CCC 210-211: God of mercy
CCC 604-605, 1846-1848: God takes the initiative in redemption
CCC 1439, 1700, 2839: the Prodigal Son as an example of conversion
CCC 1465, 1481: the Prodigal Son and the sacrament of penance
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| “The Lost Sheep” by William James Webb, 1864 |
Reading 1: Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14
The LORD said to Moses,
“Go down at once to your people,
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt
for they have become depraved.
They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,
making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,
sacrificing to it and crying out,
‘This is your God, O Israel,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt
“I see how stiff-necked this people is,” continued the Lord to Moses.
Let me alone, then,
that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them.
Then I will make of you a great nation.”
But Moses implored the Lord, his God, saying,
“Why, O Lord, should your wrath blaze up against your own people,
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt
with such great power and with so strong a hand?
Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel
and how you swore to them by your own self, saying,
‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky;
and all this land that I promised,
I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.’”
So the Lord relented in the punishment
he had threatened to inflict on his people.
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Commentary on Ex 32:7-11, 13-14
Moses had gone up to Mount Sinai to receive the Law. When he did not come down quickly, the people became restless and implored Aaron to fashion for them a golden calf, that they might have an object for their worship. In the passage we hear today, God has seen what the children of Israel have done, and wishes to wipe them from the face of the earth. But Moses intercedes for them, and God relents, for his sake.
The dialogue between God and Moses contains the doctrinal basis of salvation history: covenant, sin, mercy. By creating a false idol, the people have violated the Lord’s Covenant (Deuteronomy 9:7-14), and God no longer refers to them as “my people,” but [to Moses] “your people,” indicating the separation of the sinful from God’s grace. Following the pattern of Abraham, who interceded for Sodom (Genesis 18:22ff), Moses intercedes on behalf of the people. He uses God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whose descendants these people are, to sway the Lord God. [This is his second argument – the first argument in v. 12 is omitted, wherein he tells God that the Egyptians would misconstrue God’s act of destruction.] He challenges the Lord in this case, implying that if God destroyed the people, he would be reneging on his promise to the patriarchs to whom he said he would create for them “descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky.”
In the end the Lord relents, and has mercy on the “stiff-necked” people, showing mercy for mercy’s sake, and out of his own generosity, with no merit being required on the part of the sinful people.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19
R. (Lk 15:18) I will rise and go to my father.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. I will rise and go to my father.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. I will rise and go to my father.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. I will rise and go to my father.
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Commentary on Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19
The psalm, 51, is the most famous of the seven penitential psalms. It is a communal lament. In this selection we implore the Lord to be merciful and patient. We ask God to strengthen in us the grace of our baptism. The psalm's response is taken from the Parable of the Prodigal Son in St. Luke’s Gospel.
CCC: Ps 51:12 298, 431; Ps 51:19 1428, 2100
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Reading II: 1 Timothy 1:12-17
Beloved:
I am grateful to him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord,
because he considered me trustworthy
in appointing me to the ministry.
I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant,
but I have been mercifully treated
because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.
Indeed, the grace of our Lord has been abundant,
along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance:
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
Of these I am the foremost.
But for that reason I was mercifully treated,
so that in me, as the foremost,
Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example
for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life.
To the king of ages, incorruptible, invisible, the only God,
honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
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Commentary on 1 Tm 1:12-17
In addition to demonstrating the profound humility of St. Paul, this passage serves as a proof of authorship. None of St. Paul's followers would have used such critical language ("blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant") to describe the Apostle.
“Present gratitude for the Christian apostleship leads Paul to recall an earlier time when he had been a fierce persecutor of the Christian communities (cf. Acts 26:9-11) until his conversion by intervention of divine mercy through the appearance of Jesus. This and his subsequent apostolic experience testify to the saving purpose of Jesus' incarnation.” [5]
CCC: 1 Tm 1:15 545
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Gospel
Longer Form: Luke 15:1-32
Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
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.’”
