Inexhaustible Mercy!

(Homily 24^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Yr. C)

      At the heart of today’s readings is the manifestation and celebration of God’s mercy, orchestrated principally through patience and forgiveness. The Good News of today indeed is a joyful hymn on divine mercy that metamorphosed into a feast, and the culminating moment of this celebration is in the Gospel passage. Even the Opening Prayer (Collect) ushers in the message of “the power of God’s Mercy”. Little wonder, the word of God today goes straight to the heart; it is synthesized in a consoling message thus: God is merciful love that forgives, a love that reaches extents that are humanly unimaginable. Here, we are not talking about “too much love or excess love”, rather it is indeed extreme love: “having loved those who were his in the world, he loved them to the end” (Jn. 13:1). No doubt God’s mercy resounds in the three readings, even though it is more explicit in the Gospel passage with those three wonderful parables of God’s mery towards sinners. In the first reading, we listened to a sort of music of God’s mercy towards his people, thanks to the intervention and intercession of Moses. And lastly, in the second reading, we listen to those touching words and confession of Paul, about the mercy of Jesus Christ towards him.

     The first reading (Ex. 32:7-11, 13-14) is a presentation of Yahweh’s merciful love for he abandoned his intention of punishing Israel for making the golden calf and worshiping it. However, at the center of this episode is Moses’ action as a mediator. Moses interceded on their behalf, by pleading the promises of God to the patriarchs. Indeed, this incident captured the attention of the Psalmist thus: “He thought of putting an end to them, had not Moses, his chosen one, taken a stand in the breach and confronted him, to turn his anger away from destroying them” (Ps. 106:23). Therein, Moses prefigures the messianic work of Christ. On the event of his Passion on the Cross, Jesus addressed his mediatory prayer to the Father thus: “Father, forgive them”. Jesus is the New Mediator between God and the New Israel, just as Moses was the mediator between Yahweh and the Old Israel. In the words of St. Paul: “For there is only one God, and there is only one mediator between God and humanity, himself a human being, Christ Jesus” (1Tm. 2:5).

      The Gospel (Lk. 15:1-32) is an amalgamation of three different parables: the Siamese parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin, and the parable of the prodigal son. Being preceded by the two parables, the parable of the prodigal son acquires more significance, for when taken and considered alone, there is the temptation of laying much emphasis on the prodigal son’s initiative of returning home. Upon consideration within the network of the two preceding parables, there is an emphasis on the prevenient action of God in seeking and saving the least and the lost. And within the framework of the parable of the prodigal son the above understanding is carried over in the action of the father, for while the returning prodigal son was still far away, he made a move, he “ran” in order to accept and welcome him back home. Be that as it may, the three parables are connected with the atonement.

     If the Gospel is Good News, and more precisely Good News for the poor and sinners, then it behooves us to affirm that the 15^th chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke with the three parables therein, introduces us to the heart of the Gospel. And the concrete occasion that unifies these parables is Jesus’ attempt to defend himself from the accusations of his enemies. Before we continue in our reflection, let us situate ourselves well into the context of this parable. The context of the parable as it was presented by Luke is: that the publicans and sinners came to listen to Jesus, while the scribes and the Pharisees were murmuring, accusing Jesus of receiving and eating with sinners and outcasts. Then, in order to correct this erroneous impression Jesus narrated the parable. Jesus destroyed the mental scheme of the scribes and Pharisees, for their interrogation and murmuring gave rise to Jesus’s exposition of the Father’s love and mercy towards sinners. Thus, the parables were addressed to the Pharisees and the Scribes who were murmuring that Jesus was receiving and eating with sinners. For this, Jesus invented concrete human situations to drive home his point, even though the parables on a closer look appear unrealistic and contrary to experience. Come to think of it, a true shepherd cannot abandon 99 sheep in the desert, because he would have found the 1 lost, and when he returns the 99 will be lost. Secondly, a poor woman cannot invite her friends for a feast just because she finds her lost coin. And lastly, in the Palestinian culture that time, a father cannot give his younger son, who is not yet married his inheritance.

     With these concrete situations Jesus illustrated the action of God. Therefore, the situations that Jesus created in the parables are true, but they are of a superior truth, not human but divine. Indeed, Jesus used the mediation of those three parables to demonstrate God’s action before man. However, in the parables Jesus expects his listeners to draw the conclusion themselves, considered in close connection with Jesus, the parables of mercy have a Christological context. It speaks of Christ, his person and mission. They parables therefore serve as his auto-revelation. We remember the episode when Jesus healed the paralytic and after restoring his health, Jesus told him: “your sins are forgiven you” (Lk. 5:20), and immediately the Pharisees there retorted: “Who is this man, talking blasphemy? Who but God alone can forgive sins?” (Lk. 5:22), of course Jesus is God!

     The three parables are connected one with the other and Jesus narrated them at a go: which of you with a hundred sheep…, what woman with ten drachmas… or what father that has two children… The pivot around which revolve these parables is neither on the lost sheep, the lost drachmas nor on the prodigal son. For these parables do not speak principally about man, rather about the mercy and glory of God. No doubt, if the context of the parables is Christological, the text of the parables is theological, for they contain the revelation of God. The glory therein is manifested through the expression of joy. The joy of God reoccurs three good times in the brief parable of the shepherd (or the lost sheep): “when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders… when he got home, call together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me” (vv.5-7), also in the parable of the lost drachma, he says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner” (v.10). Similarly, in the parable of the prodigal son (or the Merciful Father) joy becomes feast: “we will celebrate by having a feast” (v.23).

