Grace, Mercy, and Napoleon

"The gardener who intercedes on our behalf is Jesus, nourishing and working the soil of our hearts. This is the grace and mercy that He offers to us."

Napoleon Bonaparte is often portrayed as a violent man, a dictator alongside the likes of Hitler and Mussolini. But those who knew him, knew him to be a man of great compassion.

A certain General Lajolais of Napoleon's army, was found guilty of conspiring against the state and sentenced to death. The General's daughter managed to be in such a place, at such a time, that allowed her to throw herself at the feet of the Emperor and beg for mercy.

Annoyed, Napoleon attempted to walk around her but she held on to his knees refusing to let go. “Mercy! Sire! Mercy for my father!”

Finally the Emperor asked her, “What is the name of your father?”

“Lajolais,” she answered.

“Yes I know him, but Mademoiselle this is the second time your father was found guilty of an attack upon the state. I cannot give him anything, he must face justice.”

“I know Sire,” the young lady answered. “But the first time he was innocent and today, it is not justice I ask for, but mercy.”

“Why?” asked Napoleon, “what has he done to deserve mercy?”

“If he deserved it,” the daughter replied, “it would not be mercy.”

The Emperor, visibly touched, took the young girl's hands in his own and in a broken voice said, “Yes, my child, I will grant mercy because of you.”

Grace is a merciful gift from heaven, we cannot earn it or deserve it, and it is through Christ that God offers it to us.

The Gospel according to Luke tells of a fig tree that bore no fruit. After three years the owner of the orchard ordered the tree cut down. But the gardener interceded on behalf of the tree, showing it mercy. He offered to cultivate it and fertilize the ground around the tree in hopes that the tree would bear fruit in the future.

Like the fig tree in the parable, we are not cursed but we are running out of time to show that we are worth saving. It is not that God’s patience with us is limited, but it is we who are limited to our own lives. We have but a short span of time to bear fruit and avoid the gardener's axe. We cannot hope to be paid wages if we are unproductive servants.

The gardener who intercedes on our behalf is Jesus, nourishing and working the soil of our hearts. This is the grace and mercy that He offers to us.

In the eyes of Jesus we are all equally at risk if we persist in sin. At any given time the tower could fall upon us or we could lose our lives to circumstances beyond our control. The danger is not from physical death, which is temporary; it is from spiritual death, which is eternal. To spare ourselves that fate we must respond to the offer of grace and work with Our Lord to bear fruitful lives. By this path, we will be saved.

Pax Vobiscum
3rd Sunday in Lent

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© Lawrence Klimecki

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Deacon Lawrence draws on ancient Christian tradition to create new contemporary art that seeks to connect the physical and the spiritual.. For more information on original art, prints and commissions, Please visit www.DeaconLawrence.org 

Lawrence Klimecki, MSA, is a deacon in the Diocese of Sacramento. He is a public speaker, writer, and artist, reflecting on the intersection of art and faith