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XXVI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
JUSTICE OR MERCY?
By our Pastor, Fr. Carmelo Jiménez
The readings for this 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time bring us to reflect once again on justice, but only to show us that mercy is above justice. The works of mercy will bring us to salvation.
Pope Francis, on April 3, 2016, in the Jubilee of Mercy homily affirmed: “To be apostles of mercy means to touch and to caress the sores, also present today in the body and soul of many of your brothers and sisters. By curing these wounds, we profess Jesus, we make him present and alive; we allow others to touch his mercy and to recognize him as Lord and God.” (Pope Francis)
“Thus says the LORD the God of hosts: Woe to the complacent in Zion!…but do not worry about the misfortune of your brothers.” (Am 6:1a. 6b) We find a prophet who speaks out very strongly against injustices. But now he emphasizes not to worry about the misfortune of others. Today our world seems the same as the chosen people that have forgotten about God and only worried about material goods, forgetting about the most vulnerable. That’s why the words of the Pope are so strong, because he has taught us in a very simple way to worry about our brother and sister who is suffering. He himself has gone out to embrace the sick, the refugee, the poor and the one who truly needs love.
The Gospel for this Sunday goes along in this same direction: “When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.” (Lk 16: 22-23) It is also Saint Luke, and only him, who puts in the mouth of the Virgin Mary the beautiful prayer that many of us have prayed, the magnificat: “from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him. He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty.” (Lk 1:48b-53) This prayer is made reality in the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus. If we pay attention, the rich man does not have a name, the poor man does. The rich man trusts in his material possessions, in things that expire, in earthy things. The poor man trusts in divine mercy, which goes further than justice. The Virgin Mary sings of mercy because she has with her the greatest gift, her own savior and that of the entire human race. And the end of the parable is “The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich he has sent away empty.” He gave Lazarus eternal life with Abraham and the rich man punishment, ruin, emptiness.
God the Father – and Jesus Christ – teach us the importance of giving freely. Giving freely overcomes justice, because one gives infinitely more than one receives and even gives without expecting anything in return, which does not happen with justice. So we should ask ourselves is God our Father a God of justice or a God of mercy? We would say of both, because justice is not opposed to giving freely; it is simply a lower rung than mercy. And so he who practices giving freely cannot in any way act unjustly. Giving freely and mercifully include justice. To give freely or mercifully is the maximum level of our faith life, to which each of us who follow Jesus should strive. In other words, strive to be apostles of mercy.
May each of us be aware and responsible for being apostles of mercy. May we live justice only as a step to help us reach being merciful. May God grant us his mercy and may we also live mercifully. Amen.