Transcendent Mercy (25th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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Two attributes of God are highlighted in this passage of Isaiah. The first attribute is transcendence. God is often said to be omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, but all of these omni- attributes can be summed up by saying that God is transcendent. He is above His creation, and is not subject to the flaws and weaknesses that we are subject to.

This means that when God chooses to act in a certain way, we can be certain that He has done so with infinite wisdom, and that His plans will infallibly come to pass. Thus, we do not need to second-guess whether God knows what He is doing, or whether He is able to accomplish what He says.

Verses 10-11 capture this perfectly where it states:

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,

and do not return there but water the earth,

making it bring forth and sprout,

giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth;

it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I intend,

and prosper in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10-11)

This leads us to the second attribute of God that is highlighted in this passage, which is His mercy. Aside from the aforementioned omni attributes, God is also omnibenevolent. This means He is infinitely good in all that He does. He balances justice and mercy perfectly, without compromising either. This comes out in how He freely forgives those who come to Him in sincere repentance, which is the theme of our reading. Today He expects us to do this through the sacrament of confession. All He expects of us is that we be willing to recognize our faults, to confess them, and make a sincere effort to turn away from them and live better lives.

This is perfectly captured by our Responsorial Psalm, which is a fitting conclusion to our study of this passage:

The Lord is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

The Lord is good to all,

and his mercy is over all that he has made. (Psalm 145:8-9)

J. Luis Dizon