Rather than discuss how much I loved the entire conversation, which I did, I'd like to challenge one idea expressed in the conversation, which is that there is no answer to the question of how to use a word like "mercy" right now. It seems to me that we're all born knowing the answer even though we often act as if we don't.
I give Luke's answer an A+. For me, The Parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25-37, is at the intersection of justice, mercy, and how one individual must perceive another individual even when the other is a stranger who does not appear to be "one of us." Note how the word "mercy" plays a prominent role in the final verse.
I can't practice driving a car until I get a beginner's license by passing a knowledge test, and then I have to practice under adult supervision before I can get a full license by passing a road test that determines whether my behavior is consistent with my knowledge. Wouldn't it be nice if we could have something analogous to that for how we practice living together in the 21st century?
We fail by trying to control each other's behavior. We will succeed when enough of us are all willing to constrain our behavior according to our born-with knowledge of how to get along. For me, the difference between "constrain" and "control" is the same as the difference between up and down.
I have been orbiting Ross Gay for some time now, and I’m very grateful to y’all at On Being for making this episode happen. It washed over me about as gently as a tidal wave; I need to return to it again anticipating all those hits so that I can really integrate what he’s saying. Because right now all I have to offer is rage, and I’d really like to offer joy. Freudenfreue!
Rather than discuss how much I loved the entire conversation, which I did, I'd like to challenge one idea expressed in the conversation, which is that there is no answer to the question of how to use a word like "mercy" right now. It seems to me that we're all born knowing the answer even though we often act as if we don't.
I give Luke's answer an A+. For me, The Parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25-37, is at the intersection of justice, mercy, and how one individual must perceive another individual even when the other is a stranger who does not appear to be "one of us." Note how the word "mercy" plays a prominent role in the final verse.
I can't practice driving a car until I get a beginner's license by passing a knowledge test, and then I have to practice under adult supervision before I can get a full license by passing a road test that determines whether my behavior is consistent with my knowledge. Wouldn't it be nice if we could have something analogous to that for how we practice living together in the 21st century?
We fail by trying to control each other's behavior. We will succeed when enough of us are all willing to constrain our behavior according to our born-with knowledge of how to get along. For me, the difference between "constrain" and "control" is the same as the difference between up and down.
Krista, your conversations really are “life-giving”!
I have been orbiting Ross Gay for some time now, and I’m very grateful to y’all at On Being for making this episode happen. It washed over me about as gently as a tidal wave; I need to return to it again anticipating all those hits so that I can really integrate what he’s saying. Because right now all I have to offer is rage, and I’d really like to offer joy. Freudenfreue!
Wow, a friend just forwarded "On the Insistence of Joy" and I can
hardly wait to subscribe! Thank you, Lucy.
Love Ross’s work!
RE: the insistence of joy. In Philippians, I hear Paul saying that suffering is the co-requisite of joy.
This sounds wonderful