     There is something uncommon about these parables, why was the shepherd more joyful over 1 sheep that was lost and found, over the 99 that never caused any problem? Are we not all children of God? Why does the shepherd in that parable value one sheep over ninety sheep? It sounds scandalous! But the most convincing response to this question is that the lost sheep as well as the prodigal son made the heart of God to tremor, for the fear of losing them forever. For this God loved them in hope of finding and gaining them back home. When the sheep is found and when the prodigal son returned home God’s joy knows no bounds, there is more joy when they are found, than when they remained at home. The Father in the parable almost compared the incidence to the event of the death and resurrection of Jesus, for he says “your brother here was dead and has come back to life” (v.32). He compares his going astray and his home coming to death and resurrection. The same thing happens too in our own experience, for when we sin is like we are dead and lost before God.

Behold, any sinner that reads or listens to these parables maybe touched and thus thirsts for conversion for various motives, but the major reason could be to make God happy, for God is indeed waiting and hoping in love for the return of every sinner. In fact, in the words of St, Paul “there is more joy in giving than in receiving” (Acts 20:35), this is also valid for God, for his love is self-giving and gratuitous, for this there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. This gives God the opportunity not only to love but pardon, it permits God to love in his own way, for he “loves first” (cf. 1Jn. 4:19). The fact that there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents does not confer a sort of preference or recognition to the repentant sinner more than the just. Rather, the most interesting fact, is that the just are called to participate, to take part in the joy. The shepherd told his friends: “Rejoice with me”; and the Father invited the Bigger brother: “we should celebrate and rejoice”.

     Furthermore, the central message of these parables, which Jesus intends to communicate to the Scribes and the Pharisees and to all of us today, is the fact that the attitude of the Scribes and the Pharisees was a kind of attack to God who waits and hopes in love for the return of sinners. For “God does not want the death of a sinner, but that he repents and lives” (Ez. 18:23). But also, that attitude is an offence against sinners, thus an insult to one’s neighbor. Therefore, their hostile before towards sinners touches the first and the second commandment. A true Big brother cannot remain indifferent to a younger brother in perdition, he has to suffer with the father, and that is exactly what our Big Brother par excellence, the Only Begotten Son of God did to save humanity. He didn’t remain indifferent to the plight of the sinful humanity; instead he himself went in search of the sinful humanity to bring him back to the Father.

Above all, these three parables that tend to speak to us about God, ended up speaking to all and about all: to sinners and to the just etc. We have to pay particular attention to the just here, for they could be considered from the objective sense of those who are not in need of penitence, but also from the subjective view point as those who do not see or feel the need for penitence. Is there anyone that does not need conversion? Maybe the Pharisees and the Scribes. However, in reality we know that the true lost sheep is the one lost in his or her pride… The parables on mercy are for all, for we are all in need of conversion, some more, some less!

     The attitude of the sheep owner, the woman with drachmas and that of father towards the son signifies what God does for us when we stray, when we abandon God or when we relegate Him to the background. God never abandons sinners, for He says: “by considering and turning himself away from all his iniquities…he shall certainly live, and shall not die” (Ex. 18:28). Again, the psalmist humbly questions: “If you kept a record of our sins, Lord, who could stand their ground?” (Ps. 130:3). Jeremiah speaks of the freshness of God’s mercy: “Surely Yahweh’s mercies are not over, his deeds of faithful love not exhausted; every morning they are renewed; great is his faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22-23). 

    But also, as emanating from the context of the parables, we need to guard against the syndrome of the Scribes, the Pharisees and the Big Brother. The syndrome is that of not looking inwardly in themselves, but they ‘project’ towards others. They are good observants of law and of the rules of the house like the big brother: “Behold, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command…”, he respected all the rules but he lacked love, he was pharisaic in his relationship with the father. He remained with the mentality of the Judaic law of retribution, but the father was inviting him to embrace the law of merciful love. We are called to be servants of mercy like the servants of the father, and not judges of mercy! At the heart of the parable, the Father came out to meet the son, to stand where he (son) was in order to bring him back home. Similarly, God in Christ came out to meet the sinful humanity. We pray that Jesus may give us the grace like Him the excellent Big Brother, to be always ready to go in search of our brothers and sisters who have gone to a “distant country”.

     The second reading (1Tm.1:12-17) takes into consideration the atonement Paul gained by means of his apostolic call. And it was a manifestation of God’s abundant grace to someone like Paul who acknowledged himself as the greatest of sinners, for he persecuted the Church. This Pauline passage is the concretization of the parables on divine mercy. While he (Paul was writing to Timothy he affirmed a fundamental truth: “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” (v.15) that the humble affirmation of St. Paul, he further confessed: “even though I used to be a blasphemer and a persecutor and contemptuous. Mercy, however, was shown me” (v.13), which mercy was he talking about, if not the superabundant grace of God, for he says: “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength. By calling me into his service he has judged me trustworthy” (v.12). And one may ask why was abundant grace or mercy shown to Paul? And St. Paul responds: “and if mercy has been shown to me, it is because Jesus Christ meant to make me the leading example of his inexhaustible patience for all the other people who were later to trust in him for eternal life” (v.16). Jesus not only wanted to manifest his benevolence to a sinner like Paul, but at the same time he desires to give reason for trust and hope to all who are in need of God’s pardon. Jesus truly came to manifest and reveal to us the face of God, his extreme love and inexhaustible mercy.

     Truly the overriding Good News of today is that God does not abandon sinners to their painful end, it is not only that “he does not desire the death of a sinner”, but he goes in search of him so that “he will repent and live”. God is in search of sinners so that He will show them mercy. Indeed, “The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him” (Dan. 9:9). Let us therefore thank the Father who through His Son, Jesus Christ has delivered us and continues to deliver us from the kingdom of darkness and sin:  “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col.1:13-14).

(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)