THE INEXHAUSTIBLE MERCY OF GOD
What makes Christianity unique from all other religions is the inexhaustible mercy of God in Christ Jesus. The Christian faith is never a religion of punishment. No matter the gravity of our errors, how many times and the manner of our mistakes, the mercy of God reaches all. In Christianity, therefore, Christ is the face of God’s mercy shown to lost humanity.
The affirmative stand we all should take today is to express our belief in the unfathomable and infinite mercy of God firmly. As the Psalmist, in Psalm 103:8-10, affirmed:
“The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
Very patient, and full of faithful love.
God won’t always play the judge;
He won’t be angry forever.
He doesn’t deal with us according to our sin,
Or repay us according to our wrongdoing.”
This is one of the most beautiful captions of God in the Old Testament where there are many depraved images of God. God’s nature and essence are mercy and love. Hence, we who try to follow this God must be conscious of this image of this inexhaustible or infinite mercy. With the sense of challenge to live out compassion in our lives.
OUR THEME: GIVING AND RECEIVING MERCY
The readings of this Sunday invite us to believe in a loving, patient, merciful, forgiving God. In other words, Jesus is not only the face of God´s infinite mercy but also the Good News Jesus preached was that God is not a cruel, judging and punishing God.
Most people find it very hard to let go of wrongs done to them whether deliberately or unintentionally. They go on bearing grudges, hatred, anger or revenge that make them miserable because they would not let bygones be bygones.
Sadly, we imagine God to be like that too, a vindictive God who settles scores of wrongdoing against Him with severe punishment for all offenders. The LORD is full of compassion and gracious, Slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. Ps. 103:8
The central theme of this Sunday is, that we all need to receive and give love, patience, kindness, grace mercy and compassion to one another as we did from God our loving, forgiving and merciful Father.
As such, the readings of this Sunday demonstrate to us this unique and special attribute of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ invites us to compassionate and merciful to one another and ourselves as God, The Father is Merciful to us.
FIRST READING: EXODUS 32:7-11, 13-14
In Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14, Moses, a good leader who mediates between God and the stiff-necked people of Israel, implored God’s mercy upon the sinful people who have abandoned Him and turned to idol worship.
Hence, the people of Israel were provoked to a broken point of destructive anger however, Moses as a leader stood his ground using God’s mercy, promise and history to intercede for an un-repented nation. The merciful God repents of his threats and wrath.
SECOND READING: 1TIMOTHY. 1:12-17
In his first letter to Timothy 1:12-17, St. Paul sees God´s grace and mercy upon him the greatest of sinners as the former persecutor of the Church. Paul recounted his past life in the light of God’s mercy and grace, “…Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners….” While he (Paul) was the greatest of them.
This consciousness in Paul led him to express an infinite act of thanksgiving to God.
1. He thanked God because he chose him. Paul never had the feeling that he had chosen Christ but always that Christ had chosen him.
2. He thanked God because he trusted him despite his past. It was to Paul an amazing thing, that he, the arch persecutor had been chosen as the missionary of Christ.
3. Paul thanked God because he had appointed him to be an instrument of his Salvation to the gentiles. It is important to note that to which Paul felt appointed. It was appointed to serve. He never thought of himself as appointed to honour or leadership within the Church.
4. Finally, he thanked God because he had empowered him with grace and mercy. For Paul Jesus never gives a man a task to do without first also giving him the power to do it.
One of the most fundamental to ask in our reflection today is: why did Paul remember his with such vividness?
First, the memory of his sin was the surest way to keep him from pride despite all his achievements as an apostle of the Gentiles. For Paul, a remembrance of his sin saves him from spiritual pride.
Second, the memory of his sin was the essential way to keep his gratitude aflame to Christ his Saviour who saved him from his wretched self. That is to say that our remembrance of being forgiven is the surest way to keep awake our love for Jesus Christ: our Lord and Saviour.
Third, the memory of his sin was the constant urge to greater effort. It is quite true that a man can never earn the approval of God or deserve his love no matter what he does. However, it is also true that he can never stop trying to do something to show how much he appreciates the love and mercy which have made him what he is.
