Saint John XXIII
Lk 11:37-41
While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him; so he went in and took his place at the table.
The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner. Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
A God of Mercy
Jesus shows us today that mercy is not only the heart of the law but also the law of the heart. Namely, Mercy is how God comes to us.
At first, Jesus seems remarkably “unmerciful” to the Pharisees today, even if his response may be justified by their rudeness to him. Yet I can imagine Jesus speaking his harsh words not with vengeful judgment but with tears. Jesus’s anger today is not a denial of mercy but a cry for mercy from his table companions, who seem so intent on judgment.
Sometimes, judgment is my first response to the anger of others. Yet Jesus demonstrates today that judgment and anger can both be pregnant with cries for mercy.
As I go through my day today, let me be open to the God of Mercy. As I notice my responses to the world, let me prayerfully consider whether God is asking for my judgment or for my mercy.
—Ryen Dwyer, SJ, is a Jesuit from the Midwest Province studying theology at Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California.
Prayer
Merciful God, you show me mercy through every interaction that we have. Help me to model my interactions with others on you, so that I may be slow to judge and quick to show mercy to others. Amen.
—Jesuit Prayer team