(Genesis 18:20-32; Ps 138(137); Colossians 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13)

Theme: God is Just in Mercy, Hence Abba to Us, But Still Just

Some argue that God is confined within a code He cannot escape. But we wonder why we are alive today, given the seriousness of our offences against humanity and God, which seem far greater than those of the people of Sodom andGomorrah, burned down in today’s first reading, even after Abraham’s intervention. Are we to accept that God is torn within Himself, caught between a desire for vengeance and a desire for mercy?  

As believers, we understand that an overly legalistic view of God’s justice and mercy can be misleading.  God has remained true to Himself, and in Him there is no contradiction. Thus, we agree with St Paul that God was just in granting mercy throughour Lord Jesus.   

In today's second reading, St. Paul reminds us that “We, who were dead in our trespasses and the uncircumcision of our flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands.”  St. Irenaeus noted in Against Heresies that “the Lord has restored us into friendship through His incarnation, becoming “the Mediator between God and men”; indeed, He propitiates the Father for us, against whom we had sinned, and cancels (consolatus) our disobedience through His own obedience; [making us subjects to and granting us communion with our Creator].”

In Dives in Misericordia, Pope St John Paul II notes that mercy was revealed in the cross and resurrection of Christ; hence, love has become more powerful than death.  Thus, in our day and time, God is tempering justice with mercy and love, whichdoes not detract from the value of justice and does not minimize the significance of the order that is based upon it; it only indicates, under another aspect, that powers can be drawn from the Holy Spirit, which order God’s justice.

In other words, as temples of the Spirit, we can access those powers and, as our Lord Jesus noted in today’s Gospel, address God in prayer as Abba, our Father, who is Holy (Kadosh), and whose rule (Basileia) reigns where He is and in our hearts of His followers. Thus, we can ask Him for our sustenance (both material and supernatural), for forgiveness when we cross moral boundaries (as we forgive others), and to save us from evil through His victory on the Cross.

Since we believe that God is Kadosh, yet merciful, we pray and hope that His desire to save us will be fulfilled by Him who is just, merciful, and faithful.