Fourthly, the memory of his sin was bound to be a constant encouragement to others. For Paul, no one is beyond redemption or outside the reach of the mercy, grace and love of God.
Thus, St. Paul makes us understands in Rom.5:20 that “…But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” We must always pray for the grace of forgiving and restoring others to righteousness. Especially, when it is so difficult to let go of pains and injuries we carry along our journey of faith and life. Remembering, it is only in forgiving that we merit forgiveness too.
THE GOSPEL: LUKE 15:1-32
What makes Christianity unique from all other religions is the inexhaustible mercy of God in Christ Jesus. The Christian faith is never a religion of punishment. No matter the gravity of our errors, how many times and the manner of our mistakes, the mercy of God reaches all. In Christianity, therefore, Christ is the face of God’s mercy shown to lost humanity.
According to biblical exegesis and experts, Chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel has been called “the Gospel within the Gospel,” because it is the distilled essence of the Good News about the mercy of our forgiving and loving Heavenly Father. This is beautifully depicted in the tripe stories of – the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son.
While the Gospel account of Luke 15:1-32 gave us some vivid and concrete examples of God’s infinite mercy and compassion_ the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal Son. A great lesson of the generous grace of God. God loves the just and righteous but does not ignore the sinners.
LET US STOP THERE AND SEE THE TRUTH SO FAR IN THIS PARABLE.
(i) The context of the parable is the contention of the religious leaders who criticize Jesus for ministering to the sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes.
(ii) It should never have been called the parable of the Prodigal Son, for the son is not the hero. It should be called the parable of the Loving Father, for it tells us rather about a father’s love than a son’s sin.
(iii) It tells us much about the forgiveness of God. The father must have been waiting and watching for the son to come home, for he saw him a long way off. When he came, he forgave him with no recriminations. There is a way of forgiving when forgiveness is conferred as a favour. It is even worse, when someone is forgiven, but always by hint and by word and by threat his sin is held over him.
Once Lincoln was asked how he was going to treat the rebellious southerners when they had finally been defeated and had returned to the Union of the United States. The questioner expected that Lincoln would take a dire vengeance, but he answered, “I will treat them as if they had never been away.” The love of God wonders that he treats us like that.
THE ELDER BROTHER
That is not the end of the story. There enters the elder brother who was sorry that his brother had come home. He stands for the self-righteous Pharisees who would rather see a sinner destroyed than saved. Certain things stand out about him.
(i) His attitude shows that his years of obedience to his father had been years of grim duty and not of loving service.
(ii) His attitude is one of utter lack of sympathy. He refers to the prodigal, not as any brother, but as your son. He was the kind of self-righteous character who would cheerfully have kicked a man farther into the gutter when he was already down.
(iii) He had a peculiarly nasty mind. There is no mention of harlots until he mentions them. He, no doubt, suspected his brother of the sins he would have liked to commit.
Once again we have the amazing truth that it is easier to confess to God than it is to many a man. That God is more merciful in his judgments than many an orthodox man. That the love of God is far broader than the love of man; and that God can forgive when men refuse to forgive. In face of a love like that, we cannot be other than lost in wonder, love and praise.
THREE LOST THINGS
We must finally note that these three parables are not simply three ways of stating the same thing. There is a difference. The sheep went lost through sheer foolishness. It did not think, and many a man would escape sin if he thought in time.
The coin was lost through no fault of its own. Many a man has led astray, and God will not hold him guiltless who has taught another to sin. The son deliberately went lost, callously turning his back on his father.
The love of God can defeat the foolishness of man, the seduction of the tempting voices, and even the deliberate rebellion of the heart.
OUR PRAYER
Lord Jesus Christ, in your image, life, work, and words, we find the loving, forgiving, merciful and patient God. A “poor” mathematical God who leaves 99 secured sheep in search of one missing or strayed sheep. A clear sign, you are not a policeman God or a sadistic God who takes pleasure in the perishment or eternal punishment of one soul. Help to live within your mercy and grace by always seeking reconciliation with you, especially in the sacrament of reconciliation and peace. Amen.
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