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Commentary on Lk 15:1-32
Jesus uses the criticism by the scribes and Pharisees as a teaching moment. He uses parables to drive the point home that God rejoices in the return of those who have turned their backs to him in sin. The parable of the Prodigal Son is a special reinforcement of Jesus’ love for those who repent. It is a reassurance that all who repent will be welcomed back.
The parable of the Prodigal Son reveals the boundless mercy of God. Though our sins offend the Father, he is ever willing to show us compassion and restore us to family life. In many ways the parable narrates the continuing struggles of the spiritual life, where conversion and repentance are part of an ongoing process (CCC 1439, 2839).
At another level, the parable narrates the exile and eventual homecoming of historical Israel. After the reign of King Solomon, Israel split into two kingdoms, becoming like two brothers living side by side in northern (Israel) and southern (Judah) Palestine (1 Kings 12). By the eighth century B.C., the Assyrians had carried off the northern tribes of Israel into a far country, where they forsook God and worshiped idols - a sin the prophets called harlotry (15:30; Jeremiah 3:6; Hosea 4:15). In the New Covenant, God welcomes home his exiled son by lavishing him with mercy and restoring him to full sonship (Ezekiel 37:21-23; Hosea 11:1-3,11). This is especially brought out in Jeremiah 31:18-20, where Ephraim (northern Israel), after a period of exile and disgrace, repents of his sin, is ashamed of his wrongdoing, and turns to God for mercy. It is important to remember that in the Genesis narratives, Ephraim was the nephew of Judah and the youngest brother in the tribal family of Israel (Genesis 48:14). [6]
CCC: Lk 15 1443, 1846; Lk 15:1-2 589; Lk 15:7 545; Lk 15:11-32 545, 2839; Lk 15:11-31 1700; Lk 15:11-24 1439; Lk 15:18 1423, 2795; Lk 15:21 2795; Lk 15:23-32 589; Lk 15:32 1468
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Or
Shorter Form: Luke 15:1-10
Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
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.”
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Commentary on Lk 15:1-10
The shorter version of the Gospel omits the parable of the Prodigal Son, and gives us the stories of the lost sheep and the lost coin. Christian tradition, on the basis of this and other Gospel passages (cf. John 10:11), applies this parable to Christ, the Good Shepherd, who misses and then seeks out the lost sheep: the Word, by becoming man, seeks out mankind, which has strayed through sinning. Here is St. Gregory the Great's commentary: "He put the sheep on His shoulders because, on taking on human nature, He burdened Himself with our sins" ("In Evangelia Homiliae", II, 14).[7] Similarly, the silver coin (likely a drachma) would have been worth roughly a day’s wage in the economy of the time. Both of these short stories illustrate the intense love God has for each person. The clear intent Jesus has in telling them is that his mission is to save all peoples of all nations. A principal difference between St. Luke’s rendition of the Parable of the Lost Sheep and that of St. Matthew (Matthew 18:12-14) is St. Matthew emphasizes (to the Apostles) the seeking, while St. Luke emphasizes (to the Pharisees) the joy of finding.[8]
CCC: Lk 15 1443, 1846; Lk 15:1-2 589; Lk 15:7 545
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Homily
Labor Day has come and gone, and we now launch into the back-to-school, end of the vacation season with thoughts of fall and the changing of seasons. In many cases it’s back to a normal routine. Even the scripture passages selected for this 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time seem to take us back to school.
The theme of parents and children run a constant thread through the readings we have heard. First we hear Moses, father of faith for the early Hebrews, arguing with God. (We could use the analogy of a parent having been called into the principal’s office because their child violated school rules.) He argues with God that his children should not be expelled from the world. That’s what God has in mind. Moses pleads their case and wins a reprieve. In retrospect we see that God’s mercy is boundless and that while it may have appeared that Moses assuaged God’s anger, it was God, whose love is boundless, who kept the door open, allowing that “stiff-necked people” to continue.
