Judge the harvest

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today promote reflection on clemency, temerity, rehabilitation and restoration. Larry Broding shares some research on the context of the passage from the Book of Wisdom where the author writing in Alexandria expresses concern for the treatment of the Jewish community in that city. He tells us the author and his co-religionists were like the general population, but were very different. This led to misunderstanding and even persecution from the outside, and an identity crisis on the inside. Why does God allow the good (Jews in the city) to suffer at the hands of the wicked (outsiders)? Why doesn't he use his power to vindicate (that is, assert the place of) his people? The Gospel from Matthew is in a similar theme. In the parable told by Jesus, a landowner decides that the wheat and the weeds will grow together because to remove the weeds from the field may damage the weeds. The Salt and Light Blog concludes that God loves goodness more than God hates evil. The commentary from the USCCB notes the caution against temerity in the text from Wisdom with the note that the brunt of divine anger and justice is borne by those who know God but defy divine authority and might. Mary Lee Brock is also drawn to reflect on work by the USCCB but her focus is on the call of the bishops for restorative justice which helps Mary Lee Brock live her faith in the image of a loving and forgiving God. The psalmist today proclaims ”You, O LORD, are a God mciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and fidelity”. We might, as we review the news today, be moved to declare that there must also be justice for those who for no fault of their own are victims of war and senseless violence. We can cry for retribution and perhaps when we need support in prayer for understanding we can hear Paul telling the Romans today that the Spirit come to the aid of our weakness to generate the communication we need with Divine mercy and justice. Looking within, we realize that wheat and weeds also grow together in our own being. We hear the advice of Pope Benedict that our persons and organizations, including the Church, are fields in which both the Spirit and the evil one sow seeds. Divine Mercy declares that we wait for all to have every opportunity to accept the invitation to reconciliation which Jesus offers.