Scripture:
Reflection:
Today’s readings could fittingly be described as a “crash course” in Christianity because they tell us everything we need to know: We are sinners. God is forgiving, compassionate, and merciful. And we are called to be the same by extending to others the mercy and forgiveness God lavishly and unstintingly bestows upon us.
The first reading from the Book of Daniel gets straight to the point: “We have sinned, been wicked and done evil; we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and laws.” That heartfelt confession strips away any consoling illusion of innocence, any soothing pretense of undefiled goodness and virtue. When we hear those words (or whisper them silently) our own failures to do good are suddenly and painfully remembered. We recall times we did something that wounded a neighbor we were given to love. We ruefully recollect little betrayals; thoughtless acts born in bitterness, anger, or resentment; or simply the countless occasions we had a chance to love and didn’t bother. No wonder we find ourselves nodding in assent when the people unanimously exclaim that “we are shamefaced even to this day.”
Thankfully, that is not the end of the story because, as today’s psalm response continually reiterates, God does “not deal with us according to our sins.” Despite our persistent waywardness, despite our almost chronic hardness of heart, the God we reject and betray loves us all the same, responding to our sin with endless mercy, compassion, and love.
We show our gratitude by offering that same compassion, forgiveness, and love whenever we can to whomever we can. When we do, we fulfill Jesus’ command in today’s gospel: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” To take that summons to heart, and to live by it day-after-day, is to know the abundant new life that is found in being a recovering sinner.
Paul J. Wadell is Professor Emeritus of Theology & Religious Studies at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, and a member of the Passionist Family of Holy Cross Province.