The psalm we used, Psalm 51, is my personal favorite. The message it carries is the same apology expressed by the Prodigal Son: Father, I am sorry. You know what I have done, and have forgiven me. I express my deepest apology and present myself for your mercy, knowing you love me in spite of my faults.
Even St. Paul’s letter to Timothy carries that same humble expression of the unconditional love of Christ. He confesses that he was chosen to be Christ’s servant in spite of his ignoble past: “a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant.” His early career in the service of the Sanhedrin was arguably worse than the younger son in St. Luke’s wonderful parable of the Prodigal Son.
Whenever we hear the story of the Prodigal Son we think of family and children first. The object of the story is clearly to demonstrate God’s unconditional love of all of his children. His story strikes a chord in all of us, young or old. The model of the loving father is the example to which all loving parents aspire. We try to love our children and accept them, even when they make the very worst decisions. (To the young children who may be listening, it needs to be said that in spite of how nice the father in the story of the Prodigal Son was to his young son, most kids who make very bad decisions don’t get off without some disciplinary consequences. It is a parable, and mom and dad still need to teach as well as love.)
As I reflected once more upon this wonderful story of reconciliation and mercy, I was reminded of a recent conversation I had with my own father. Dad is a member of what is known as “The Great Generation.” He was born just before the Great Depression, in 1925, and lived through that economically devastating time. He was a junior in high school when World War II broke out and he, like most of his classmates, entered military service as soon as he graduated. Fortunately for me and my brother and sisters, the war ended before he completed his training as a naval aviator.
Growing up with the traditional values of his generation, he is greatly distressed as he sees the direction our society is taking. His moral compass (as he calls it) was developed by his early Lutheran upbringing and he continues his active faith, although through mostly Presbyterian methods. I’m still trying to convert him and as he sees many of his long-held views identified as non-inclusive, I think I’m winning.
He asked me a couple of questions which age and wisdom had brought up within him as he considers his own mortality. First he asked me if I thought his parents (my grandparents) were in heaven. He explained that they were not very strong believers and he was not sure if they really accepted Christ as the Son of God or even if they truly believed in God. (This kind of surprised me, since I always assumed, because my parents were such staunch believers, their parents must also have been.)
Considering what I believe about the mercy of God (demonstrated in Exodus and the Gospel), I told him I believed that when they came before the judgment seat of Christ, they would have had time to consider their beliefs (I didn’t use purgatory with dad – too early for that) and they would come to belief and find a home with the father upon whom the Parable of the Prodigal Son was crafted.
He also asked me what I thought God’s response was going to be to the moral decline he sees in the United States. (He’s reading though the Old Testament again using a version that is laid out chronologically, from oldest to most recent rather than the traditional order.) He was sincerely concerned that the God of Justice found in Exodus, would smite us a mighty smite and disaster on a national scale would ensue.
To this question I pointed him back to the New Testament, explaining that St. Augustine had it right when he said: “The New Testament is concealed in the Old, and the Old Testament is revealed in the New.” We must read the Old Testament’s sacred history, understanding it through the revelation of Jesus. It was Christ who came to show us God’s intent was love and mercy, not punishment as was interpreted by the authors of the Law and the Prophets.
God’s love and mercy are seen clearly in the open door of the Prodigal’s father. We are told as a prelude to the parable of the Prodigal Son, that the sheep that was lost, but is found, is a blessing. And the coin which was lost, and is found, is a cause for rejoicing.
It is for this that our Savior came into the world: to show us how much God loves us, accepting even our most serious faults and failings, offering the Eucharistic feast to welcome us home.
I’ll just say this in closing. I am not sure if my poor explanation to my father helped him or not. But I do know that in attempting to explain my faith to him, I was helped in my own road to conversion.
Pax
In other years on this date: Optional Memorial for Our Lady of Sorrows
[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture used is “The Lost Sheep” by William James Webb, 1864.
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] See NAB footnote on 1 Timothy 1:12ff.
[6] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p. 137.
[7] The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries, Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin , Ireland.
[8] Ibid.
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