God delights in clemency

In today’s first reading, Micah 7: 14-15, 18-20, our God is described as One “who removes guilt,” “pardons sins,” “delights…in clemency,” has “compassion on us,” treads our guilt underfoot, “casts into the depths of the sea all our sins,” and shows His “faithfulness” and “grace.”

Wow, what a God in contrast to the gods of the nations that surrounded Israel—gods who were anything but merciful, compassionate and forgiving.  Over repeated transgressions of the covenant, God remains faithful to the Chosen People, forming them into a “close-knit family,” who can, then, open its doors freely to neighbors and outsiders,” (Stuhlmueller, Carroll, O.P., Biblical Meditations for Ordinary Time—Weeks 10-22, Paulist Press, NY, 1984, p. 124) without losing its identify as God’s people and being prepared for Jesus’ message of inclusiveness; namely that all people  “who do the Father’s will are brother and sister and mother to Me” (Mt. 12: 50).

How firmly am I rooted in my faith and my faith community?  How open am I to those whose beliefs  differ from mine? How inclusive am I of others who, like myself, hopefully, are doing the will of the Father, when to what God is calling them differs from to what God is calling me?  Do I, like God, view people through the lens of compassion, pardon, clemency and ways to make God’s compassion a reality?  Do I view the world through the lens  of God’s faithfulness and grace? Or is my view narrowed by prejudice, exclusivity, shame and guilt, the letter of the law, no matter what?