In today’s reflection verse from Luke’s gospel, we hear Jesus saying that he “wills” to do the good. But many in this world are trapped by a God they see as angry, bitter, and vengeful. How are we supposed to “see” God and the attributes of God that Jesus incarnated? Fr. Ron Rolheiser, who taught a course entitled The Theology of God for fifteen years, writes that it is not easy to reflect God adequately, but we must try to reflect better the God that Jesus showed us. So, what are the marks of that God? Fr. Rolheiser writes that first, we must understand that God has no favorites. No one person, race, gender, or nation is more favored than others by that God. All are privileged. God is also clear that it’s not only those who profess God and religion explicitly who are persons of faith but also those, irrespective of their explicit faith or church practice, who do the will of God on earth. Next, God is scandalously understanding and compassionate, especially toward the weak and sinners. God is willing to sit down with sinners without first asking them to clean up their lives. Moreover, God asks us to be compassionate in the same way to both sinners and saints and to love them both equally. That God does not have preferential love for the virtuous. In addition, God is critical of those who, whatever their sincerity, try to block access to him. God is never defensive but surrenders himself to death rather than defend himself, never meets hatred with hatred, and dies loving and forgiving those who are killing him. Finally, and centrally, God is, first of all, good news for the poor. Any preaching in God’s name that isn’t good news for the poor is not the gospel. Those are the attributes of the God who Jesus incarnated, and we need to remember that aspect of God in all of our preaching, teaching, and pastoral practices. We must also be sensitive to proper boundaries and the demands of orthodox teaching. The truth sets us free and the demands of discipleship are, by Jesus own admission, harsh. However, with that being admitted, the compassion, mercy, and intelligence of God still need to be reflected in every pastoral action we do.