Readings of the day: Ezekiel 18:21-28; Psalm 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-7a, 7bc-8; Matthew 5:20-26
How many of us, especially those of us
who are parents, have heard the complaint directed at us, “That is not fair! This
person did this bad thing; you cannot let her or him get away without
consequences!”
Those of us who have ever been accused
of being unfair for what was in fact the right decision can take comfort from
our readings today: “The LORD is not fair!”
At least this is the accusation we hear
leveled against God in our reading from the Prophet Ezekiel: You cannot allow
the wicked to get away unpunished, even if they repent! Truly, as we hear the
people of Israel complain in Ezekiel, “The LORD is not fair!”
Those who complain that “the LORD is not
fair” have a point. The Lord is not fair; the Lord is merciful. The Lord gives
us all a chance to repent; a chance at forgiveness of our sins. This chance at
repentance and forgiveness is central to the meaning of this season of Lent.
Indeed it is central to the meaning of our Mass, which hinges on our
recognition of God’s mercy; that God is not merely “fair” but is merciful. And
so we pray at the beginning of Mass, “Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord
have mercy.” Again, just before receiving communion, we pray, “Lord, I am not
worthy that you should come under my roof, but only say the word and my soul
shall be healed.”
God is not fair, and so with the
Psalmist we rejoice in God’s mercy: “If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can
stand?” The more our own society and we as individuals obsess over fairness in
place of mercy, the weaker we stand. Conversely, only with mercy, repentance,
and forgiveness will any of us, sinners all, stand.
This week a story appeared in The Democrat
and Chronicle about local college students abusing an animal at a party.
The comment column on the previous page was full of proposals to bring hard justice
to those involved: “Throw the book at them!” And so on… I remarked to Fr. Joe
Trovato,[1]
who was reading the newspaper with me: “What good will that do?” Fr. Joe wisely suggested that the perpetrators should be
offered community service time in a facility that cares for abandoned or stray
animals. The former approach is that of fairness; the latter is that of mercy.
The Lord is not fair. Our Lord is
merciful, and so we are invited to be not merely fair but merciful toward one
another, if we are not already, beginning with our observance of Lent.
[1] Fr. Joseph Trovato, CSB, is a
senior Basilian priest serving at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Irondequoit, NY.
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