Mercy, Peace and Love

July 9, 2008

Jude 1:1-2

“Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, who are beloved in God the Father and kept safe for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.”

Son of John Lewis, the late former pastor of The First Baptist Church of Raleigh; Son of Tom Hearn the former President of Wake Forest University; Son of Kirby Godsey former President of Mercer University; Son of Bill Stillerman current President of the Baptist Retirement Homes; Daughter of R. G. Puckett, Editor Emeritus of The Biblical Recorder (the newspaper for Baptists in North Carolina); Daughter of Denny Spear, former North Carolina Baptist Pastor and leader during turbulent civil rights struggles in Eastern North Carolina.

All of these people (David Lewis, Tom Hearn, Raleigh Godsey, Todd Stillerman, Janet Wade and Julie Hammond) are members of our church family and are great leaders in their own rights, but in Baptist circles, when I say something about these fine leaders of our church family, I have to utilize the reference points of their fathers in order to communicate how fortunate we are to have these among us!

In the same way, the author of Jude has to establish himself in relation to others that people would know—servant of Jesus Christ and he just so happens to be the brother of the well-known James. It is thought that this Jude is probably Jesus’ brother as well. At this point in Christian history, Jude realizes how well known James has become and introducing himself as a relative of James gives him a new level of credibility.

In the course of this short letter, Jude seeks to correct the teachings of those who have falsely represented the Gospel and like the writing of a thesis paper, his thesis for this letter is wrapped up in three words—mercy, peace and love. This is different from the greetings of Pauline literature with the perpetual, “Grace and Peace to you” extensions. Jude seeks to expand on that and his goal for the letter is that by its conclusion, if it is to make a difference in the lives of the people then mercy, peace and love will become more evident than ever in their relationships.

These short verses raise a variety of seemingly scattered questions. I think we are invited to examine, first, how we define ourselves. What level of credibility must we gain among other Christians in order to set theological perspectives straight? Is it even worth the effort in our modern day to attempt what Jude is attempting here? Certainly, we have false teachers among our culture! Do we just let them be? What about these issues of mercy, peace and love? How do we practice these and what merit do they really have?

Hopefully, Jude will take us toward some profound answers. Though, we must remember, that in a book this short there is little ground that he can cover theological speaking. There simply isn’t enough time and space for great depth so from the get-go as readers we are invited to a posture of grace toward our author!

Wishing you mercy, peace and love as we begin another chapter of the journey!