1st Reading, 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

From: Wisdom 12:13, 16-19

God, Just and Forbearing (Continuation)

[13] "For neither is there any god besides thee, whose care is for all men, to whom thou shouldst prove that thou hast not judged unjustly; [16] For thy strength is the source of righteousness, and thy sovereignty over all causes thee to spare all. [17] For thou dost show thy strength when men doubt the completeness of thy power, and dost rebuke any insolence among those who know it. [18] Thou who art sovereign in strength dost judge with mildness, and with great forbearance thou dost govern us; for thou hast power to act whenever thou dost choose. [19] Through such works thou has taught thy people that the righteous man must be kind, and thou hast filled thy sons with good hope, because thou givest repentance for sins.
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Commentary:

12:12-27. This passage is imbued with very solid faith in the goodness and power of God, who is the only God, almighty, and has to account to no one for what he does (vv. 12-14. Here the book of Wisdom connects up with sapiential tradition (cf. Job 9) and with prophecy (cf. e.g. Is 45:13; Jer 18: 5-11). His all-embracing power does not make God an unjust tyrant: on the contrary, God is always righteous (vv. 15-17). Nor is his justice in any sense at odds with his mercy and kindness. He shows this in his dealings with Israel, especially, but also in his dealings with mankind at large, whose evil actions he punishes gently, to give people a chance to change (vv. 18-25). However, he will indeed punish those who are obdurate in their unbelief and wickedness (vv. 26-27). We find the same teaching in the New Testament (cf. e.g., Mt 16:15-16).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.