The Attributes of God – The Merciful, the Gracious
The lecture discusses the characteristic of “Compassion and Tender-Heartedness” as a fundamental attribute of God, stemming from the fact that God is Love, and manifested in His dealings with humanity and all creation.
First: God’s Tenderness in Christ’s Dealings and Miracles
Pope Shenouda III asserts that many of the miracles performed by the Lord Jesus Christ were not only proof of His power but were motivated by His tenderness and compassion:
- Raising the Son of the Widow of Nain: The Scripture says: “When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.'”
- Healing Miracles: When the two blind men were healed, it is stated that He “had compassion on them and touched their eyes”. When the leper came to Him, He “moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.'”
- Pastoral Care: “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.”
- Longsuffering: God, in His tenderness, is characterized by “longsuffering” towards everyone.
Second: God’s Compassion in Commandments and Grace
God’s compassion is evident in His concern not to burden humans, while granting them the power to implement the commandments:
- Lightness of Commandments: The Apostle John says: “His commandments are not burdensome.” Christ rebuked the scribes and Pharisees who were “binding heavy burdens, hard to bear,” because they were shutting up the kingdom of heaven.
- Not Burdening the Gentiles: In the Apostolic Council, it was decided not to burden the Gentiles who were newly joining the faith, reflecting the same Divine compassion.
- Assistance through Grace: Along with the commandments that seem difficult, God gives a measure of grace so that humans can carry them out, for “it is God who works in you both to will and to do,” and He gives the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and teach us all things.
Third: God’s Compassion towards Sinners and in Trials
God shows His compassion and tenderness towards everyone, including sinners and the weak:
- Towards Sinners:
- The Woman Caught in Adultery: Christ saved her from the rapacity of the scribes and Pharisees, telling her: “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
- Zacchaeus the Tax Collector: Christ entered his house despite the Jews’ criticism, saying: “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham.”
- The Three Parables of Repentance: (The Prodigal Son, the Lost Sheep, and the Lost Coin) to show that the door of repentance is open, and that the Lord seeks the lost to bring them back to Him.
- Increase of Grace: “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”
- Towards Trials:
- Providing a Way of Escape: “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape.”
- Preservation in Trials: “But not a hair of your head shall perish” (Luke 21:18).
- He Wounds and Heals: God may allow punishment (the wound) to discipline the person, but He follows it with salvation and healing (the healing/binding up). Examples include the punishment of Adam, Jonah, and Joseph the Righteous, all of which ultimately led to good and glory.
Fourth: God’s Compassion on Creation
God’s compassion extends to everything He created:
- Care for Animals: He commanded the rest of the beasts on the Sabbath, and allowed a Jew to lift his fallen donkey on the Sabbath. He forbade plowing with an “ox and a donkey together” out of compassion for the weaker animal.
- Provision of Food: “Who gives food to the beasts, and to the young ravens that cry.”
- Care for the Earth: He commanded the resting of the land in the seventh year so that it would not be exhausted.
Fifth: The Zenith of Compassion
The greatest manifestation of God’s tenderness is the act of Redemption:
- Salvation through the Son: “All we like sheep have gone astray… and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
- Warning Against Indulgence: The Pope concludes by clarifying that God’s compassion does not mean indulgence that encourages persistence in sin. Rather, it is mercy that saves from sin, and therefore, “For whom the Lord loves He chastens.”
