Word to the Wise
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 - Wednesday in the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
[Romans 2:1-11 and Luke 11:42-46]Yes, affliction and distress will come upon everyone who does evil, Jew first and then Greek. But there will be glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, Jew first and then Greek. There is no partiality with God.
We Americans prize our judicial system. We subject candidates to scrutiny about their impartiality! Of course, lawyers have a skeptical view of impartiality and will quickly point out that judges tend to "lean" in a particular way according to underlying political or philosophical backgrounds! The newspapers almost always mention which president appointed a particular federal judge when reporting on controversial decisions in federal court. Making predictions on the basis of those known backgrounds is always risky, especially in the case of the U. S. Supreme Court. There are six Catholics out of the nine justices and they certainly do not always rule the way the American bishops would wish! Impartial judicial decisions were not necessarily expected in St. Paul's time. Theologically the Jews might expect God to vindicate them or at least show the preference that their tradition believed made them the "Chosen People." It was St. Paul who began (or at least is credited with beginning) preaching to the Gentiles and who lead the Christian community to the conclusion that salvation was not just for Jews but for all who believe. With that equal status came equal responsibility for living according to God's plan and a future subjection to a completely impartial judgment by God as to how one lived. Impartial, however, does not mean "impersonal!" St. Paul mentions God's "priceless kindness, forbearance, and patience" that can lead us all to repentance. In short, God's judgment is not mechanical or mathematical. God will do everything possible to include us if we only accept that help and do our part to live in accordance with what we know to be God's will. God's impartiality means God's generosity knows no boundaries or ethnic or other discriminatory possibilities. We are all called to eternal life, but we dont all listen or respond! AMEN
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