“Finding the Lost and Setting Our Priorities”
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time – C
“God, the Father of Mercies, through the Death and Resurrection of his Son, has reconciled the world to himself, and sent us the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of Sins. Through the Ministry of the Church, may God grant you pardon, and peace and I absolve you of your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
For those of you who may not know this prayer, it is the Prayer of Absolution, that the Priest prays over you to forgive your sins.
In our first reading from Exodus God is angry because the people have turned away from the way he pointed out to them. They have lost focus and sight of their priorities and did not trust the Lord. In the gospel, Jesus tells the story of the “Prodigal Son” who had asked for his inheritance early so he could run off, spend it on wild living. Again, the youngest son had lost sight of his focus and priorities. Here, in modern day culture, we run around doing what we want, without weighing the consequences, all because we want something more than what God gave us or better yet because “it feels good.” Not much has changed between the time of Jesus telling this parable and now. We as humans still struggle with our spiritual focus and setting and adjusting priorities in our lives.
This gospel once again surprises us: the disproportionality of leaving ninety-nine for one, sweeping the whole house for just one coin, running to embrace, and throwing a feast for the returning prodigal son. All these parables sound odd to us. Notice, however, that the emphasis for Jesus is not on the object or person itself, but on the “finding” of that object or person.
The point of Jesus for each of these parables was the priority of “finding” what was lost and celebrating. Jesus wants us to understand the importance of our finding ourselves and returning to a right relationship with God His Father. In the process of setting our priorities or regaining our spiritual focus, He wants us to better understand His point about the Father finding us and celebrating when we have returned home. When we have sinned, we are just like the Prodigal Son, we break our relationship with the father, and it needs to be healed. But God does not want us to be miserable but to be joyful at our homecoming.
You see, the real symbol of hope for us in our readings today is Jesus promising the joy that we all experience in our reconciliation with the Father. Have you ever felt the sheer joy when you leave a confessional? This hope is for all of us. As Sinners, we need this hope, we need this joy!
Yes, our faith is being tested at certain points in our life. However, we like the woman searching for the coin or the shepherd searching for the lost sheep must be steadfast in our faith and filled with hope for the promise of a new day, a renewed relationship with God.
If we open ourselves up and allow God to find us, right where we are, then whatever it was or is that is separating us from the love of God will be restored. Remember, with God all things are possible – especially His unconditional love!
Ex 32:7-11, 13-14
1 Tim 1:12-17
Lk 15:1-32