We live in an unfair world – a world where children in Africa go hungry, a world where CEO’s and CFO’s walk away from failing companies with millions while ordinary workers lose their life savings, a world where a year ago tomorrow, catching the wrong flight or getting to work early spelled death for several thousand people. 

Fortunately today’s readings offer a sense of hope in ultimate divine justice on the eve of this grim anniversary.

The world of 2,000 years ago obviously wasn’t fair either. Based on St. Paul’s list in the first reading, people obviously cheated, stole, committed sins of sexual abuse and all the rest. He warned that these perpetrators wouldn’t enter the Kingdom of God until they had repented. That’s still true today. This threat may not exactly send the barons of Wall Street running to their nearest house of worship but it can give us some perspective on coping with injustice. Today’s wrong is transitory. Only the Kingdom of God is permanent. 

Furthermore, God is not indifferent to the pain and sorrow of victims, says today’s Psalm. “The Lord loves his people and he adorns the lowly with victory.” In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives one more vivid illustration of God’s care for his people by healing people of their diseases. “Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.”
Even if we are not the special victims of injustice, we can take comfort in today’s readings. 

We all need healing, even those of us fortunate enough to be healthy. We need the healing power of forgiveness for our own sins and the healing power of being able to forgive others because we can trust in God’s ultimate justice to make things right. We probably all cherish favorite grudges and memories of slights, maybe going back to childhood to say nothing of mega-crimes like Sept. 11. Now we can turn over our anger and pain to a far better judge and healer than ourselves. 

So today, I will try to trust in God’s ultimate justice and mercy, knowing that in a world that will continue to be unfair, it’s our best hope, maybe our only one.