Kyrie Eleison — “Lord, have mercy.”

This was the cry of the Canaanite woman — a Gentile woman who had no “right” to seek the healing mercy of Jesus on behalf of her daughter, but sought it anyway. (Mt. 15:22 ff.)

This was also the cry of the blind men, outcasts from their families and societies. They had no guarantee Jesus would listen to their voices, but they cried out anyway, “Kyrie Eleison.” Lord have mercy. (Mt. 20:30)

For several reasons, this week has reminded me how difficult and sad life can be.

Relationships are broken.

Marriages are difficult.

Parenting is frustrating.

People are shooting.

People are lying.

People are people.

As one of my favorite children’s Bibles says, “Life outside the garden was terrible. Finding food was hard. Raising children was even harder.” (The Big Picture Story Bible, David Helm.)

Sometimes, when I don’t know what to pray, I whisper (or cry, or plead), “Kyrie Eleison. Oh, Lord. Have mercy.”

And, for the true confessions part, I sometimes use the 80s Mr. Mister song as a worship song. Sometimes we don’t know exactly what to pray, we just know that we need the mercy of the Lord on this road we are traveling:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=belrNpqqA2g&sns=em

And back to our Ephesians study….I really can’t wait to dig into the last bit of Ephesians. I love the imagery preparing ourselves for battle – not just as individuals soldiers, but as a company soldiers, shoulder to shoulder, wearing the Lord’s armor.