20220911 BE AN APOSTLE OF MERCY
11 September, 2022, Sunday, 24th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Exodus 32:7-11,13-14 © |
The Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened
The Lord spoke to Moses, ‘Go down now, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have apostatised. They have been quick to leave the way I marked out for them; they have made themselves a calf of molten metal and have worshipped it and offered it sacrifice. “Here is your God, Israel,” they have cried “who brought you up from the land of Egypt!”’ the Lord said to Moses, ‘I can see how headstrong these people are! Leave me, now, my wrath shall blaze out against them and devour them; of you, however, I will make a great nation.’
But Moses pleaded with the Lord his God. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘why should your wrath blaze out against this people of yours whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with arm outstretched and mighty hand? Remember Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, your servants to whom by your own self you swore and made this promise: “I will make your offspring as many as the stars of heaven, and all this land which I promised I will give to your descendants, and it shall be their heritage for ever.”’
So the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 50(51):3-4,12-13,17,19 © |
I will leave this place and go to my father.
Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
In your compassion blot out my offence.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.
I will leave this place and go to my father.
A pure heart create for me, O God,
put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
nor deprive me of your holy spirit.
I will leave this place and go to my father.
O Lord, open my lips
and my mouth shall declare your praise.
My sacrifice is a contrite spirit.
A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.
I will leave this place and go to my father.
Second reading |
1 Timothy 1:12-17 © |
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, and who judged me faithful enough to call me into his service even though I used to be a blasphemer and did all I could to injure and discredit the faith. Mercy, however, was shown me, because until I became a believer I had been acting in ignorance; and the grace of our Lord filled me with faith and with the love that is in Christ Jesus. Here is a saying that you can rely on and nobody should doubt: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I myself am the greatest of them; and if mercy has been shown to me, it is because Jesus Christ meant to make me the greatest evidence of his inexhaustible patience for all the other people who would later have to trust in him to come to eternal life. To the eternal King, the undying, invisible and only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Ep1:17,18 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our mind,
so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.
Alleluia!
Or: | 2Co5:19 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself,
and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 15:1-32 © |
There will be rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner
The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them:
‘What man among you with a hundred sheep, losing one, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the missing one till he found it? And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders and then, when he got home, call together his friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” he would say “I have found my sheep that was lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous men who have no need of repentance.
‘Or again, what woman with ten drachmas would not, if she lost one, light a lamp and sweep out the house and search thoroughly till she found it? And then, when she had found it, call together her friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” she would say “I have found the drachma I lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.’
He also said, ‘A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, “Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me.” So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.
‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, “How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.” So he left the place and went back to his father.
‘While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.
‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. “Your brother has come” replied the servant “and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound.” He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, “Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening.”
‘The father said, “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”’
BE AN APOSTLE OF MERCY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Ex 32:7-11,13-14; Ps 50:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19; 1Tim 1:12-17; Lk 15:1-32]
The theme of mercy and forgiveness runs through all the three scripture readings today. In fact, other than the recurrent motif of love in the bible, mercy is the next most important theme. The mercy spelt in today’s liturgy is in relationship to the forgiveness of sins and for those who are lost in life. The basis for being merciful is primarily the mercy of God. It is God who always takes the initiative, not us.
In the second reading, we have St Paul who considered himself to be an exemplar of God’s abundant and inexhaustible mercy. Truly, one cannot imagine a greater sinner than Paul. Humanly speaking, he deserved the most severe of punishments because many Christians and the lives of their loved ones were wrecked by his persecution of the Church. Yet, not only did God forgive him but He even made him His apostle. This is unthinkable if not scandalous. “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, and who judged me faithful enough to call into his service even though I used to be a blasphemer and did all I could to injure and discredit the faith.”
In the first reading, we also read of God’s restraint in punishing His people. We can imagine how broken-hearted the Lord was. He had rescued them from slavery in Egypt, intending to bring them to the Promised Land. But the people were impatient and always grumbling. Those of us who are parents and superiors will understand what it means to have our hands bitten by those whom we feed. Indeed, ingrates are hard to stomach at times and they hurt us deeply especially when we have made much sacrifices and done so much for them. So we can imagine how much God grieved over His unfaithful people. He said, “I can see how headstrong these people are! Leave me, now, my wrath shall blaze out against them and devour them.” But in the end, He “relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.”
In the gospel, we have three stories of those who were lost and found. In the first story, we read of how the shepherd went in search of the lost sheep. One might wonder how he could have left the ninety-nine behind and went looking for the lost sheep. This is because we are thinking in terms of the monetary value of a sheep. If you think that the sheep is just a thing that can be disposed of without any emotional ties, then perhaps one should not spend too much time looking for the lost sheep. But for God, we are not just sheep. We are His people and His children. Everyone is individually and personally important to Him, just as a mother loves all her children regardless how intelligent or slow; pretty or ugly they are. Even those children who are mentally and physically challenged are loved, if not more, by the mother. In the eyes of the mother, every one of her children is the prettiest and loveliest. So, too, with God in the way He values us.
