Thursday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
(Sirach 5:1-8; Mark 9:41-50)
A saying about God’s mercy and justice is both helpful and
hopeful to recall: God’s justice never sinks lower than his mercy is able to
retrieve. People who commit grave crimes
as well as regular sinners need to remember that God never abandons them.
Both readings today emphasize God’s justice. In the first wise Ben Sira advises his
readers not to presume God’s mercy. Rather
they are to live always carrying out God’s will. In the gospel Jesus warns his disciples about
giving scandal to the young. He exaggerates
when he says that body members should be destroyed if their use is involved in
sin. However, he definitely wants his
disciples to avoid sinning.
God’s mercy foils severe judgment when sinners recognize
their crimes, beseech God’s forgiveness, and resolve not to offend again. Far from opposing His justice, mercy complements
it since God’s commands are not given to condemn but to save.
