Sunday Gospel Reflection, March 31, 2019: Your brother was dead and has come to life again...

Your brother was dead and has come to life again…

How do we realign ourselves with God?

  During the quest to take possession of the land of Canaan, Joshua is instructed by God at Gilgal to circumcise the male children born during their journey from Egypt.  Once Joshua has done so, God says to him, Today I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you. This act realigns the people of Israel with their God; they are no longer slaves, dependent on Egypt, but can now eat of the produce of the land. It is God who brings about their reconciliation, allowing the people to reclaim their identity and to live in right relationship with God.  No longer will their faces blush with shame, as Psalm 34 notes, for God has answered the prayers of the people.  Their sojourn in Gilgal allows them to taste and see the goodness of the Lord, redeemed by God’s action on their behalf.

  In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus recounts the parable of the prodigal son; his audience consists of Pharisees and scribes who complain that Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them.  But Jesus’ story is meant to teach them that reconciliation is God’s action and that forgiveness is for all – even the Pharisees and scribes themselves. Like the father in the parable, who loves his sinner son as completely as he loves his older, responsible son, God loves all, sinners and the upright alike.  God gives recklessly, foolishly; God forgives where no one asks for forgiveness.  How?  Paul tells the Corinthians that God has reconciled us to himself through Christ.  It is Christ’s redemptive sacrifice that allows us – all of us – to be a new creation, realigned with the Father, that we might, in turn, carry his message of reconciliation as ambassadors for Christ.  Salvation is our goal, not only for ourselves, but for the world.  And once we are in Christ, the celebration can begin!

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.

Image source:  www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, March 6, 2016: Now we must celebrate and rejoice...

Now we must celebrateand rejoice…

How do we celebrate God's love for us?

   In Joshua's day as today, Passover was a celebration of the history of the people of Israel: once enslaved in Egypt, they successfully fled captivity, crossing the Red Sea as well as the territory of Jordan to get to the Promised Land.  It was a long and arduous journey.  Passover thus celebrates their transition to a people who are once again in covenant with God, loved by God, blessed to be living in a land flowing with milk and honey where they are able to eat the produce of that land.  Today, I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you, the Lord tells Joshua.  God has fulfilled God's extraordinary promise, reconciling himself with his people, removing their sin, eliminating all distance between them and their God, allowing love to flourish.  And so, as in Psalm 34, they can bless the Lord at all times, his praise… ever in their mouths:  their song is an acknowledgement of God working in them, and thus they are radiant with joy.

   The parable of the prodigal son in Luke's Gospel similarly ends in joy:  But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again.  The love of the father is greater than his prodigal son had ever known:  My son, you are here with me always, the father tells his son -- it is an extraordinary statement, for the father experiences the son's presence more than even the son himself.  The son has not earned his father's love; it is gift, just as the Promised Land was give to the people of Israel.   As Paul tells the Corinthians, that love, mercy itself, is at the heart of God reconciling the world to him in Christ, that we might be a new creation -- and all this is from God. God wants us back; God's love for us, his forgiveness of our transgressions, is nothing short of an extraordinary gift, a prodigal gift, every single day.

   Has living as a Christian, in Christ, made you a new creation, open to God's mercy and love?  Is it transforming you daily?  How do you celebrate that love?

This post is based on Fr. Pat's Scripture class.

Image source:  Wordle