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Daily Scripture

In You, O Lord, Justice and Mercy Meet

Today’s gospel reading triggered off in my memory the number of times I have jumped the gun by passing judgment on someone before knowing all the facts — the soft data as well as the hard data. It’s clear to me now that prejudice and bias covered up by pride have a great deal to do with this jump; our comrades can do no wrong; our foes can do no right! Of course, it’s easy to meet out mercy to those we like and easier to meet out justice to those we don’t like.

The words of Isaiah introduce the theme of mercy and pave the way for the encounter of Jesus with the adulterous woman recorded in the gospel of John. The people of Israel had prostituted themselves if not in truth, at least metaphorically. God had espoused himself to them, for better or worse for richer or poorer forever. It was an irrevocable covenant that remains to this day. The people of Israel to whom Isaiah addressed these words abandoned their God and aligned themselves with foreign powers for political and economic gain. In effect, they entered an adulterous alliance and were literally carried away to a foreign land by their greed and lust for power.

In the name of their God, a disciple of Isaiah writing in his name and style reminds them of the great exodus when God led the people out of Egypt through the Red Sea into the Land of Canaan, the land they called home for centuries. In words similar to these, the prophet declares, “You think that was great? Forget about it; you ain’t seen noth’in yet! I’m about to do something even more spectacular. I’ll pave a way through the wilderness and bring you home again. I will forgive your unfaithfulness and forget your affair. Your misery will meet mercy and you will be saved.”

It has been said that pride is the worst of all sins because it distorts the truth of who we are. In fact, pride is a lie. But more than this it is a distortion of who God is. Recall that the sin of Adam and Eve was not that they wanted to be like God but that they did not recognize that they were already like God — made in God’s image and likeness.

There was another encounter taking place in John’s story beyond that of the meeting between Jesus and the woman. It was between Jesus and the woman’s accusers. In was in this encounter that justice was enjoined to the ‘trial’. “Let the one who is without sin be the first to cast the stone!” Their pride blinded them to their own sins. Jesus exposed their hypocrisy as his mercy engulfed the sinful woman.

Was he being soft on sin? Hardly. “Go now”, he said to the woman “and avoid this sin.” Might we not rightly assume that this initiative of mercy effected a dramatic change in her life? God’s saving grace was fully manifested in Jesus. Oddly enough, the same mercy resulted in the hardening of her accusers. They drifted away one by one from the eldest to the youngest but they sought another opportunity to trick him into mercy mending.

John’s story about the woman caught in the act of adultery revealed the depth to which Jesus extended himself to the sinner. “In you, O Lord, justice and mercy meet! [Psalm 85] or in the words of St. Augustine, “Misery meets mercy” in the person of Jesus.

Lent is about opening ourselves up to the saving grace of God but repentance is not something we do. It is allowing the forgiving power of God to touch our life, indeed, to engulf us and point us in a new direction. It’s about God empowering us to goodness and about our initiating a new pattern of life.

Lent is also about dropping stones and the acceptance of the humanity of others, despite their sins and failures. It is about entrusting others and ourselves to the tender mercy of God. More than that, it is about allowing ourselves to become conduits of God’s mercy and saving grace—helping others to find their way out of the wilderness of failure, sin and rejection.

“To err is human; to forgive is divine.”

At the same time, to forgive is not so much an act of the will as a disposition of the heart and in many situations, the conclusion of a very long process. We dare not be presumptuous or simplistic about it.

Forgiveness does not absolve the sinner from taking responsibility for the sin or from its consequences. Thus the mantra, “There is no forgiveness without justice, no justice without truth, no truth without full accountability.”

Here is the story that a rabbi colleague shared with me many years ago. A man went into the temple for the observance of Yom Kippur, which is the Jewish observance of atonement. As he entered the Temple, he noticed all his sins were listed on the board at the entrance. He tried to erase them but he was unable to do so. Then he went inside to participate in the penitential service. As he left the temple, he attempted once more to erase his sins but again was unable to do so. He departed and set about making amends for his sins and then returned to the temple. Lo and behold, his sins had disappeared.

This story is akin to the teaching of Jesus, “When you are bringing your gift to the altar and recall that your brother or sister has something against you, go first to be reconciled and then return with your gift.”

The Scriptures set the tone not only for our Lenten journey but also for our life long journey. Our destiny is not Jerusalem the earthly city but Jerusalem the heavenly city. Mercy is our mission but we must first pass through the gateway of justice and truth. In you O Lord, justice and mercy meet and when they do, reconciliation is complete.

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time 'B'

Sunday February 15, 2009

No one is quarantined in God’s Dominion.

On the front door hung a small poster with red lettering: “Quarantined.” I was in third grade and down with the 21 day Measles. It was a particularly bad case and I lost three weeks of school. Being the youngest in the class and a slow learner, I don’t think I ever caught up — even to this day!

