The Scripture readings on the 24th Sunday of the Church’s year invite us to treasure the gift of the loving, patient, merciful, and forgiving way God treats us. The Good News Jesus preached was that our God is not a cruel, judging, punishing God. He is, rather, our loving and forgiving Heavenly Father who wants salvation to reach all people – through His Son Jesus. In the three parables we will hear from Luke 15, Jesus reminds us that God is always in search of His lost and straying children – us! He is always calling us back to Himself so that He might speak tenderly to our hearts.
As Jesus re-introduces us, then, to our all-patient and endlessly merciful God, do we realize how important it is to begin every day offering all our actions for God’s glory? Do we take to heart how necessary it is to live in God’s presence always and everywhere? Do we appreciate how vital it is to extend God’s forgiveness to others? Do we realize that our brothers and sisters deserve the same compassion, kindness, and forgiveness which we receive from our compassionate and loving God?
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Food for Thought: A single Mother found herself struggling with an increasingly rebellious teenage daughter. It all came to a head late one night when the police called her to pick up her daughter who had been arrested for mischief, including shoplifting. The two of them didn’t speak on the way home or next day either, until at last the Mother broke the tension by giving her daughter a small, gift-wrapped package. The girl opened it with an air of indifference and found inside a small rock. “Well, that’s cute, Mom. What is it?” “Read the card, dear,” the Mother replied. As the girl did so, tears began to trickle down her cheeks, and she gave her mom a hug as the card fell to the floor. On the card her mother had written: “This rock is more than 200 million years old. That’s how long it’ll take before I give up on you!” Read Luke 15 slowly and carefully before you come to Mass this weekend. Listen to it carefully at Mass this weekend. What Jesus is telling us about God in Luke 15 is this: He never gives up on us. Never.
