Mercy: The Playlist

This Sunday's gospel reading (Matthew 5:38-48) is about love of enemies and forgiveness.  This is the love that faces evil, and wins.

In honor of mercy, I offer a five-song playlist of some of the best songs I know about mercy.  What are some of yours?  I would love to hear from you!

1) Forgive by Ida:
I love this indie folk group. A lilting, sweet, gentle meditation that is one of the most gorgeous and meaningful songs I've ever heard.  It draws me into a deep space of calm and gentle peace, and leaves me with a desire to change. "How can it be/ we forgot how to forgive?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSJZZYb7x9M

2) Forgiveness by Patty Griffin :
From her acoustic guitar-and-voice-only debut record, this one never fails to shatter me, then gently put me back together.  "It's hard to give, hard to get/ but everybody needs a little forgiveness."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvdV3W8Q1yU

3) Sorry I Am by Ani DiFranco:
She can growl one minute, and the next sing a lullaby that makes your heart float like a feather.  Sometimes she can get ideological and has no qualms pointing fingers at those she identifies as oppressors.  Yet here, she is at her best, taking responsibility for her share in a failed relationship.  The ambiguities and sheer humanity of love and heartbreak are perfectly captured in this song which is perhaps the best showcase of Ani's tender side. I guess I never loved you quite as well/ as the way you loved me/ I guess I'll never really be able to tell you/ how sorry I am.  Notice how she does not sing high until that cathartic moment at the very end.  Ahh it slays me every time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgMTH0t24Iw


Grace by U2:
A rather un-U2-ish song that relies on a simple bass line and some synth, plus Bono's prayer-hymn soul singing, this is one of my all-time favorite U2 songs.  It's like a miracle, if you ask me.  "Grace/ she takes the blame/ covers the shame/ removes the stain... Grace it's the name for a girl/ it's also a thought that could change the world. And when she goes to work you can hear the strings/ grace makes beauty out of ugly things."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4QvtXqNq0Y

5) Sigh No More by Mumford and Sons:
OK, you can't have a mercy playlist and not include these guys.  Many artists complain about the wrongs of society and the wrongs to them.  Few turn it around, take responsibility, and blame themselves -- in a way that's not whiny or self-indulgent, just honest.  Many of their songs could qualify, but I still think this one takes the cake.  "My heart was never pure/ I'm sorry." And that ever-quoted anthem of a chorus that somehow is still not a cliche after all these years: Love will not betray you dismay or enslave you/ it will set you free/ be more like the man you were made to be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujv3c0TqLRk

"Love your enemies." -- Jesus
"An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind." -- Gandhi