11 September. Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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1st Reading: Exodus 32:7ff
When the people turned to idols, Moses begs God’s pardon for them
The Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’”
The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation.”
But Moses implored the Lord his God, and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.
2nd Reading: 1 Timothy 1:12-17
Paul’s own conversion is a living proof of the mercy of God
I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Gospel: Luke 15:1-32
The parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. “Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.
When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”‘ So he set off and went to his father.
But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe-the best one-and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.
“Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’
Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”
Gospel for the Year of Mercy
Kieran O’Mahony writes: “This being the Year of Mercy, the Gospel is especially eloquent. However, given its great familiarity, it is a challenge for preacher and hearer alike. Can we hear it with fresh ears? Perhaps this might help. The siblings really do resemble each other: both want something from the father, even if only the younger has the guts to spell it out. On his return, the same younger son would like to become as slave, relating to the father on the basis of abject guilt. The stay-at-home son likewise resembles a slave, even in his own words, relating to the father on the basis of servile loyalty. The father rejects both projections as wholly inadequate. On what basis, then, may we relate to God?Surely on God’s terms, which are mercy, compassion and love. All is grace, amen and amen again!
Kieran’s commentary on today’s Gospel can be heard by clicking here. His new book, Speaking from Within has just published by Veritas, Dublin. The subtitle is “Biblical Approaches for Effective Preaching.” The target audience is preachers, but because he writes about Scripture as a resource for prayer and catechesis, it may be of wider interest.
A Parable For Our Time
José Antonio Pagola writes: “In no other parable has Jesus desired to let us penetrate so profoundly the mystery of God and, in that mystery, the human condition. None other is so timely for us as that of the «good Father».
The younger son says to his father: «Give me the share of the estate that will come to me». To demand this, he is for all intents and purposes asking for his father’s death. He wants to be free, to break all bonds. He will not be happy until his father disappears. The father gives in to his desire without saying a word: the son must freely choose his own path. Isn’t this the situation today? Many today want to see themselves free of God, being happy without the presence of an eternal Father on their horizon. God must disappear from society and from our consciences. And just as in the parable, the Father keeps quiet. God forces no one.
The son goes off to «a distant country». He needs to live someplace else, far from his father and from his family. The father sees him leave, but doesn’t abandon him; his father’s heart accompanies him; each morning he will be looking out for him. Modern society gets further and further away from God, from God’s authority, from the memory of God… Doesn’t God accompany us while we go on losing him from sight?
Quickly the son sets himself up in a «life of debauchery». The original word in Greek doesn’t just suggest moral disorder, but an existence that is insane, unhinged, chaotic. All too soon his adventure begins to turn bad. A «severe famine» comes about and he only survives by taking care of pigs as the slave of a foreigner. His words reveal his tragedy: «Here am I dying of hunger». Inner emptiness and hunger for love can be the first signs of how far we are from God. The road to freedom isn’t easy. What are we missing? What could fill our hearts? We have almost everything: why do we feel so hungry? The youth «came to his senses» and, drowning in his own emptiness, remembered his father’s face, associated with the abundance of bread: in the house of my father «they have bread» and here «I’m dying of hunger». In his inner heart he awakens the desire for a new freedom next to his father. He recognizes his mistake and makes a decision: «I will leave this place and go to my father».
Will we get on the road to God our Father? Many would do that if they would know that God who, according to Jesus’ parable, «ran to his son, clasped him in his arms and kissed him over and over». Those embraces and those kisses speak of God’s love better than every theology book written. Back with God, we can encounter a more worthy and happy freedom.
To avenge or to forgive?
Most people find it hard to let go of wrongs done to them. Sometimes the incident was deliberate, sometimes unintentional. But some go through life harbouring grudges, making themselves miserable because they will not let bygones be bygones, and will not consign to the past things which happened years ago and are over and done with. Because we feel like this, we can imagine a God like this too. We picture God as waiting to settle accounts with us some day. Because we can be vindictive, we project this attitude onto God. But isn’t this the kind of God put before us today in the Moses story? It sounds from this story as if Moses is more merciful than God, when the people fell into idolatry and worshipped the Golden Calf. Only because of the prayer of Moses did God turn aside from his anger and give his people another chance to reach the Promised Land.
How different is the picture of God that Jesus presents … not an angry God who is not waiting to judge us harshly, but rather a God who wants to be close to us, and wants us to be close to him. The true God is like the loving parent who has lost a child, and cannot rest until the child is safely back in the house.
In our world today we see many proofs that the spirit of hatred, anger and revenge is alive and well. Not only in the tragic civil war still raging in Syria, but in other places too, guns and weapons of mass destruction are waiting to be used on those regarded as enemies. Some have stockpiled chemical weapons while others have stocks of nuclear deterrent enough to destroy the whole planet. How conflicted are the views of politicians who talk of spreading democracy, but are prepared to rain down destruction from the safe shelter of drones, high in the atmosphere.
Forgiveness is all very well when we ask for it for ourselves. But how do we react when forgiveness is extended to others? The father in the parable throws such a big party that the noise can be heard out in the fields. Are we prepared to join in the celebration, if peace can be reached without invoking revenge or punitive strikes? Or are we like the sullen elder brother who resents the party to mark the return of his irresponsible younger brother? Do we find it difficult to accept that God offers the same mercy to everyone, no matter what their past life? What the gospel says today is that even if we might think like that, God never does, and that if we are to be truly Christian, we have to change our attitudes to other people, and to see them as God does, with eyes of understanding and of mercy.
The story of the Prodigal Son actually has no clear ending. We don’t know if the elder brother went into the house to join in the celebrations, or whether he stayed outside, seething with anger. There is no ending, because it is not just a story, it is a challenge, to each one of us. How would you end the story? Would you go in or stay outside?
Lost And Found
God loves the just but does not ignore the sinner, for whom there is always a place in his kingdom. The church is not an exclusive club. The Pharisees resent God’s mercy. The parable of the lost sheep does not deny the goodness of the virtuous majority but makes the point that there’s a special place for the repentant sinner. The lost coin is important to the careful housewife, and her joy at its recovery is shared because it is deeply felt. The sum may be modest but it’s sentimental value matters a lot to her. All are V.I.P.s in God’s eyes, and especially what was lost and found.
But there is another side to this story: the Prodigal Son “came to his senses.” He opened his eyes to see, his ears to hear; he reached out for help, and got in touch with reality. The father’s welcome was extraordinary, but it could only happen because the son came back home. Are we willing to let the Father embrace us, and are we prepared to come to our senses too? His mercy is there for any of us who turn to him with all our hearts.
The parable of the prodigal son is a classic of narrative skill that is timelessly relevant. We need to know that a loving Father awaits our return home. We also need the reminder that the same loving God expects us to forgive one another and to keep in touch with one another. The joy of a son’s homecoming was spoiled for the father by the sulking of the elder brother.
Was it a mistaken brand of domestic virtue which blocked the elder brother against sympathy for his brother, the foolish waster? God cares and wants us all to care like him, and leaving people in isolation is no part of his plan. The elder son was estranged from his father in spite of living under the same roof. Focussed on his own rights and needs, he did not share his father’s concern for his brother’s safe return to the family. His scornful reference to “this son of yours” shows how estranged he was from his own flesh and blood. He grieved his father by his jealousy and priggishness preoccupied only with his own interests. Jesus here asks the steady and dutiful to be open to welcome home the wild ones and even the apparent wasters, for that is how things are done above. If good people cannot rise above self-interest, they are strangers to God who keeps open house for us all, and especially for the repentant sinner.