May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for
us.
It has been nearly four weeks since we began our Lenten
journey. It has been nearly four weeks
since we received the ashes on our foreheads and the invitation to repent and
believe in the Gospel. We have made our
confession of faith in the goodness of God and our confession of confidence in
the power of God. We have heard the divine
promise and we have joined the Lord Jesus and the three disciples on the
mountain of the Transfiguration. We have
experienced divine patience as we take our part in the work that God is doing. Last Sunday we were invited to share in the
work of God. On this Sunday we are
offered something far more precious: we are offered a share in the very life of
God. Our focus is drawn today to the
gift of divine relationship.
In our reading today from the book of Joshua, we hear of the
entry of the chosen people into the Promised Land. Having celebrated the Passover of the Lord
for the final time in the desert, the chosen people of God now received the
land promised to their father Abraham.
After their days of disobedience in the desert, at the word of the Lord,
they were restored in their relationship and enjoyed the fruits of the harvest.
In our reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians,
we hear of the new creation in Christ that we are, and the gift of
reconciliation that we have received. The
old order has passed away and new things have come to be in the reconciliation
that has been won for us through the cross of Christ. In his great mercy, the Lord has offered us
his forgiveness when what we deserved was his justice.
And it was the justice of the father that the younger son
deserved to receive in our reading from the Gospel. Having asked for his share of the inheritance
while his father was still alive, in essence regarding the goods of the father
as more precious than the life of the father, the younger son left his home and
family to set off for a far country.
This was not like the journey of Abraham to the land of promise. This was not like the people of Israel
leaving the slavery of Egypt. This was a
journey from freedom to the slavery of the senses. And when the younger son recognized his
slavery, he sought to return to the house of the father, not as a son, but as a
servant.
More important than the conversion of the younger son, and
more important than the jealously of the older brother, is the compassion of
the father. When the younger son
approached with contrition in his heart and confession on his lips, he was
received into the embrace of the father.
Reciting his well rehearsed confession, the younger son admitted: Father I have sinned against heaven and
against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son. And the father stopped him. It was not the gravity of the sins, but the
denial of his sonship, that broke the father’s heart. Quickly,
the father said to the servants, quickly
bring the finest robe and put the ring on his finger. These were the signs, dear brothers and sisters,
that the younger son was indeed a son and not a servant in the house of his father.
What was so damaging was not what the younger
son had done, but that he had forgotten who he was. The robe and the ring were the reminders of his
identity. They were signs of his relationship.
We have been offered, dear brothers and sisters, a share in the
very life of God. Claimed in the waters of
baptism, too often we have sought our satisfaction in slavery. This Lenten season, the Lord Jesus appeals to you
through the unworthy ambassador of his mercy. Come to his mercy and he will restore your relationship.
Bring to me, dear brothers and sisters .
. . bring to me, dear flock entrusted to my care, your contrition and your confession,
and by the power of Christ’s blood, I will restore to you your robe and your ring.
Amen.
Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic
Church, Monroe, NC
