Tender Mercy and the Way of Peace

Scripture — Luke 1:78-79 (NRSV)

“By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Devotion

If you’re like me, certain phrases in the Bible captivate your heart in a special way. For me, one of those phrases is the first line of Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd.” Short phrases like this one live within me. I’ve brought them to mind hundreds of times throughout my life, especially in times of stress, loss, or fear.

There’s a brief phrase in Luke 1 that fits into my heart-captivating category. When I read it and reflect upon it, I am deeply moved, sometimes with gratitude, often with wonder. This phrase comes in the prophecy of Zechariah, which is called the Benedictus (from the first word of the prophecy in Latin). It comes near the end of the prophecy when Zechariah proclaims, “By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:78-79). The phrase of which I speak is “By the tender mercy of our God.”

Mercy shows up a lot in Luke 1. The standard Greek word for mercy (eleos) occurs five times in this chapter (1:50, 54, 58, 72, 78). You may find it interesting to know that eleos occurs more often in this one chapter of Luke than in any other book of the New Testament. We could rightly say that Luke 1 is merciful, that is, full of mercy. The standard New Testament Greek dictionary defines eleos as “kindness or concern expressed for someone in need, mercy, compassion, pity, clemency.” Luke 1 repeatedly underscores the fact that God is moving to save us as an expression of divine kindness, concern, compassion, and mercy.

But Luke 1:78 refers, not just to God’s mercy, but to God’s “tender mercy.” The Greek phrase behind this translation literally means “the inner organs of mercy” (splagchna eleous). This unusual phrase, which appears only here in the New Testament, is Luke’s effort to represent a special Old Testament Hebrew word in Greek. That Hebrew word is rachamim, which is a plural version of the word racham (or rechem), the Hebrew word for womb. What a powerful and moving way of envisioning God’s mercy! If you imagine a mother embracing her young child, you get a picture of God’s mercy toward us. God’s mercy is womb-like, mother-like, or, as the King James puts it, tender.

What do we receive from the God of tender mercy? Zechariah envisions the dawn breaking, giving “light to those who sit in darkness” (v. 78). This mercy-inspired light will “guide our feet into the way of peace” (v. 79). God’s peace is not only an inner feeling of calm. It is also walking in God’s shalom. It’s a way of living that reflects and promotes the wholeness, justice, and flourishing God intends for humankind. When we receive God’s tender mercy, we will be guided by divine light to be an agent of God’s shalom. We, as beloved children of God and beneficiaries of God’s mercy, will be peacemakers (Matt 5:9).

In the season of Advent, we open our hearts to receive once again God’s tender mercy as we seek to follow the light of peace.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project’s online commentary. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: God at Work (Luke 1, 2, and 4).