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God’s mercy is a sign of strength

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A), Wisdom 12:13, 16-19.

This Sunday’s first reading is from the youngest book in the Old Testament, The Book of Wisdom. This book seems to have been written in Alexandria, Egypt, about 50 or 100 years before the birth of Jesus. It was written to offer guidance and encouragement to the Jews who lived in the aggressively pagan atmosphere of Hellenistic Egypt, for whom maintaining their Jewish religious identity was an ongoing challenge.

Our reading is from chapter 12, which is concerned with God’s mercy. More specifically, it deals with the relationship between God’s power and God’s patience with sinners.

The author is addressing God. The reading starts off (in verse 13) by reflecting with God (and pointing out to the reader) that God is not answerable to anybody for His judgments. There is no god more powerful to whom the God of Israel must render an accounting either for His severity or for His forbearance. God is in charge of everything and does not need to prove that He is just.

In the following verses of our reading (16-19) the text expands on how God’s power relates to His justice and mercy. Precisely because God is all-powerful, He can afford to be lenient. God doesn’t need to be afraid of anybody, especially sinners! Those who choose to be defiant of God’s law will indeed experience His punishment. But God also lets us see His power by His refusal to be threatened by the more ordinary offenses of more ordinary people. God can act with leniency precisely because He is powerful. That’s why He gives His children a chance to repent when they have sinned. In acting in this way, God also instructs us that "those who are just must be kind."

In brief, these verses teach us that God’s mercy is not a sign of weakness but of strength.

This reading seems to have been chosen to lead in to the first parable that we hear in this Sunday’s Gospel: the weeds and the wheat. This parable is set out by Jesus in the first seven verses of the reading from Matthew and is then explained by Him in the last eight verses. (Note that the optional shorter version of the Gospel reading that the lectionary provides consists only of the parable of the weeds and the wheat. This suggests that, in the minds of those who prepared the Lectionary, this was the part of the Gospel that is most important.)

Why is evil allowed to continue? Why doesn’t God root it out and get rid of it here and now? In the parable, Jesus suggests that rooting out the evil could also bring harm to the good. In His explanation of the parable, Jesus tells His disciples that the time will come when the weeds will indeed be rooted out and destroyed, but it’s not up to us to worry about that at present.

If the author of Wisdom were explaining the parable, he might say that, in letting the weeds grow, God is demonstrating His power. God doesn’t need to worry about whether the weeds will harm the harvest. It’s God’s harvest and God will see to it that the harvest is good.

Most of us, at some time or another, have wondered about the prosperity of evil. Why should bad people be successful? Why don’t sinners get what is coming to them right away? Why does God wait so long to set things right? It’s not because God is unable to do any differently. It’s not because evil is more powerful than good. It’s because God is God, a Lord whose power is demonstrated by His leniency toward those who have done wrong, a loving Lord who is generous to His children even when the children misbehave.

When we are disturbed by the seemingly untrammeled success of evil, it is often because we ourselves are not really convinced about the value of the good. Here we are, striving to do the right thing, keeping the rules, acting obediently even when it’s hard, and over there are the bad people. Everything seems to be going all right for them. How come they’re not being punished? Isn’t God in charge here? Why should I keep trying to be good when there doesn’t seem to by any payoff for it?

If what we are really interested in is the immediate payoff, if following the directions of the Lord is a kind of job for us, a series of chores that we neither understand nor appreciate, then we may not really be doing good at all. We may be working merely out of a sense of self-interest.

Or again, if God’s mercy exercised toward others is a source of dismay for us, maybe that means that we, too, are in need of God’s mercy.

For reflection and discussion

Where do I see God’s forbearance being exercised in the church and the world?

How have I experienced God’s patience and mercy?



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	*Overtures* Reflection on the first readings of the Sunday liturgy By Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk God’s mercy is a sign of strength Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A), Wisdom 12:13, 16-19. This Sunday’s first reading is from the youngest book in the Old Testament, The Book of Wisdom. This book seems to have been written in Alexandria, Egypt, about 50 or 100 years before the birth of Jesus. It was written to offer guidance and encouragement to the Jews who lived in the aggressively pagan atmosphere of Hellenistic Egypt, for whom maintaining their Jewish religious identity was an ongoing challenge. Our reading is from chapter 12, which is concerned with God’s mercy. More specifically, it deals with the relationship between God’s power and God’s patience with sinners. The author is addressing God. The reading starts off (in verse 13) by reflecting with God (and pointing out to the reader) that God is not answerable to anybody for His judgments. There is no god more powerful to whom the God of Israel must render an accounting either for His severity or for His forbearance. God is in charge of everything and does not need to prove that He is just. In the following verses of our reading (16-19) the text expands on how God’s power relates to His justice and mercy. Precisely because God is all-powerful, He can afford to be lenient. God doesn’t need to be afraid of anybody, especially sinners! Those who choose to be defiant of God’s law will indeed experience His punishment. But God also lets us see His power by His refusal to be threatened by the more ordinary offenses of more ordinary people. God can act with leniency precisely because He is powerful. That’s why He gives His children a chance to repent when they have sinned. In acting in this way, God also instructs us that "those who are just must be kind." In brief, these verses teach us that God’s mercy is not a sign of weakness but of strength. This reading seems to have been chosen to lead in to the first parable that we hear in this Sunday’s Gospel: the weeds and the wheat. This parable is set out by Jesus in the first seven verses of the reading from Matthew and is then explained by Him in the last eight verses. (Note that the optional shorter version of the Gospel reading that the lectionary provides consists only of the parable of the weeds and the wheat. This suggests that, in the minds of those who prepared the Lectionary, this was the part of the Gospel that is most important.) Why is evil allowed to continue? Why doesn’t God root it out and get rid of it here and now? In the parable, Jesus suggests that rooting out the evil could also bring harm to the good. In His explanation of the parable, Jesus tells His disciples that the time will come when the weeds will indeed be rooted out and destroyed, but it’s not up to us to worry about that at present. If the author of Wisdom were explaining the parable, he might say that, in letting the weeds grow, God is demonstrating His power. God doesn’t need to worry about whether the weeds will harm the harvest. It’s God’s harvest and God will see to it that the harvest is good. Most of us, at some time or another, have wondered about the prosperity of evil. Why should bad people be successful? Why don’t sinners get what is coming to them right away? Why does God wait so long to set things right? It’s not because God is unable to do any differently. It’s not because evil is more powerful than good. It’s because God is God, a Lord whose power is demonstrated by His leniency toward those who have done wrong, a loving Lord who is generous to His children even when the children misbehave. When we are disturbed by the seemingly untrammeled success of evil, it is often because we ourselves are not really convinced about the value of the good. Here we are, striving to do the right thing, keeping the rules, acting obediently even when it’s hard, and over there are the bad people. Everything seems to be going all right for them. How come they’re not being punished? Isn’t God in charge here? Why should I keep trying to be good when there doesn’t seem to by any payoff for it? If what we are really interested in is the immediate payoff, if following the directions of the Lord is a kind of job for us, a series of chores that we neither understand nor appreciate, then we may not really be doing good at all. We may be working merely out of a sense of self-interest. Or again, if God’s mercy exercised toward others is a source of dismay for us, maybe that means that we, too, are in need of God’s mercy. For reflection and discussion** Where do I see God’s forbearance being exercised in the church and the world? How have I experienced God’s patience and mercy?

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