Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Let me begin this homily where the gospel reading begins: “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.”” (Lk 15:1). Because we have three powerful parables that follow this introductory statement (parables of the lost coin, lost sheep, and lost son), and because we have one of the most powerful parables in all of scripture that ends this section, our attention is drawn immediately to them. In reality, the three parables are Jesus’ response to the introductory
The focus of my homily today is not so much on the parables but the God that the parables reveal. As I read them, these parables are God’s self-revelation. In my three points today, I would like to explore Jesus’ revelation and its implications.
God of Mercy
All the three readings today reveal God. In the first reading, the Hebrew people have committed the gravest sin. Moses had just received the Ten Commandments. The very first commandment said. “I am the Lord, your God. You shall not have any other gods before me!” Before Moses could even come down from the mountain; before he could even communicate the commandments, the people have made and molten calf and begun worshipping it. Whereas God’s intention is to destroy the stiff-necked people, finally, mercy wins.
In the second reading Paul speaks of his experience of God. He says, “I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant, but I have been mercifully treated…” He continues, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these I am the foremost. But for that reason, I was mercifully treated…” Paul’s experience is of God of mercy.
In the gospel reading, the word mercy does not occur, but it tells us that tax-collectors and sinners felt drawn to listen to Jesus. And when they did, he welcomed sinners and ate with them. How different this was from the image of God that the Pharisees and their scribes promoted! They revealed a God who rewarded the law-obsessed Pharisees and abandoned tax-collectors and sinners. In contrast, the parables of the lost coin, the lost sheep and the lost son reveal a God profound tenderness, heartfelt compassion, and endless mercy both toward tax-collectors and sinners and the Pharisees and their scribes.
The God of the Christian scripture is a God whose name is Mercy. As God incarnate, Jesus is the face of Mercy!
A Church of Mercy
Jesus is the face of Mercy. Another way to say this is that Jesus is Sacrament of Mercy. This has implications for the Church. The implication of mercy is mercy. In other words, just like her Lord, the Church is a sacrament of Mercy.
In March 2013, just a few months after his election, Pope Francis visited Brazil. On the flight back from Rio de Janiero, noting that Pope Francis has spoken much about mercy, an Italian asked tried to connect Pope Francis’ focus on mercy with one of the most complicated topics in the Catholic Church – divorced and remarried Catholics. He asked, “In regard to access to the Sacraments of divorced persons who have remarried, is there a possibility that something will change in the discipline of the church?” Pope Francis gave him a long and involved response, but it began with this simple declaration: “Mercy is greater than the case you pose. I believe this is the time of mercy.” Following the example of the Lord who does not “tire of forgiving,” the church as “Mother must go on this path of mercy and find mercy for all.” He urged that the church follow the example of the Prodigal Son’s father. “When there is someone” he said, “… don’t just wait for them: go to find them! This is mercy.” Pope Francis further says, “Following the example of the Lord who does not “tire of forgiving,” the church as “Mother must go on this path of mercy and find mercy for all.”
I believe this with all my heart: “The Church must go on this path of mercy and find mercy for all.”
So here is my appeal from the pulpit – is there anyone here or is there someone you know feels lost and abandoned? Is there anybody who because of their sexual orientation, because of a broken marriage, an abortion, addiction, or any other sin feels that they do not belong? Let me say this to you! Let nothing and no one stop you from drawing close to God.
Meanwhile, as pastor, I am commit myself to the gospel of mercy and to the Church as a Sacrament of Mercy. I consider it my most sacred mission to welcome those who feel abandoned, discriminated, oppressed, and lost. Until the day I die I will strive to make available to all the tenderness, the compassion, and the mercy of God.
People of Mercy
In the parable of the lost son, the older son represents the complaining Pharisees and their scribes. Jesus, on the other hand, represents God who welcomes sinners and eats with them in the same way that the Father welcomed back the sinful son. Both the sons are treated as sons until the end. Even though the younger son on his return wanted to be treated merely as a hired worker, he is welcomed back as a son. To the older son the father said, “My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours.” In these words, Jesus was telling the Pharisees and scribes that God’s welcome of tax-collectors and sinner did not in any way deny them their dignity as God’s children. Jesus then invited the older son to rejoice in the profound tenderness, heartfelt compassion, and endless mercy of God.
There is a part of the Church today that acts like the older son. They find themselves to be righteous in God’s presence and relegate others to the periphery. It is easy to focus on other people’s sins and reject them. But then we fall into the same danger into which the Pharisees fell - their rejection of tax-collectors and sinners ultimately led to their rejection of Jesus. God was in their midst, but they missed the Savior! Today, we have to come to the realization that as far as God is concerned, there is no us and them. There is only ‘us’ and ‘we’. We are all sinners, and we all equally stand in need of the mercy of God.
Every Eucharist is a celebration profound tenderness, heartfelt compassion, and endless mercy of God. As the father said to the older son, “But now we must celebrate and rejoice…” (Lk 15:32). Let us celebrate and rejoice!
- Fr. Satish Joseph