Mercy - the greatest expression of God’s power
September 12, 2023 - Tuesday, 23rd Week in Ordinary Time
Psalm 145:1b-2, 8-11
Psalm 145 ends the fifth and final collection of the Psalter (Psalms 107-145) celebrating the kingship of God. We usually associated kingship with power and authority, but according to the psalmist, the kingship of God is evident in His mercy. The Catechism of our Church in this way explains God’s omnipotence. “God reveals his fatherly omnipotence by the way he takes care of our needs; by the filial adoption that he gives us (…); by his infinite mercy, for he displays his power at its height by freely forgiving sins” (CCC, 270).
The statement that declares the Lord to be “gracious and merciful” (Ps 145:8) comes from God’s revelation to Moses in the Book of Exodus 34:6. This belief in God’s magnanimity permeates the faith of Israel and is called upon in the time of national and personal crisis. In the book of the prophet Jonah, God’s steadfast love and kindness extend even to the enemies of Israel, the Ninevites (see Jonah 4:2). The New Testament takes this theme and develops it further in the Gospels. In Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe, we see the fullness of God’s mercy.
The virtues that the psalmist uses to describe the Lord are truly impressive. Our divine King is characterised by grace, mercy, patience, steadfast love, faithfulness, holiness, justice, and attentiveness to those who call upon Him. All those virtues are found in Jesus Christ. As we read through the Gospels we see the goodness and kindness of Christ towards those who were falling, bowed down, and in their distress called upon Him for help. And nothing has changed since then. As the letter to the Hebrews declares: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). The King of the Universe continues to show his power and authority through His grace and mercy.
The psalmist makes two important declarations. The first is that the kingship of the Lord is eternal and embraces all generations (Ps 145:13) and the second is that the compassion of God is towards all his works (Ps 145:9). The first declaration brings to my mind the famous vision of Daniel about a mysterious figure, one like “a son of man” who approaches the throne of the Almighty God and receives an everlasting dominion over all people and nations (see Dan 7:13-14). The second reminds me of the famous passage from the book of Wisdom: “You love everything that exists; you do not despise anything that you have made. If you had not liked it, you would not have made it in the first place” (Wisdom 11:24).
These two declarations are beautifully expressed in one of the liturgical prayers of the Church: "God, you show your almighty power above all in your mercy and forgiveness. . ." (Roman Missal, 26th Sunday, Opening Prayer, quoted in CCC, 277). And the greatest expression of his almighty power is when he converts “us from our sins” and restores “us to his friendship by grace” (see CCC, 277).