As I came up with the title for this sermon, I couldn’t help but hear it said in Uncle Jesse’s voice from the 90s TV Show “Full House.” Have mercy! So, I went to Google and looked more in depth at the catchphrase of John Stamos’ character. I found a YouTube video of every time Uncle Jesse used the phrase. Turns out he said it 45 times in the 192 episodes of the show. Assuming he only said it one time in a single episode, that means he used the phrase in 23% of the episodes. But the phrase became iconic to the point that other characters used it toward Uncle Jesse. But what does the phrase mean? Especially the way Uncle Jesse used it? Most believe it is a shortening of the phrase “Lord, have mercy,” which would make it a plea for mercy. Uncle Jesse most often used the phrase when confronted with a beautiful woman or a display of love directed at him, quite often a kiss. It seems to me that Uncle Jesse was using the phrase as a humorous way of saying, “What is happening right now is so amazing that I might explode without a bit of mercy.” Similar phrases we use are: “Heaven help me,” “Good Lord,” or “Goodness gracious.” But none of them have quite the same playful feel as Uncle Jesse’s “Have Mercy!”

In neither of the passages we read for today does the word mercy occur. But if you know both of the stories behind the passages we read, it is pretty obvious that mercy was present in abundance in both situations. In the Old Testament, the word most often translated as mercy is the Hebrew word hesed. Hesed is a beautiful word with a great depth of meaning. The Jewish Shop blog talks about hesed this way: “In the Torah, the Hebrew word for loving kindness is hesed, and the term can be translated as ‘kindness toward one’s neighbor.’ It is a covenantal gesture expressing faithfulness to God, and this covenant is described in Dt 7:12. The plural of hesed is mercy, and this can be used to refer to the hesed of the patriarchs and the hesed of David. The hesed of God is rooted in his unfailing love for His creation, and the prophets teach that hesed should be the hallmark of God’s people. Micah 6:8 and Zec 7:9 teach that Israel should show hesed love to God, but the nation of Israel failed to do so, resulting in a controversy and call to repentance from the Lord. The word hesed appears over 250 times in the Old Testament, including more than half of those instances in the book of Psalms. It occurs first in Genesis 19:19 and last in Zechariah 7:9. Hesed is not a feeling, but rather an action. It involves intervening and rescuing others.” This word hesed has an amazing depth to it. And we see it on display in the stories of Ruth and Jesus.

So, let’s begin with the story of Ruth. Do you remember her story? The passage we read for today is really just the end of the story, but the end reflects the outcome of a life lived with hesed. So, what do you remember about Ruth’s story? (pause for responses) Ruth was married to Mahlon, one of two sons of Naomi and Elimelech. As the story goes, Elimelech dies and within ten years, both of his sons have died as well. That leaves Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah all widows. Naomi is an Israelite, while Ruth and Orpah are Moabites. They’ve all been living together in the land of Moab due to a famine in Israel. After Naomi’s sons have died, she decides to move back to Judah in Israel. She tells her two daughters-in-law to stay in Moab. After some convincing, Orpah decides to stay, but Ruth refuses. She is determined to go to Judah with Naomi. And so she does. And there she finds work for herself and, with Naomi’s help, she finds love with Boaz. The love and care shown by Ruth toward Naomi is a beautiful example of hesed. It is loving kindness in action. It is faithfulness. It is sacrificing one’s own self for the needs of another. And we read in chapter 4 that Ruth’s hesed leaves a legacy.

Ruth, through her marriage to Boaz, gives birth to a child. And our text says, “They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David.” But Ruth’s legacy extends even further than that. In the genealogy of Jesus put to writing by Matthew, we see Ruth listed among those in the family line of Jesus. Her legacy of hesed led eventually to another who would display hesed in an even greater way.

Our passage for this morning from the gospel of John chapter 3 includes perhaps the most famous verse in all of the Bible. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” God SO LOVED the world. That is hesed. Now, of course, the New Testament was written in Greek rather than Hebrew, so the word John used here was not actually the word hesed. John uses the Greek word agape, another beautiful word with great depth of meaning. Agape is unconditional love. The great Martin Luther King Jr. described it this way: “…Agape does not begin by discriminating between worthy and unworthy people, or any qualities people possess. It begins by loving others for their sakes. It is an entirely ‘neighbor-regarding concern for others,’ which discovers the neighbor in every man it meets. Therefore, Agape makes no distinction between friend and enemy; it is directed toward both. If one loves an individual merely on account of his friendliness, he loves him for the sake of the benefits to be gained from the friendship, rather than for the friend’s own sake. Consequently, the best way to assure oneself that love is disinterested is to have love for the enemy-neighbor from whom you can expect no good in return, but only hostility and persecution.” Agape and hesed are not necessarily the same. But they certainly have some overlap. And Jesus’ act on the cross, dying to save us, displayed both agape and hesed.

Jesus lived with hesed for all who he met. He lifted up the lowly, dined with the outcast, healed the sick. Jesus sacrificed himself for the needs of others. He put love into action over and over and over again. And he showed hesed in the greatest way by submitting himself to death on the cross in order that through his death, and subsequent resurrection, we might have life…now and for eternity. This selfless, loving act is the basis of our entire faith. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “We proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” Jesus went to the cross because of his faithfulness and mercy. Jesus’ blood was the symbol of the covenant of God, the promise of forgiveness for all.

So, what is the call for us in all of this? What is our response to the stories of Ruth and Jesus? I would submit two things for us to consider. First, the hesed of Ruth should inspire us to leave a legacy of mercy and faithfulness for future generations. As I think about this, I am drawn to remember the saints of this church who went before us and passed down a legacy of faith and faithfulness to each of us and to this church as a whole. We each have the opportunity to leave a legacy as well. That legacy might be left through the youth we talk to on Sunday nights at Youth Fellowship, it might be left through our faithful service each week to pack bags for the CatPack Backpack Program, it might be left through our commitment to serving as a deacon or elder, it might be left through a generous gift to keeping the ministries of this church running for years to come, or it might be left through sharing your musical gifts with the church and community. There are so many ways that we can leave a legacy of faithfulness for future generations and so many of you are already doing that. If so, keep it up. And if not, consider what legacy of hesed faithfulness God may be calling you to leave. There is a great quote in the Judy Blume book, Then Again, May I Won’t. The narrator of the story, Tony, is telling us about his grandmother and he says this: “As far as I know Grandma spends her time doing two things. One is, she cooks. And the other is, she walks to church every single morning. I think she’s Father Pissaro’s best customer.” Grandma left a legacy of faithfulness and so can we.Also, let’s be merciful to others as God has been merciful to us. It is so, so easy in today’s cultural climate to be quick to judge and quick to tear down others. We see it happening everyday on social media, in political debates and rallies, on the news, on YouTube, and even at the watercooler. But living with hesed requires going against that grain and being slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. It’s hard when others are trying to tear you down to try to lift them up instead. Even to just ignore their judgments and hurtful comments can be a struggle. We are so easily tempted to retaliate with judgments of our own. That’s what society tells us to do, right? Defend our position…even at the cost of hurting others. But Jesus said something about that…something radical…something that most of us find it nearly impossible to do. Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you: Love your enemies.” That is a hesed move. Being faithful to the call of God to love even when we don’t want to. The call to, in the words of Uncle Jesse, “Have Mercy!” May we follow the examples of Ruth and Jesus, and live with hesed faithfulness and love for all…even our enemies. Amen!