From my quarantined zone, I watched my friends at play in the street. I had to keep my distance and they were not permitted to enter the contaminated zone that had become an invisible shield and a moat around our home.

It’s not really a terrible memory and I suffered no long-range psychological damage — of which I am aware.

Times have changed and with them progress in medicine and medical treatment making quarantine zones less necessary. Thank God for antibiotics! However, viruses and bacteria have also multiplied and progressed to the point that we do need to take precautions against infectious diseases that can invade our bodies with little or no warning.

And the sign at the entrance to the hospital still reads: “If you have a virus or experiencing any strain of the Flu, please do not visit patients lest you subject their immune system to further compromise.”

In fact, some viral infections and bacteria have mutated to new forms against which there are no antidotes and the fear of bacterial invasion from foreign soil has increased our anxiety index significantly.

This whole talk of disease and bacterial invasion whatever their source is unnerving and tends to caste a shadow over the optimism of believers. It can even weaken our confidence in an all-loving God.

During the early stages of the AIDS epidemic, I was asked to visit a patient who had been diagnosed HIV positive. Naturally, I responded with a compliant, “Yes, of course I’ll come.” But my pastoral bravado disappeared very quickly when I entered the ‘no-fly’ zone in the hospital. All sorts of thoughts crossed my mind as I entered the ‘space capsule’ in the isolation unit. The patient was on a respirator but conscious and alert. I wondered to myself, “Is the virus air borne? What will happen if I anoint him? What will people think if I contract the illness? ” These are thoughts I confess now with not a little embarrassment.

In any event, we have come a long way in our understanding of this dread virus but victims still fall prey to insensitive comments and those of same sex orientation still bear the brunt of disparaging statements none more condemnatory than those from so-called ‘religious’ people.

The Book of Leviticus describes for us this weekend how people in biblical times dealt with the fears, taboos and dangers surrounding contagious diseases. The Levitical regulations represented the codified wisdom and customs of many generations. The diseases themselves were considered a sign not only of physical contagion but also of spiritual impurity. Victims of skin disorders like Leprosy were ousted from the community not only because of contagion but also because of spiritual defilement. That is the reason why those who claimed a cure had to present themselves to the priest for a rite of purification.

This is the context in which Mark describes Jesus’ encounter with the leper. In all likelihood, the disease was not what we recognize as Hansen’s disease, but whatever its nature, it was considered a curse from God. The victim was ostracized — we know all the epithets that were hurled at them and the alert that they themselves were to sound as people came near, “Unclean, unclean!”

Not only did Jesus enter the contaminated zone, but he also touched the leper, lifting the curse that isolated the man from everyone and even alienated him from his very self.

Mind you, the entire Gospel of Mark is a proclamation and a proof of Jesus messianic role and of his relationship with God as “Son of God.” Already in the first sentence of the first chapter of Mark’s gospel we read: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the ‘Son of God.’” And later in the same chapter at the baptism of Jesus, “And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved…’” and in chapter 15, verse 39: “Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was God’s son!’”

So this is the way God’s son acts. He enters contaminated zones, heals infectious diseases, casts out demons and forgives sins. This last observation is very important in Mark’s gospel and suggests to us that Jesus’ mission is not only about physical healing but also about the healing of the soul — the hidden self, the sinner that exists in all of us. In chapter seven verse fourteen we read Jesus’ words: “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: it is not what passes through the mouth of a person that can defile, but the things that come out of the mouth are what defiles” because they originate in the heart. In other words, the disease of the soul is what truly defiles humanity. “Fear not those who can destroy the body. Rather fear those who can kill the soul casting it into Gehenna.”

In a world contaminated by hatred, disciples of Christ are challenged as never before to respond to evil with courage but to the contrite sinner with mercy and compassion.

The real question in today’s world is how to balance justice and compassion? How do we balance the harsh judgment of Jesus against evil with his mercy and compassion for the sinner? The words of the psalmist come quickly to mind, “Love and truth will meet; justice and peace will kiss.” [Psalm 85:11]

Forbidden zones must be entered to heal those who suffer discrimination whatever the cause be it sin or the accidents of birth. Let those who are without sin cast the first stone. And boundaries must be crossed to speak even to our enemies. There is ample evidence in the gospel that supports this statement.

There is no duct tape or plastic shield as secure as the strength that comes from our complete surrender to God and conformity to the rule of love rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Indeed, the powerless know wherein lay their strength.

“Grant, O God, your protection; and in your protection, strength; and in strength, understanding; and in understanding, knowledge; and in knowledge, justice; and in justice, mercy and compassion and in that knowledge the love that comes from you, the source of all goodness and life.” [Adapted from an anonymous prayer from ‘The Complete Book of Christian Prayer,’ Continuum Publishing Company, NY, 1995]