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A Prayer: Mercy That Keeps Us Human

(Saturday Prayer of Release)

God of compassion,

you see the places where our vision has narrowed

and our hearts have grown guarded.

Teach us mercy that does not calculate,

grace that does not demand earning,

and love that still recognizes your image

even when it is hidden or distorted.

When judgment tightens our grip,

invite us to release.

When resentment weighs us down,

give us rest.

Help us remember

that in recognizing the humanity of another,

we preserve our own.

And that mercy given

is mercy received.

On this day of stillness,

soften what has grown hard,

heal what has grown tired,

and keep us human

in a world that forgets how.

Amen.

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Mercy Keeps Us Human

A 60 Seconds of Hope Reflection

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”

— Matthew 5:7

The Greek word translated merciful doesn’t describe fairness or balance.

It describes compassion given where it is not earned.

Mercy is a kind of grace that recognizes the humanity of another—even when that humanity has been obscured by fear, failure, or harm.

To give mercy is to say: I still see you.

And when we recognize the humanity of another, something important happens—we preserve our own.

Without mercy, we shrink.

We harden.

We reduce people to their worst moment.

But mercy refuses that narrowing of the soul.

What we give is what we get—not because life is transactional,

but because mercy keeps us human.

I’m Horace McMillon.

This is 60 Seconds of Hope.

Peace be with you.

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“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.” — Matthew 5:6

The hunger and thirst named here is not casual or mild.

It is intense and urgent.

This is the hunger of deprivation and the thirst of desperation—

the kind that rises when something essential for life is missing.

To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to long for it

the way a suffocating person longs for their next breath.

It is a matter of life itself.

This longing grows in those who are poor in spirit

and deepens in those who mourn.

We feel the urgency to see what is wrong in the world made right.

The commitment to see this hunger and thirst satisfied

takes root in the meek—

in those who become spiritually disciplined and self-controlled.

And here is the promise our faith holds before us:

We shall be completely satisfied.

The fulfillment may be delayed,

but the promise will never be denied.

So we stay hungry.

We stay thirsty.

We keep walking,

keep working,

refusing to settle for a world

less than what God has promised.

God will fill what is empty—

with justice,

with mercy,

and with a righteousness

that endures. Amen.

I’m Horace McMillon.

This is 60 Seconds of Hope.

Peace be with you.

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