Hence, God comes to search for us more than we search for Him. As St Augustine says, unless He has first found us, we would not be able to find Him. And when He finds us, He will joyfully bring us back. Every lost sheep, every lost soul, is important to the Lord. No one is without hope and no one is to be thought of as insignificant. That is why no one should fall into despair or think that they cannot be saved or that God no longer loves them. They only have to stop resisting the love and mercy of God.
In the second parable, we have the story of the lost coin. Many of us might wonder what was the big deal about a lost coin. The truth is that it was more than a coin. That coin was part of a headdress given to a bride on her wedding day, just as we exchange rings today. It was made of ten coins linked together by a sliver chain. To lose one of the coins would make the chain incomplete. So it has a sentimental value that even money cannot buy. Anyone who is married and loves his or her spouse deeply would be in distress if one loses the wedding ring. It cannot be simply replaced because it holds the memory of the joy of the wedding day. Such things again cannot be seen in a materialistic way. So, too, God’s love for us. We are more than a coin in His eyes; we are precious to Him. Even if one of His children were lost, He would be sad. Indeed, when someone has left us because of death, divorce or misunderstanding, we cannot but feel incomplete every time we gather for a meal, especially on special occasions and festivals. When one of our loved ones is not with us, even if we have all the rest, we are not truly happy. We are only happy when all our loved ones are reunited in love. So too, our God will not rest till all of us are found.
In the third parable, we have the famous story of the Prodigal Father. Again, we see the magnanimity of the Father’s love and abundant mercy. In spite of the insensitive and selfish action of the prodigal son, the Father continued to wait for Him, love Him and hope for his return. And “while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly.” Such was the love of the Father. He did not even wait for him to complete his rehearsed apology. Instead, without interrogating or reprimanding him, the Father gave him back his dignity. “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.” This indeed is the patient love of the Father. Unlike the earlier two parables where God actively sought out the sinners, in this instance He waited. This is to underscore that God is patient in love and does not force us to respond against our will. When we are ready and come to our senses like the young son, He will give us the grace to be reconciled and our dignity restored.
Consequently, today, we are called to act like the Heavenly Father. Like St Paul, we are called to be an apostle of mercy. We are to be merciful because our Father is merciful. How, then, can we be apostles of mercy? Firstly, we need to welcome sinners. The preface to chapter 15 informs us that these parables were addressed not to the sinners but specifically to the so-called righteous Pharisees and the scribes because they were complaining that “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Like the elder son, many of us are self-righteous and judgmental. We condemn sinners and ostracize them. We read that the elder son refused to enter into the house of his father to celebrate the return of his younger brother. He even denied all relationship with him by addressing him as the son of his father but not his brother. This parable reinforces that we must be forgiving, tolerant and welcoming towards fellow sinners as we are not perfect either; and if we can live a holy life, it is only by the grace of God.
Secondly, we must realize that people sin because of ignorance. St Paul himself explained that he was acting in ignorance. “Mercy, however, was shown me, because until I became a believer I had been acting in ignorance; and the grace of our Lord filled me with faith and with the love that is in Christ Jesus.” In the gospel, we are told that the younger son came to his senses during the time of famine. Often, through our sufferings that come from the consequence of our sins, we come to full realization, leading to sorrow and repentance. Hence, at the cross, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” (Lk 23:34)
Thirdly, many sin because of fear. In the first reading, we can appreciate the weakness of the people. Moses had left them behind and went up to the Mountain for 40 days and nights. So they became restless and anxious about Moses. They needed the presence of God. Hence, without Moses, they pressured Aaron to make for them a calf of molten metal so that they could offer worship and sacrifices to it. Indeed, all the seven capital sins are rooted in fear – of our enemies, competitors and that we will never have enough or that we are not loved totally.
To be able to enter into the spirit of mercy and forgiveness of our Heavenly Father, the only pre-requisite is that we must first be recipients of God’s mercy. We cannot give what we have not got. Unless we know God’s mercy, how can we render mercy? The reception of God’s mercy begins with acknowledgment of our own sins and imperfections, like King David who confessed humbly to his sin of adultery: “Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness. In your compassion blot out my offence. O wash me more and more from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. A pure heart create for me, O God, put a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, nor deprive me of your holy spirit. O Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall declare your praise. My sacrifice is a contrite spirit. A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.” So let us be like St Paul and King David in coming to the Lord with a contrite and humble heart. Receiving His mercy and forgiveness, we can then go out to do the same.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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