But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Psalm 86:15 Merciful and Gracious I loved 5th grade. In 5th grade I had the only male teacher I ever had in elementary school, Mr. Hedger. He was amazing. I don’t remember one thing I learned that year from books, but I learned volumes from watching Mr. Hedger and coming to see what grace and mercy were when acted out in my day-to-day life. I think we hear about the grace and mercy of God but it’s hard to understand it because we so seldom experience it in our own lives. What we experience is rules and punishments. Achieve the expectations or you will receive negative consequences. Make your quota at work if you want a bonus or maybe if you want to keep your job. Make an A on the test if you want to stay in National Honor Society. Keep your grass mowed or the village will cite you. We drown in rules and regulations, especially in what I refer to as the Socialist Republic of Illinois where our bureaucrats never saw a rule or a tax that they didn’t love. So, we meet our quotas, make our grades, follow the rules and after a while, it becomes overwhelming, at least it does to me. In those times I remember Mr. Hedger. I remember having a bad night at home when I didn’t get my homework completed. Being a type-A student, I was beside myself with anxiety. I remember trying to explain everything that had happened at my home last night to Mr. Hedger and being very near tears explaining why my homework wasn’t done and I remember his giant hand on my shoulder. He said, “Don’t worry about it. We’ll go over it in class. Everyone has a bad night from time to time.” I imagine that it was no big deal to him, but I remember feeling like a prisoner doing life who was just pardoned. That was grace and mercy in action. I was given something I didn’t deserve simply from the love in Mr. Hedger’s heart. He didn’t just give me a pass on the homework. He gave me hope, joy and peace, simply by saying, “Don’t worry about it. Everyone has a bad night once in a while.” He didn’t ruin the moment like so many people do by saying “Now don’t let it happen again!” or “You can make it up during lunch recess.” He just let it go with grace and mercy. In my day, we didn’t have remedial classes for kids who were behind, and living in South Tucson, there were a lot of kids who were behind who were from Mexico and barely spoke English and had no support at home with parents who worked 15 hours a day to put food on the table and send some money back home every week. Secretly, I had been a little critical of Mr. Hedger when he would let these kids slide. Why should they get a pass when I stayed up late and finished my homework with a 100%? Then the day came when I needed grace and mercy. Mr. Hedger helped me to understand God. When the Bible says that God is gracious and merciful, it’s not really talking about character traits as though we were saying that God is a super nice guy. It’s talking about how God gives us that which we do not deserve and forgives us that which we could never pay. Think back to your 5th grade selves and remember the powerlessness and hopelessness that you experienced in a world full of rules and expectations that you could neither meet nor change. Remember how it felt when people in authority over you said things like “you ought to know better,” or “I’m very disappointed in you,” or “you’ll have to pay the consequences.” Conversely remember what it felt like to be offered forgiveness and gifts that you know were totally undeserved. That is the feeling I want everyone to have when they approach the altar at church. As you come forward to receive the body and blood of Jesus, dip your finger in the baptismal font, and make the sign of the cross. Remember that you did not do your homework. You could not do your homework because it was impossible for you to complete it even if you had had all the time in the world. It was beyond your ability to live as God commanded. There is nothing you can do to pay for your failures. But God has paid for all your sins on the cross. God forgives every failure. He looks at you and says, “Don’t worry about it. It is all forgiven and forgotten.” Grace. Mercy. Peace. The whole and complete love of God is ours. Pastor Rogers | 
