Keep yourselves in the love of God and have mercy on those who waver, for it is mercy that leads to eternal life. All our Eucharistic celebrations, as well as most of our liturgies begin by the invocation of the mercy of God. Mercy is invoked (begged) as a response to our wretchedness and as an acknowledgment that as mere creatures we are constantly in need of God’s mercy. For he/she who begs for mercy not only confesses his/her need for mercy but also believes in the ability of the one to whom he/she is addressing the pleas to rescue him/her.
In our reading today, Jude is reminding his audience of the central role mercy plays in our salvation: “mercy is the path to eternal life” (Jude 21). Firstly, the mercy of God. God’s other name is mercy (I desire mercy, not sacrifice cf. Matthew 9:13; Hosea 6:6). Mercy characterizes God’s dealing with God’s creatures. It characterizes the relationship God has with God’s creation. It is God’s mercy that puts us on the road to salvation, the road to our self-discovery, for without God, we cannot rise from where we lie. Secondly, our salvation is also dependent on how we live the mercy of God in our lives. God cannot save the human person without him/her (cf. CCC 7847). The one who is himself/herself a recipient of God’s mercy yet refuses to show mercy condemns the self (cf. Matthew 18:21-35: “were you not bound to have pity on your fellow-servant as I had pity on you?”).
God’s will is that all be saved. Mercy is the path that leads to salvation. It is therefore the responsibility of those who have come to know the mercy of God to be agents of God’s mercy, preaching by word and action the boundless mercy of God. Those who have come to know the mercy of God, and are not merciful to the wavering, are condemned, for he/she who knows what is right and does not do it is committing a sin (James 4:17).