May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for
us.
Last week, only eight sentences seemed sufficient for the
homily. Today, one word would
suffice. The word is mercy. Everything in our readings today draws our
focus to the mercy of God. The mercy of
God awaits us and pursues us. The mercy
of God reminds us of our identity. And
the mercy of God brings us joy.
In our reading from the book of Exodus we see Moses
interceding for the people. This was
chosen people of God whom Moses had led out of Egypt. They had been freed from their slavery to
Pharaoh by the mighty acts of God. And
yet, while Moses was communing with the Lord God and receiving the gift of the
Law, the people turned away from the Lord and made an idol. They exchanged the worship of the Lord God
for the worship of a golden calf. The
actions of the people deserved the wrath of God, and Moses prayed for mercy. He recalled the promises made to the
patriarchs. He appealed to the promises
and to the mercy of God. And the people
received mercy.
In our reading from the Gospel of Luke we hear three very
familiar parables about the mercy of God.
We hear of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. Like the good shepherd and like the woman
with the lost coin, the Lord God in his great mercy pursues us. That is how very precious we are to God. He pursues us with his mercy. Like the forgiving father who awaits with
eager anticipation the return of his son, the Lord God eagerly awaits to bestow
his mercy upon us. The great mercy of
God awaits us and pursues us.
The mercy of God reminds us of our identity. When the Good Shepherd found the lost sheep,
the lost sheep was restored to the flock.
The woman who had lost one of her ten coins had lost more than
money. The coins were a sign of her
identity and her relationship. During
the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus, it was a common practice for woman to
be given a headband made of ten coins when she married. This headband would be something like a
wedding ring. It was an important symbol
of her identity and her relationship.
The forgiving father immediately restores to his returning son the robe
and the ring that signifies that he is a beloved son in the house of the
father. The mercy of God reminds us of
our identity as part of the flock of God, signs of the Lord’s relationship with
his people, and beloved children in the house of the Father.
And the mercy of God brings us joy. The apostle Paul constantly rejoiced because
he had received mercy. Though he had
once been an opponent of Christ and a persecutor of his people, the mercy of
God transformed Paul into an apostle of Christ and an agent of mercy. The mercy of God brought joy to the heart of
Paul, and the mercy of God brings joy to the hearts of the Lord’s people.
In every celebration of the Eucharist and in the official
prayers of the Church, I stand daily before the Lord imploring the mercy of God
for the people entrusted to my unworthy care.
Each day all of the baptized children of God are called to seek out the
lost sheep of the flock, search for the precious coin, and eagerly await the
return of the lost son. God has shown us
mercy. He offers us an encounter with
his mercy in the Sacrament of reconciliation and strength for the journey in
the Eucharist. In the Sacraments, we
receive the mercy of God. We are
reminded of our identity. And we respond
with hearts filled with joy.
Let us receive, dear brothers and sisters, and let us live,
by the word of mercy. Amen.
Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes
Catholic Church, Monroe, NC
