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Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 11 2022
The LORD said to Moses,
"Go down at once to your people,
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt,
for they have become depraved.
They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,
making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,
sacrificing to it and crying out,
'This is your God, O Israel,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt!'
"I see how stiff-necked this people is, " continued the LORD to Moses.
Let me alone, then,
that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them.
Then I will make of you a great nation."
But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying,
"Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people,
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt
with such great power and with so strong a hand?
Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,
and how you swore to them by your own self, saying,
'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky;
and all this land that I promised,
I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.'"
So the LORD relented in the punishment
he had threatened to inflict on his people.
R. I will rise and go to my father.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. I will rise and go to my father.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. I will rise and go to my father.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. I will rise and go to my father.
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, that He considered me faithful and appointed me to service. I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; yet because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, I was shown mercy. And the grace of our Lord overflowed to me, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. But for this very reason I was shown mercy, so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His perfect patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life.
Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So to them he addressed this parable.
“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance.
“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one
would not light a lamp and sweep the house,
searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents.”
I've just read a post on the forum with the catchy title 'Let's talk about today.' Oh yeah? That ain't so easy, you know, because today all the meanings are real; word or action, it means what is says here and now. I can reinterpret yesterday but not today, not this present moment. It's just itself. Everything has a meaning and we do what we do for a reason, good or bad, noble or selfish, actual or speculative.
Here I am, trying to write something inspired by two little stories about losing something precious and spending no end of time and effort to find it. 'Which one of you...?' the stories ask and I want to say, 'Well, not me!' But I do know the feeling and must confess that on occasion I have spent too much precious time trying to find some trifle. Yes, and too much effort trying to rescue a lost sheep, not so much for love of the one that was lost but because it made me feel pretty good. That's a motivation that goes only so far.
The stories are almost trifling until you read on. As introduction to the next story they work very well: a prodigal father who lost a son, perhaps because he wasn't strong enough to say No when the boy was impertinent enough to demand his share of the inheritance so he could see the world. Remembering always that all three are directed at the pharisees who were so intent on 'being good' that they really had no idea how the Father loves them and longs for them to come back - to allow themselves to be found. In their religion love was a word but not an experience, a binding obligation but not a hunger.
But the Father's love burns hottest when someone is in trouble, running away, or lost, like the infamous taxman or the ladies of the night who feel there's no way out for them. They've sold themselves to the devil and they've just got to tough it out from here on. They are in fact hungry for love more than most, but nobody would ever want to love them or even acknowledge their love. That's how they feel.
In that close binding of love that makes us one, forgiveness is not an issue. We forgive the other more easily than we forgive ourselves. And when the other responds to that healing word or gesture with a huge hug of gratitude we melt again, and blend, and we are one. And over time we stop blaming ourselves for our part in the hurting.
We often hear the advice to tell our partner or parent that we love them - today, because you might not get the chance tomorrow. There's something else we need to add: Do it now and do it well. Overdo it.
Make it a celebration, like the man who gets his mates around him in the pub to tell them about finding his lost sheep, and drink to his good luck: "My shout, lads." Or the woman who got all the neighbours in for a cuppa. Or the father who put on the banquet of the year. Talk about overdoing it - but that's what you do, or should.
Be generous in forgiving. Be extravagant in celebrating the healing. Be whole-hearted about it, do it thoroughly the way your heavenly Father does.
A line from Psalm 22* comes to mind: 'My cup is flowing over.'
The Lord's my Shepherd, I'll not want;
He makes me down to lie
In pastures green; he leadeth me
The quiet waters by.
My soul he doth restore again,
And me to walk doth make
Within the paths of righteousness,
E'en for his own name's sake.
Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale,
Yet will I fear no ill;
For thou art with me, and thy rod
And staff me comfort still.
My table thou hast furnished
In presence of my foes;
My head thou dost with oil anoint,
And my cup overflows.
Goodness and mercy all my life
Shall surely follow me;
And in God's house forevermore,
My dwelling place shall be.
Don't we love to sing it at funerals! But would I be game to sing it every day, morning, noon and night? It might give the brain a good wash, washing away the ingrained fears and the grubby selfish attitudes developed from childhood. It might make you feel refreshed with love the way a partner does.
* This is Psalm 23 in most bibles in the Protestant tradition.