The Language of Mercy

So where does this leave us as Catholics in the Year of Mercy?

A few nights ago, I was watching Prince Caspian, a film in the Narnia series based on CS?Lewis books.In one scene, shortly after Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy have been summoned back to save Narnia, little Lucy approaches a bear, fully expecting it to amble up and talk to her. She remembered a time when all of nature was in harmony: a time when trees could talk and all the strange and magical creatures of Narnia lived without fear of the neighbouring kingdoms.

Now, however, she receives a huge shock as the bear charges towards her and she is saved only by Trumpkin’s fast arrow.

Edmund voices what the others are thinking, stating quizzically: He was wild; I don’t think he could talk at all. Trumpkin answers darkly: If you are treated like a dumb animal long enough, that is what you become.

Lewis, a Christian writer who used fantasy to depict the realities of World War II in Europe, reminds us with this scene of the power of words. The words we speak and the way in which we depict others often says more about our worldview than it reveals the nature of the other.

This story can also be an allegory for what happened in the opening days of 2016 when a handful of Facebook comments depicted black beachgoers as less than human. Predictably, these comments ignited angry comments in return. In a matter of days, South Africans found themselves pitted in two opposing camps: suddenly all whites were perceived as racist and black people as the perpetual victims of an ideological apartheid.

Of course there is some truth to these broad generalisations. There are white people who in two decades have not found ways to overcome deep-seated perceptions that black people are not equal to their white counterparts.

Similarly, historical disadvantage has hindered access to education and dignified employment, leaving the majority of black people living in abject conditions of squalor. But instead of discussing constructive ways to overcome inequality, we cannot get past finger pointing and accusing each other of racism.

The danger is that when we place labels on the other, we see only ourselves. We don’t really see the other. And the label is fear. When we make fear the basis of all our cross-racial interactions, then as Trumpkin points out we risk becoming what the other fears most.

So where does this leave us as Catholics in the Year of Mercy? Pope Francis has called for missionaries of mercy mostly a reference to priests as confessors but added that everyone, in fact, without exception, is called to embrace the call to mercy.

What does mercy have to do with the racism that we, as South Africans, have never really found a way of dealing with?

Perhaps this Jubilee of Mercy is a call for each of us to reflect on the conscious (and unconscious) labels we place on those around us. Do I see the other as God sees them: his beloved children irrespective of race, creed, or class? Do I have the courage to challenge my own worldview and identify my fears? Perhaps my journey into mercy this year is to ask the Holy Spirit to help me overcome my prejudices

We are also called to relationships of mercy and healing. This might include reaching out to someone who is not part of our customary social circle and genuinely getting to know their reality. This way, the other is no longer a label. The other becomes a living person with hopes, fears, joy and suffering.

These relationships help us to find common ground and realise that the differences are fewer than we imagined. The differences stop being a potential for conflict, becoming rather a rich immersion into the gift of our diversity.

Mercy also places upon us a great responsibility. It’s not enough to just talk about mercy but our actions also need to speak mercy.

Mercy is helping deliver much-needed water to isolated communities in drought-stricken areas. Mercy is organising food drives for those who will face starvation this year. Mercy is assisting in the much needed transformation of our society at grassroots level to empower the most marginalised in our society or in the higher echelons of government and corporations to enable a more equitable society.

And if all of this seems far too difficult, perhaps mercy simply means restraining from adding to the hatred being spewed on social media platforms.

In this way, we make Pope Francis’ words our own: This is the opportune moment to change our lives! This is the time to allow our hearts to be touched! When faced with evil deeds, even in the face of serious crimes, it is the time to listen to the cry of innocent people who are deprived of their property, their dignity, their feelings, and even their very lives.

-To stick to the way of evil will leave one only deluded and sad. True life is something entirely different.

-God never tires of reaching out to us. He is always ready to listen All one needs to do is to accept the invitation to conversion and submit oneself to justice during this special time of mercy offered by the Church (Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy).