24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 11, 2022
/God never takes us for granted, and will always search for us when we have strayed
Luke 15: 1–32
The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So to them he addressed this parable.
“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.
“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’
In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Then he said, “A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them.
After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.
When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need.
So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine.
And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any.
Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger.
I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’ So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.
His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’
But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began.
Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing.
He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.
The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him.
He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.
But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’
He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours.
But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”
Music Meditations
- Going Home—Bryn Terfel
- Great Is Thy Faithfulness—Selah
- Turn to Me—John Foley
- Wonderful, Merciful Savior—Selah
- I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say—sung by Choir of Manchester Cathedral
Opening Prayer
Lord, you have no favorites. You understand that some people need more patience and understanding than others. You understand that sometimes we are especially needy and selfish in what we desire from you or those in our life. You understand that we are, most of the time, simply doing the best we can. Help us extend that understanding to those we live with, work with, sometimes tangle with. Help us extend that understanding to ourselves so that we can bask in the joy that is your steadfast caring, forgiveness, and love.
Companions for the Journey
From a Homily by Deacon John Kerrigan for the fourth Sunday of Lent, 2019:
Let’s start today with a short quiz. Which of the following stories captures the themes of betrayal, shame, repentance and conversion?
- The Broadway-musical, “Dear Evan Hansen”?
- The tale of the Prodigal Son?
- The journey of your life and mine?
- All of the above?
Option A: Based on a true incident, the musical, “Dear Evan Hansen” has been playing to sold-out audiences on Broadway for three years. It focuses on a 17 year-old boy who, like many of us, is a citizen of two worlds, two different realities separated by the thin veil of a laptop screen.
Evan suffers from debilitating anxiety, and struggles to make friends. He describes his life as, “a slideshow of catastrophes and worst-case scenarios.”
This young man’s desperate search for affection, or actually just attention, gets him into serious trouble. A letter that he has written to himself—part of a self-awareness assignment from his therapist—“Dear Evan Hansen” it began—ends up in the taunting hands of the school’s bully, Connor Murphy. Tragically, Connor takes his own life a short time afterwards.
The substance of the play centers around the aftermath of Connor’s suicide. Through a series of misunderstandings and lies, Evan comes to be seen as Connor’s only friend. News of the relationship soon explodes on social media. For the first time in his life, Evan gets noticed, and is seen, even if briefly, as a hero.
The deception, however, soon unravels, as Evan’s dishonesty is magnified by thousands of texts and posts that appear on Facebook and Instagram. Evan’s life becomes a shambles. In his shame, he cries out, “I am alone to the core. Broken. How could I fool myself into thinking I deserved anything close to happiness?”
Fortunately for Evan, and for all of us, there is a heroine in the midst of all this angst: Evan’s mother, Heidi. At his moment of darkest despair—when he declares, “I am a nothing!”—Heidi says to him, “Evan, talk to me. It’s not a command. It’s a welcome mat.” Thankfully, he does eventually reach out to her. Expressing his gratitude, he tells her, “You stuck with me. The mess that I am.”
For anyone who has ever sat alone at lunch or been ostracized in some other way, “Dear Evan Hansen” has a most enduring message; it’s found in the title of one of the play’s most powerful songs: “You Will Be Found.”
Now, let’s look at Option B. Do the themes of betrayal, shame, repentance and conversion characterize the tale of the Prodigal Son?
As the story begins to unfold, we find Jesus hanging out with people of doubtful reputations—prostitutes and the destitute. You can easily imagine characters like Evan Hansen and Connor Murphy joining this crowd, and all of them listening to the message of the Lord. Surrounding this group of misfits are some of the supposedly upright members of society: Pharisees and Scribes, harrumphing, tut-tutting, and muttering to themselves.
The big surprise of this tale, however, is the fact that it’s less a story about repentance than it is about being found by a God who is willing to go out searching for us; less about anything you and I do, and so much more about the unconditional love of the Almighty.
Picture the scene: the son on the road back to his father’s house, ashamed and memorizing his lines: “Father, I have sinned against-heaven and before you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” “Father, I’ve sinned…”
Meanwhile, the father isn’t moping around inside the house, peeking through the drapes and saying to himself, “Hey, there goes that bum, formerly known as my son!” No, the father is outside seeking and searching. And when he spies his ragged and exhausted son, he runs to him and embraces him. He will hear none of his “I’m so very sorry speech,” and instead instructs his servants to bring the finest robe, a ring and sandals for this son of his. And then he plans a banquet, a celebration. The father is thrilled that his son has come home. We can almost hear the music and words from the song “You Will Be Found,” playing in the background.
What’s the point of Jesus’ parable? That repentance isn’t about climbing a ladder of shame and sorrow; instead, it’s about the joy of being found by a loving God who is always on the lookout for us.
In this tale of the prodigal son, the father, by word and action, communicates a message that God longs to share with each of us: “You need not cower, for you are very precious to me, and not because you never sin.” The story makes this fact crystal clear: the wayward son never lost his father’s love. Likewise, we can never really lose God’s love. Sure, we can go rogue, but God is willing to absorb the losses that we inflict. Recall Evan Hansen’s mother’s loving words: “Evan, talk to me. It’s not a command. It’s a welcome mat.” God will always stick with you and me, the messes in which we often find ourselves notwithstanding.
The people of Jesus’ day, those who heard this parable firsthand, would have been scandalized by the Lord’s description of God as being like this loving and forgiving father. And many of us might also find ourselves somewhat shocked by the very same description. For while we know that Jesus preached and practiced the forgiveness of sin, too many in today’s Church put the emphasis on the prevention of sin rather than on mercy. And yet, compassion and mercy are at the very heart of the gospel message.
What about Option C? Do the themes of betrayal, shame, repentance and conversion characterize the journey of your life and mine?
Let me begin to answer that question from a personal point of view. Although the events of my life are not quite as dramatic as the experiences of the prodigal son, they often resemble the ups and downs of the Grand Tetons mountain range in Yellowstone Park: I sometimes betray my ideals, allow my false self to dominate, have to “come back to myself” in regret and repentance, and rely on the glory of forgiveness and conversion. I’m also a little embarrassed to have to ADMIT that this cycle occurs over and over!
For a moment, consider the peaks and valleys of your own life’s journey. Isn’t it often the story of wandering far afield in order to ultimately come home to a great reconciliation? In a sense, this is the story of humanity-at-large, as well as the tale of our individual journeys.
How many of you would vote for Option D? All of the above? If that’s the case, just what are the implications of today’s Gospel for your life and mine?
We know that Lent is a time during which our lives can be transformed; due to God’s grace, you and I are offered an opportunity to deepen our understanding about the life that the Almighty longs to share with each of us. All of our readings today remind us of that possibility.
And so, let’s have a change of heart, and pledge to be HERALDS of God’s mercy, both to ourselves and to all whose lives we touch each day. Having experienced the Lord’s love first hand, may our lives and our words proclaim the message of today’s gospel, the message that transformed the life of the prodigal son: “You will be found.”
Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today’s session…
But now we must celebrate and rejoice because your brother who was dead has come to life again; he was lost and has been found
Living the Good News
What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?
Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:
Reflection Questions
- Some people have said that to extend compassion or forgiveness to someone who has hurt someone else somehow demeans or trivializes the suffering of the victim. Do you agree or disagree?
How do you think Jesus felt about this issue? - When Jesus was on the cross he forgave his killers. How hard was this?
Why did he do so? - If you were Jesus, what would you have said to Peter when you met him by the lake after his resurrection? (Check out John 21:15-19 to see what he actually said 3 times)
- Have you ever been on the other end of someone’s forgiveness when it did not seem like forgiveness at all? Did it harm your relationship in any way?
- How do you fit the first examples of the lost sheep and the lost coin in with the parable of the two lost sons and the father?
What does Jesus seem to be saying about God’s persistence in forgiving us and welcoming us?
In my life, have I ever sought out someone who has hurt me and tried to reconcile?
Did I do so by reminding them why I was hurt in the first place? - In what ways is the younger son in need of forgiveness?
Have I ever hurt someone, regretted it, and tried to find my way back into the relationship?
What made it hard—my bad deed or the anger of the person whom I hurt? - In what ways is the elder son in need of forgiveness?
Have I ever resented it when a sibling got away with things I never would have thought of doing?
Am I angry when someone bends the rules and never seems to get caught?
Have I ever resented it when someone who didn’t deserve it got a second or third chance?
Did my anger also spill over onto the person extending that second or third chance?
Did I gloat or did I ever say “I told you so” when someone disappointed his mother or her boss again?
Do I believe that God understands and is willing to forgive me my smallness and resentment? - In what ways is the father in need of forgiveness?
Have I ever inadvertently shown favoritism to a friend, a relative or a co-worker who then took advantage of me?
Are there certain people in my life I am more disposed to give a second chance? - This is a parable, not a metaphor. So God is not exactly like the father in the story. What qualities of the father do not resemble the God I know and believe in?
What qualities of the father resemble the God I know and believe in?
Do I believe God understands both my smallness and my big mistakes? - From “Faith Book” 2013, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:
Do today’s parables reflect your image of God, or do they challenge you to reconsider how you have thought about and prayed to God?
How do you think you can put flesh on today’s parables by your own behavior?
Meditations
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:
A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination
Poetic Reflection:
Slowly, slowly
Comes Christ through the garden
Speaking to the sacred trees
Their branches bear his light
Without harm
Slowly, slowly
Comes Christ through the ruins
Seeking the lost disciple
A timid one
Too literate
To believe words
So he hides
Christ rises on the cornfields
It is only the harvest moon
The disciple
Turns over in his sleep
And murmurs:
“My regret!”
The disciple will awaken
When he knows history
But slowly, slowly
The Lord of History weeps into the fire
—Thomas Merton “Cables to the Ace” (stanza 80)
Poetic Reflection:
“The Hound of Heaven”
I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the midst of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears,
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.
But with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbed pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat and a Voice beat
More instant than the Feet
'All things betray thee, who betrayest Me'.
I pleaded, outlaw-wise,
By many a hearted casement, curtained red,
Trellised with intertwining charities;
(For, though I knew His love Who followed,
Yet was I sore adread
Lest, having Him, I must have naught beside.)
—Francis Thompson
Closing Prayer
I ask you Lord, to be patient with me; extend your mercy and compassion toward me. Help me to understand that you will never leave me, never forsake me, that you always seek me out because you love me so much. Teach me to meet other with the same love, forgiveness and compassion.
