of Georgia who found that his servant had stolen some of his wine. He was very angry, and said he would have the man flogged. His minister begged him to pardon the thief this once, but he said, “It is of no use talking. I never forgive.” “Then,” said the minister, “I hope you know you will not be forgiven, so I hope you have never sinned”

Again, we should be merciful, because when we are unmerciful and unforgiving we are doing an injury to ourselves. We are making our hearts hard and unlovely, and we are shutting ourselves out from the face of Christ.

When Leonardi da Vinci was engaged upon his great painting of the Last Supper, he indulged his hatred of a man who had injured him by copying his face for the face of Judas. Then he tried to paint the face of the Savior, but all in vain. Again and again he tried, but the result was always the same. He could not depict the face of Jesus. At last he took his brush and painted out the likeness of his enemy. And in its place he put another face. The next day he was able to paint the likeness of Jesus according to his ideal.

So, boys and girls, we should be merciful because we need mercy, we should be merciful because we hurt ourselves when we are unforgiving, but most of all we should be merciful because Jesus Christ is merciful and loving to all; and if we would grow into His likeness, then we must keep warm within us a heart of mercy and love.