Homilies

24th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: LIKE GOD THE FATHER, JESUS IS RICH IN MERCY

MOST OF US value family and friendship. But, often, when friends fall and commit sins, they abandon them. The same is true to siblings. There are siblings who disown their brother or sister when the latter fell and committed some grave mistakes in their life. In abandoning and disowning them, these people dissociate themselves from the “fallen” friends and siblings.

Our gospel today presents a sharp contrast to this case. On the contrary, our Lord Jesus loves sinners. He associates himself with them, rather than dissociating himself from them. Let us try to reflect on some important moments in the gospel.

First, the gospel passage says that the man Jesus “welcomes sinners and eats with them”. He was accused by the Pharisees of eating with sinners. He was accused of lowering the moral standards by associating himself with the known public sinners. The Pharisees were scandalized by his desire to be with a bad company. But let us take note that when Jesus associates himself with sinners, it does not mean that he tolerates the wrong-doings of sinners. Jesus does not love what they do or did, for sure. But when he goes to them, he has a mission. That is, to bring back sinners back to God.

Secondly, to explain what he does, Jesus narrates three parables. In these stories, Jesus shows that his role is to seek the lost. And finding them, there is an experience of great joy. Seeking the lost indicates how important and special each person is in the eyes of God.

This is something worth reflecting, because in our world, the so-called majority rule is considered more important. The will of the majority is all that matters. The minority has no place in this world. Thus, the lost and least are not considered as important. They are simply left out and forgotten. Sometimes, this can happen in a family. There are parents who demonstrate favoritism to children who are brilliant, good-looking, gifted etc. And those who are not, they are simply left out. And when the latter start to rebel and become wayward, some parents are not bothered. They don’t have an effort to seek them because they are not important, after all.

Thirdly, the three parables show us the real face of God. It has been demonstrated in the parables that our God is loving, forgiving, and merciful. In eating and associating himself with public sinners, Jesus shows that he loves them. Jesus shows that he is different by loving them instead. And when sinners repent, Jesus forgives them. When Jesus sees the situation of sinners, he pities them. He does this because God is rich in mercy.

Let us try to reflect further on the last point: love, forgiveness and mercy of God. God feels love, forgiveness and mercy to a suffering person. If a person suffers, our reaction should also be one of love and mercy. In Dives in Misericordia, St John Paul II reflects on the situation of the “Prodigal Son”. He says that the son lost, not only his received inheritance, but more his dignity because of his folly and sin. When he returned to his father, he repented of his sins. Then the father showed mercy toward him, and he has forgiven him.

This gospel tells us the truth that God seeks us, sinners. Unfortunately, some of us remain in hiding and have not allowed ourselves to be found by Him. God is loving, forgiving and merciful, but some of us do not want to experience these qualities of God. The key to experiencing this is repentance and conversion. If we come back to God and repent of our sins, then, like the prodigal son, we can experience the love, forgiveness, and mercy of God.

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