Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A
Learning Mercy
Rev. James A. Wickersham

The Church gives us Psalm 145 today, a psalm traditionally attributed to King David. And in this psalm we hear David say, "I will praise your name forever, my king and my God." At first that sounds exactly like what we expect David to say. But if we know David's life, we also remember that his life was not always one of praising God. We remember Bathsheba. We remember her husband, Uriah. We remember the lust, the deception, and the death David arranged for Uriah so he could have Bathsheba. David was capable of great holiness, but he was also capable of great sin.

So why should we take David seriously when he speaks about faithfulness in today's psalm? When David says, "I will praise your name forever," I am really tempted to roll my eyes at him. It's understandable that people might have some problems with this psalm. David hasn't always praised God; he hasn't always been a good boy.

Or maybe this psalm shows David has discovered something about God that only a repentant sinner can understand. David is not praising his own faithfulness. He is praising God's faithfulness. David has failed, but God has never failed.

Listen to what David says next: "The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness." David knows this because he needed it. He was desperate for forgiveness and mercy. This psalm is not meant to be a theology textbook. This is theology on one's knees. David is not speaking as a perfect man looking down on sinners. He is speaking as a sinner who has received mercy.

When David says, "The Lord is gracious and merciful," he is not simply repeating something he memorized as a child. He is describing the God he encountered after his own failures. The God who forgave him. The God who had mercy on him. David's life is proof that God is more faithful than we are.

If you can imagine, stealing a man's wife and then arranging the man's death would leave a person weighed down by sin and conscience. And in today's Gospel, Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest." Certainly, Jesus is speaking to those carrying the hardships of life and the crosses we all bear. But I think he is also speaking about something even deeper. Sin, guilt, and regret weigh us down. And trying to live life with this weight of sin is too great.

David knew exactly what that felt like. For a time, he tried to hide his sin. He tried to justify it. He tried to cover it up. But none of that brought him peace. Only God's mercy brought him peace. Maybe that is why David can write later in the same psalm, "The Lord lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down." David knows this because he was falling. He knows this because he was bowed down. And he knows this because God lifted him up.

And doesn't today's Gospel say something about the little ones, those humble enough to stop pretending they are standing upright and willing to learn mercy from Christ? David was not saved because he was king. David was saved because he allowed himself to be schooled in God's mercy.

The prophet Nathan confronts him after the death of Uriah and his taking of Bathsheba. David could have doubled down. David is the king of Israel. There is no one above him except God. He could have ordered Nathan to leave his presence and never speak of this again. He could have blamed others. Instead, David repents. He turns away from his sins and asks God for mercy.

That helps us understand another part of today's Gospel. Jesus says, "Although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to little ones." Our biggest problem is pride. The little ones are those humble enough to admit they need help. They are humble enough to admit they have fallen. They are humble enough to learn from Christ. David became one of those little ones. He stopped pretending he was standing upright. He admitted he had fallen. And that is when he finally allowed God's mercy to heal him.

So what does all of this mean for us? Many of us carry great sins and burdens from our past. Some are carrying the guilt and regret that come from those sins, and some have convinced themselves that God could never forgive them.

David's life says otherwise. The Lord who lifted David up still lifts and raises people up today. If there is something weighing on your conscience, bring it to the Lord. Let him know you've fallen by going to Confession. Let him know you desire his mercy.

If David can become a saint, then none of us should ever despair of God's mercy.