September 11, 2022, Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
Today we hear a number of stories which reveal to us the magnitude of forgiveness granted to us by our Heavenly Father. These parables demonstrate that He is a loving God who offers forgiveness and acceptance to sinners in even the most tenuous of situations.
It begins first with Moses and the reading from Exodus (Ex. 32:7-11, 13-14). This is a story which occurs after the Lord, along with Moses, has helped the Israelites escape from slavery in the land of Egypt. Moses has ascended and spent some time conferring with the Lord on the top of Mt. Sinai in the process of receiving the Ten Commandments.
But Moses is gone a long time and the people get anxious, questioning if they really have the protection and providence of their God. So, they insist that Aaron, the brother of Moses, construct for them a molten calf made of gold that they can worship. This is the type of worship they would have witnessed, and maybe even took part in, when they lived in Egypt, and it gives them a sense of comfort.
God soon becomes very angry over their idolatry, these “stiff-necked people,” and He instructs Moses to leave Him alone so that His “wrath may blaze up against them to consume them” (Ex. 32:10). God then promises to make another nation for Moses. But Moses intercedes for the people. He is not quite ready to give up on them. So, he bargains with the Lord, reminding Him of the great promise that He had made to them during the time of Abraham, and down through the centuries with the other Patriarchs. So, at the pleading of Moses, the Lord relents and withdraws the punishment He vowed to inflict on His people.
In the Gospel (Lk 15:1-32) we find the theme of forgiveness offered by God to sinners in three parables told by Jesus. The first two parables are rather similar and relatively straightforward. They are about losing and finding something. The third parable is a bit more complex. The setting also offers some meaning; it is described as Jesus preaching to tax collectors and sinners, while the Pharisees and scribes complain about the fact that he “welcomes sinners and eats with them” (Lk. 15:2b).
In the first parable Jesus tells a story about a shepherd who leaves ninety-nine sheep in the desert to go after one who has strayed from the flock. And when the shepherd finds the lost sheep he carries it on his shoulders with great joy and calls his friends at home to rejoice with him. It would take an astute shepherd to have the observation skills to notice that one out of one hundred sheep is missing. But, of course, the shepherd represents God who sees and knows everything, and who celebrates in heaven over the conversion of one sinner out of one hundred righteous people who have no need of repentance.
The second parable is about a woman who owns ten coins and loses one. She lights the house and searches diligently until she finds the lost coin. The lost coin may be a bit more conspicuous as being missed. However, if one were to put ten coins into a pile and then take one away, the missing coin might not be so obvious. But once again the owner represents God who sees all and invites His angels into celebration like the woman with her friends.
The third parable told by Jesus is a story which is very familiar, often known as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. It is a sort of lost and found story, but this story deals with people instead of items. A young man, the younger of two sons, approaches his father and asks him to give him his portion of the estate now, instead of waiting for his father to die. The father gives into the son and sends him on his way with his belongings and his portion of the estate.
It doesn’t take long for the wayward son to squander his money. A famine has ravished the land and soon he is in debt and homeless, making a living by tending to swine. This is not an acceptable position for a Jewish man who has been living with kosher laws all his life. After a while he comes to his senses, realizing that his father’s hired workers have a better lifestyle than that which he is living. So, he decides to return home and beg his father for mercy and to allow him to work as a servant.
While he is still a ways off from his home his father catches sight of him and runs out to greet him. He has no chance to express his guilt and dismay and ask for forgiveness because his father is ecstatic to see him. The father hugs his long-lost son who says to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son” (Lk. 15:21).
His father does not take any time to offer his forgiveness. Rather, he orders that the son be dressed in the finest robe and sandals and be given the family signet ring. Then he orders the fattened calf, the choice beef, to be slaughtered and prepared as a part of a feast in celebration of his son’s return. If we consider that the father is the Lord and the son is a rampant sinner, we can appreciate the extent of forgiveness which God would offer to this sinner. The son who was “lost” is now “found” and the rejoicing commences just like when the lost sheep and the lost coin were found.
However, there is another component to this story which needs to be recognized. The young man who has returned home has an older brother who has been working in the field. As he is returning home he hears the music and dancing, and he asks one of the servants what is the reason for this. When the servant informs him that his wayward brother has returned and that there is a celebration on his behalf, he becomes very angry.
His father comes out and begs him to join the celebration. But this son is very bitter saying to his father, “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” (LK. 15:29). There is more than just sibling rivalry happening here. The older son is outraged at both his father and younger brother, thinking that he has been mistreated despite his years of loyalty to his father.
The father begs this son, imploring 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” (LK. 15:31-32). This is all fine and well, but the situation now exists that the older son is “lost.” He is disillusioned and refuses to even enter the house. And he is bitter and filled with contempt and possibly estranged from the family forever.
We might consider the previously mentioned setting of Jesus and the crowd. There are those who Jesus accepts even though they are sinners and tax collectors. They are welcomed with open arms by Jesus like the sheep, the coin, and the prodigal son. But the Pharisees and scribes stand apart from the crowd criticizing Jesus for welcoming sinners. They are like the older son who resents the offer to sinners.
We might ask ourselves where we would stand in this circumstance. Would we seek forgiveness and reconciliation which is readily given by the Lord? Or would we be self-righteous, thinking we have no need for mercy and resent those whom we believe are not worthy to be welcomed by the Father? Would we be lost, or would we be lost and then found?
