The 31st Sunday of the Year Wis 11:22 – 12:2; 2 Thes 1:11-22; Lk 19:1-10 (year c)
The Book of Wisdom approaches the conclusion of the Jubilee Year with an unparalleled meditation on the Father’s mercy. “You are merciful to all, because you can do all things and overlook men’s sins so that they can repent. You love all that exists, and you spare all things because all things are yours, Lord, lover of life, you whose imperishable spirit is in all.”
The God of the Old Testament is frequently caricatured as a vengeful God. Here the Creator is described as the God of love, whose love formed us and brought us into being. Even when we have sinned, the Creator’s imperishable spirit persists in our hearts, calling us to repentance. Such love cannot deny the repentant sinner.
