Word to the Wise
Saturday, February 13, 2016 - Saturday after Ash Wed.
[Isa 58:9b-14 and Luke 5:27-32]SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2016. SATURDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY [Isaiah 58:9b-14 and Luke 5:27-32] "Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners." [Luke] One of Pope Francis' favorite images of the church is that of a "field hospital for sinners." His image matches what Jesus said to the Pharisees and scribes when he spoke the words quoted above. They objected to his eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners. The word "church" is important. It does not mean only the institutional charitable agencies sponsored by the Catholic Church. It means every baptized person. We are the Body of Christ. Pope Francis also says in THE NAME OF GOD IS MERCY that when we practice the works of mercy we touch the very flesh of Christ. In THE MERCHANT OF VENICE by Shakespeare, one of the characters speaks a beautiful soliloquy about mercy that begins, "The quality of mercy is not strain'd..." This Lent it might be a worthy exercise to come to terms with the way we practice mercy. Where is the "physician" in us and where is the Pharisee? What works of mercy do we or can we practice? Is the "quality" of our mercy "strain'd?" AMEN
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