Wis 12:13,16-19; Ps 85; Rom 8:26-27; Mt 13:24-43
Psalm 85 really says it all this week: God is a loving God, a “God of mercy and compassion, slow to anger”, “good and forgiving, full of love to all who call.” Eventually “all the nations” – ie the Gentiles – will come to adore God.
The Book of Wisdom was probably written in Alexandria about 50 years before Christ, probably to encourage the faith of Jews living in a pagan Egypt. It wrestles with the age-old problem that evildoers are not punished in this world. Wisdom insists that God is just and merciful: he will reward the just after death, although this book does not say how. We can see that God moderates his own power with his justice from the way he gave the Egyptians and Canaanites time to repent both before and during the exodus, and we should follow his example by showing mercy to those who hurt us.
The Gospel shows God’s mercy in action. Instead of venting punishment on sinners and immediately uprooting them, God patiently gives us time to repent. Even more, as Paul has been saying to the Romans, we may have confidence in the future life God has planned for us. God sends the Spirit to help us and to enable us to express our prayers more meaningfully.
Psalm Response: O Lord, you are good and forgiving.
Wis 12:13,16-19; Ps 85; Rom 8:26-27; Mt 13:24-43
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