How can a God be both: Just and Merciful?
Just is one which is fair by giving what one deserves. A merciful God is one who judges not based on what is deserving but through mercy whips away the sentence against the guilty.
The Our Father prayer is so full of theology, it is an outstanding prayer!
" ...... forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us .... "
He is merciful in the way we are merciful, so we are 'given what we deserve' through our own mercifulness. As the prayer states, He will forgive as we forgive.
The truth of the matter is as a Christian and as human beings, we are not deserving, we are all guilty! We all have flaws and failures. It is hard to live apart of our own egos, it is easier not to be merciful to those we despise and merciful to those we love. We are to love our enemies says the Lord which means we are to be merciful to even those we despise.
It is when the Christian realizes they are not worthy of God's love (this humility) when one is prepared to follow the Lord in all His mercifulness to be AS HIM. Only when we see ourselves as what we are, fallen and broken, can we be mended, and can we begin to love others despite themselves and ourselves.
In this culture of political polarization, it is often hard to remember the True matters, not our tax policies, immigration policies, or our state policies, but how merciful are we to allow for our fellow men to be as broken and weak as we are.
Today's Gospel reading, illustrates how the Old and New Testament God is not a different God, but the characteristics are compatible. Yet, we should be mindful, in the incarnation of Christ, we see God already reaching out to us calling us to His mercy (and is vengeant when we do not replicate His love and mercy). We see a Just God in both the New and Old testament, granting to us what we deserve, but in the New Testament, God literally feels us, touches our humanity as he becomes one of us, displaying already the mercy He wills to grant us.
Gospel Mt 18:21-35
Peter approached Jesus and asked him,“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
‘Pay back what you owe.’
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
But he refused.
Instead, he had him put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master
and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?’
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”
