do not think many people have this gift at a purely human level. Since baptised believers are always on the way to becoming Christians, it takes a wise and holy person then to practise this work of mercy well. Something most of us (including me) are a long way from. On the other hand, William Blake has a salutary poem which shows us what happens when we completely ignore the need to express our legitimate anger and ‘sweep everything under the carpet’. While it may not be our personal charism, we all need to acknowledge that if no one practises this work of mercy ‘the poison tree’ can grow in our lives and in our Church. ▪
THE POISON TREE I was angry with my friend: I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe; I told it not, my wrath did grow. And I water’d it in fears, Night and morning with my tears; And I sunned it with my smiles And with soft deceitful wiles. And it grew both day and night, Till it bore an apple bright; And my foe beheld it shine, And he knew that it was mine, And into my garden stole When the night had veil’d the pole: In the morning glad I see My foe outstretch’d beneath the tree.
think about it 1. Identify a time when you have been able to gently speak the ‘truth’ to someone who was clearly on the wrong path. What was the outcome for you/for them? 2. The Law of Moses – the Ten Commandments – provides a framework for righteous living. Jesus came to fulfil the Law – and the greatest of these is LOVE (Mt 22:38). What is or should be the difference between a Christian and a secular response to a wrongdoing? 3. In the poem The Poison Tree Blake eloquently describes the insidious and pervasive weapon that our unspoken anger can become – the passive-aggressive pathway that will sooner or later ‘poison’ another if not dealt with. As disciples of Jesus we must hold ourselves to a higher account. What are some of the challenges involved in this?
—William Blake
SPIRITUAL WORKS OF MERCY
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