Punishment and Reward

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, October 30th, 2022:
Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Wisdom
11.22 – 12.2

The whole world before you, O Lord,
is like a speck that tips the scales,
and like a drop of morning dew that falls on the ground.
But you are merciful to all,
for you can do all things,
and you overlook people’s sins,
so that they may repent.

Lord, you love all things that exist,
and detest none of the things that you have made,
for you would not have made anything if you had hated it.
How would anything have endured
if you had not willed it?
Or how would anything not called forth by you
have been preserved?
You spare all things, for they are yours, O Lord,
you who love the living.

For your immortal spirit is in all things.
Therefore you correct little by little those who trespass,
and you remind and warn them of the things through which they sin,
so that they may be freed from wickedness
and put their trust in you, O Lord.

When we look at our lives, how often do we try to see the good as a reward or a sign of God’s favour and the bad as an indictment of our behaviour or a sign of God’s hatred? 

When I was 16, I was in an accident where I rightly should have died. As I was crossing the street, a car hit me, sending me flying through the air. Those around me ascribed it to the act of guardian angels, sent by the Father. A sign of God’s particular love for me.

At the time, I was a churchgoer but in no way a believer. I was a few short years away from getting out of the Church, which I only attended as I perceived it as a duty to my parents, and out into the world. For me, being saved from that car was no sign or wonder, just a bit of good luck, easily explained away. And I did feel lucky to be alive! The experience kicked into high gear my thoughts about world travel and future accomplishments. I wanted to be a singer and through that, I knew I would see the world.

When the opportunity arose to go to Italy, I didn’t care that it was for a Church trip. I cashed in my insurance check and laid it down for the trip. I could start checking world travel off my bucket list! Long story short, while I was there, I had my conversion and the rest was history.

Looking back, it’s hard to justify either the car hitting me as a punishment for my bad behaviour or the trip as a reward for good behaviour. God’s love for me was just the same before my conversion as after. The only thing that changed was my willingness to accept it. My willingness to let go of my sin and accept His correction. 

The greatest reward available to me is not money, or trips, or even good health – it is God’s love itself, flowing in and through me. And when I experience trials, those are not punishments from God, but yet another opportunity for me to invite God’s love into me, so that I can better endure and grow in them. In feast and in fallow; in sin and goodness; in pain and in joy, God’s love is always available to me.




Stephanie Potter

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