Matthew
5:7
“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”
Psalm
103:1,4
Bless the Lord, O my soul … Who redeemeth thy life from
destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender
mercies.
TENDER
MERCIES
The
story takes place in rural Texas on a desolate highway in a cheap
motel. Mac Sledge (Robert Duvall) has just spent the night there
having fallen asleep after a drunken brawl. He awakes to a trashed
hotel room. A former country western singer, he is an alcoholic and
has lost his fortune. Having no money, he offers to work to pay for
the room. Rosa Lee, a widow whose husband died in Vietnam, owns the
motel and lives there with her boy Sonny.
She
accepts his offer and provides him with meals, a room and $2.00 an
hour – which is all she can afford. But she gives him much more
than this. Because of Rosa’s lovingkindness, Mac chooses to leave
his self-destructive lifestyle behind. He is baptized in the church
that Rosa and Sonny attend and becomes a father to her son.
Thus
unfolds the plot of the movie Tender Mercies, a simple film, a story
about human and heavenly mercy. My favorite line in the film is
spoken with innocence and humility by Rosa: “Every night when I say
my prayers and thank the Lord for his tender mercies to me, you and
Sonny head the list.”
There
are memories in all our lives that hold regrets, some may even make
us cringe and think, how could I have ever done that? During these
40 days of Lent let us remember that if we approach our God with
penitent hearts, he who knows us all by name will crown us with his
tender mercies, lift us up and bring us ever closer to him.
Gracious
Lord, in this season of repentance, as we reflect upon your Son’s
suffering and sacrifice, may we approach you in prayer always certain
of your lovingkindness and tender mercies. Amen.
Colleen
Fisher
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