‘Kurielaision’ – Lord have mercy on us!

‘KURIE ELEISON’ – is frequently repeated word in our worship in Churches and in our personal prayers. They are repeated in litanies, which consist of short petitions, each of which ends with the words ‘KURIE ELEISON’. There are many other services during which “Lord have mercy on us” is repeated many times, constantly, insistently, repentantly, to the extent that the word, has permeated into Orthodox worship and prayer. It is used as either as a cry of repentance or as a prayer for God’s mercy in all aspects of life. Kurie Eleison is the gateway to God’s mercy is repentance.

Kurie Eleison (Greek for ‘Lord have mercy on us’) is an incredibly old, even pre-Christian, expression used in all Christian liturgies. A more obvious precedent for Christian use was the occurrence of the same formula in the Old Testament (Psalm 4: 1, 6: 2, 9: 13, 30:10; 51: 1; 57: 1; 123: 2; Isaiah 33: 2; Tobit 8: 10) etc. In these places it seems already to be a seemingly liturgical exclamation. In the New Testament, the form occurs repeatedly (Matt. 9: 27, 17: 15, 15: 22, 20: 30; Mk. 10: 47; Lk. 16: 24, 17: 13; 18: 13; 38). 

“Lord, have mercy”, “Kyrie eleison” or “Kurielaision” is found in the liturgical worship from at least the 4th century and its use in Christian prayer may well be ancient. To ask for divine mercy is not to be seen as something gloomy and exclusively penitential. While the cry for mercy certainly involves sorrow for sin, it speaks also of divine forgiveness. It affirms that God’s loving kindness and compassion are greater than our brokenness and guilt.

The Theme of God’s Mercy is brought out in the Gospel reading of the Pharisee and the Publican. “God, be merciful to me the sinner,” prayed the Publican. His only plea was for mercy, Kurie Eleison! This is foundation of the most precious prayers of the Orthodox Church ­ the Jesus Prayer, thatclaims nothing but God’s mercy: “Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.”

The same theme is vividly seen in one of the most used Psalms in Orthodox worship services – Psalm 51. In this Psalm, David asks God’s mercy for his sins and proclaims that God’s steadfast love and mercy are greater than the sins of His creatures:“Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy steadfast love. According to Thy abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin“ (Ps. 51: 1-2).

Many people approached Jesus with this simple prayer, “Kyrie eleison“, “Lord, have mercy”:

• The Canaanite woman whose daughter was tormented by a devil. She persisted in her plea for mercy until her daughter was healed. (Matt. 15: 22)
• The man whose son was possessed by an evil spirit that threw him into the fire. He came to Jesus with the plea Kurie eleison. The prayer was answered, and his son was healed. (Matt. 17: 14 -21)
• The two blind men sitting by the road outside Jericho who cried out to Jesus, Kurie eleison. That cry was heard by Jesus who healed both. (Matt. 20: 30)
• A final example. Jesus is left alone with the adulteress. Misery is left alone face to face with mercy. And she hears from the mouth of Jesus the words, “Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more.” That is God’s mercy!

In all these instances Kurie eleison was a cry of sincere faith that came from their hearts, a cry of desperate need and dependence on Jesus. It was prayer that people recited thoughtfully, sincerely – a cry from the heart. God will not despise such a prayer. When we pray ‘Kurielaision’ we are asking for us to continue to experience that salvation in Christ. The same theme of God’s mercy is expressed in the Gospel lesson of the Prodigal Son. The Prodigal Son, comes the merciful God, saying, I have sinned against Thee, I have wasted my whole life in a foreign land; I have scattered the wealth, which You gave me, O Father. “Receive me in repentance, O God, and have mercy upon me.”

“The word mercy in English is the translation of the Greek word eleos, has the same ultimate root as the old Greek word for oil, or more precisely, olive oil; a substance which was used extensively as a soothing agent for bruises and minor wounds. The oil was poured onto the wound and gently massaged in, thus soothing, comforting and making whole the ‘injured part. We see this in the Parable of the ‘Good Samaritan’, when smeared oil, to mollify the man’s bleeding wounds.

The Hebrew word which is also translated as eleos and mercy means steadfast love. The word ‘Kurie, eleison’ ­ would mean, ‘Lord, soothe me, comfort me, take away my pain, show me your steadfast love.’ ‘Eleos’ is defined as “mercy; kindness or good will toward the miserable and afflicted, joined with a desire to relieve them. Thus, mercy refers, to the infinite loving-kindness of God, and His compassion for His suffering children! It is in this sense that we pray ‘Lord, have mercy,’ with great frequency throughout the Divine Liturgy.”

This most repeated words in the liturgy are the prayer Kyrie Eleison, Lord, have mercy on us, is repeated, again and again, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, a hundred times. The Meaning of Kyrie Eleison is ‘Have mercy upon us, O God, according to your great mercy, we beseech you. Without this prayer Christianity would be a philosophy, a history, a code but not a religion that saves. This expression is appropriate, since we should not ask for anything except for mercy, as we have neither boldness nor access to offer anything as our own. So, as sinners and condemned through sin we cannot, nor dare not, say anything to our Loving Master except ‘have mercy.’ This mercy of God was shown to us in its full depth when Christ sacrificed for us on the Cross. The aim of such repetition is to imbue our hearts, our minds, our entire souls with the prayer, to focus our attention on prayer, that is important for our spiritual growth. This repetition, penetrates our consciousness and remains long in our memory, staying with us even as we leave the church for our everyday existences.

On the Feast of Pentecost in our Church, as it is truly clear in the message of Christ, repentance is the only way to attain the Kingdom of God. Receiving the renewal of Holy Spirit is the sign and expression of becoming a member in the Kingdom of God. The Church kneeling down and crying Kurielaision is the most genuine and powerful expression of real repentance. There is no other way to invocate the Holy Spirit than our real repentance and confession.

We dare not stand before the throne of God and ask that we be given what we deserve. Our only cry is, “Lord, be merciful” And the miracle is that there is mercy. At the very heart of the universe beats the heart of God’s love. “I tell you,” said Jesus about the publican, “this man went down to his house justified rather than the other.” “Lord have mercy.” Just three words, but what depth of meaning do they hold. By calling God “Lord“, we confirm His rule over the world, the mankind and most importantly, over ourselves, ‘servants’ of God, over those who speak these words – ‘Lord’

Our service to God is far from perfect. Every day, every hour we flee from that blessed Servitude. We flee from perfect joy to the bottomless pit of sorrow. Then, we awake spiritually, we return to our senses, we begin to under- stand that we have nowhere to go, when we flee God, except to death. As King David said: “Whither shall I go from Thy spirit and from Thy countenance whither shall I flee?” (Ps. 139: 7). We return to God, after a momentary absence, or after many years of alienation. So, to reestablish our filial servitude to Him, the servitude from which we are constantly fleeing, we beg for forgiveness and repeat – have mercy, have mercy.

These minor words, these few words of prayer with which we can always pray in all places “Lord have mercy on us.” It is good to value them, cherish and nurture them. They are our praying beads made up of words and they link our hand with the right hand of the Lord. “Let us hasten to call forth His mercy by repentance and tears.”

“Lord, have mercy” is a short prayer that is important in Christian worship. It is a prayer from the heart about human need. God owes us nothing. Everything He gives comes from His mercy. Lord, have mercy”.