Friday, January 18, 2013
Hebrews 4:1-5, 11, Psalm 78:3-4, 6-8, Mark 2:1-12
Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/011813.cfm
IS IT UNJUST TO BE FORGIVEN?
"The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." -Mark 2:10
God is just, and the world He created is just, although it does not appear to be just at every moment. However, eventually God "will repay every man for what he has done" (Rm 2:6).
God is merciful. He treats us much better than we deserve. He is more than fair, better than just. God is not limited to being just, for His "mercy triumphs over judgment" (Jas 2:13).
Is God's being better than just unjust? Is it contradictory to be both just and merciful? The question in life is not so much: "Why do bad things happen to good people?", but "Why do good things happen to bad people?" God's mercy is more mysterious and therefore more problematic than His justice.
The Lord can be merciful without ignoring justice because He is "our Justice" (1 Cor 1:30). By dying on the cross in our place, Jesus fulfilled "the just demands of the law" (Rm 8:4). By fulfilling justice, He is free to move beyond justice - to mercy. Therefore, when Jesus forgave the paralytic's sin and claimed the authority to forgive sins, He was claiming to be God, our Justice, and even crucified Mercy. Receive God's forgiveness. Abandon yourself to the mercy of God.
Prayer: Father, by faith in Jesus may I rejoice in this season of mercy.
Promise: "Let us strive to enter into that rest, so that no one may fall, in imitation of the example of Israel's unbelief." -Heb 4:11
Praise: Josh repented and reversed his vasectomy. God blessed his family with two more children.
(We can learn to be merciful as God is merciful. For related teaching, order our leaflets, "Unforgiveness is the Cause", "Fourteen Questions on Forgiveness", and the "Novena of Mary, the Mother of Forgiveness"," "or our audio tapes AV 41-1 or AV 106A-1, AV 106A-3, AV 106B-1 or AV 104-1, respectively.)
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Rescript: In accord with the "Code of Canon Law", I hereby grant my permission to publish "One Bread, One Body" covering the period from December 1, 2012 through January 31, 2013
?Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, June 27, 2012
The rescript is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted ecclesial permission agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.
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