24TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME year C 2019

(DOCTRINE AND FAITH)
(Exodus 32,7-11. 13-14; 1 Timothy 1,12-17; Luke 15,1-32: Year C, 2019)
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The first reading, Exodus 32,7-11, 13-14, reports a dramatic exchange between God and Moses. The Israelites are guilty of having violated the first two commandments: You, shall have no other gods; you shall not carve idols. They have made themselves a molten calf. In response to their infidelity, God seems to disown them, insisting that they are Moses' people, whom he, Moses, brought out of Egypt. For his part, Moses will not allow this shift in association to take place. He insists that these are God's own people whom God, and no other, brought out of Egypt (v, 11). God accuses the people of being stiff-necked, that is to say being very stubborn. Judging the people to be an impossible lot, God considers destroying them and beginning anew with a people that springs from Moses. God makes the same promise to Moses as was made to Abraham (Gen 12,2): I will make of you a great nation. It is probably here more than anywhere else that the greatness of Moses is seen. Rather than accept this amazing offer, Moses pleads for the preservation of the people of whom he is a member. As the story is told, Moses has been successful in his defence of the sinful people. God relents of the severe punishment intended.
The second reading, 1 Timothy 1,12-17, is a bold statement about the mercy of God toward sinners. Paul begins it with an expression of gratitude for God's goodness toward him, and from this he moves into a personal testimony that demonstrates the extent of God's goodness. Paul states that he is grateful Christ strengthened him and found him worthy to proclaim the gospel. In itself this could be an audacious claim. However, lest it sound like he is bragging he quickly admits to the character of his former life. Previously he had denied everything he had heard about Christ; he hunted down those who were his followers, and he stood in judgment over them. He is a perfect example of one who deserves punishment at the hands of God. However, the opposite occurred. He was treated mercifully by God. His instruction on God's mercy continues with a pronouncement of the trustworthiness of the statement he is about to make, in which he maintains that redemption was the reason for the incarnation. In other words, the merciful love of God toward sinners prompted the coming of Christ Jesus into the world.

The opening verses of the gospel reading, Luke 15,1-32, set the stage for the parables Jesus tells. In them, lines are drawn between scribes and Pharisees, who were considered righteous religious leaders, and tax collectors and sinners, who were social outcasts. To share a meal with the latter group was to share life with them. These were the people who came to hear Jesus. The Pharisees and scribes criticised Jesus for keeping company with them. They maintained that Jesus' association with such unclean outcasts contaminated him. In contrast, Jesus saw-this association as an opportunity for opening the reign of God to all. He illustrated God's care for the outcasts by means of three parables. The first two are parallel stories. In them Jesus depicts the extravagant solicitude of the shepherd and the woman in order to demonstrate the extent to which God will go to rescue even one lost individual. It should be noted that divine solicitude is characterised by a woman's concern as well as a man's. The joy that both the shepherd and the woman experience in finding what was lost cannot be contained. They invite their friends and neighbours to share in their celebration. It is not that the shepherd cares less for the ninety-nine who were not lost, but both parables state that repentance generates more joy in heaven and among the angels than does faithfulness. This is more clearly stated at the end of the third parable: The one who was dead has come back to life again! The third parable has a double focus. While it is clearly about the mercy God shows to repentant sinners, it also contrasts God's openness with the closed-mindedness of those who consider themselves faithful. The scene with the elder brother is not an afterthought. In fact, it returns us to the opening verses that describe the disdain of the Pharisees and scribes. Within the parable itself the contours of each of the three main characters are carefully drawn so that the meaning of the story shines through clearly. There is no question about the depraved behaviour of the younger son. With his third of the father's estate (the elder son would get a double portion) he abandons his father's home and even his own country, and he embarks on a life of dissipation. After squandering his fortune life is hard on him. He is willing to acknowledge his sin and even relinquish any filial claims if only he can be treated as one of his father's hired workers. The picture of the father is also straightforward. He initially put no obstacles in his son's path but gave him his share of the estate. He disregards convention and runs out to welcome this son home. He treats him as one brought back to life, lavishly clothing him, giving him sandals, which would distinguish him as a son rather than a barefooted servant, hosting a sumptuous feast in his honour. He is no less attentive to the elder son, going out to plead with him to join the celebration, assuring him the major portion of the estate. The father is neither domineering nor disinterested. He respects the decisions of both his sons even when he disagrees with them. When it becomes clear they have been mistaken, he forgives them. This startling new picture becomes the metaphor for understanding God. The elder son strikes an interesting pose. He resents his father’s unrestrained joyous treatment of the errant one. Just as the younger son had formerly repudiated his family, so this son refuses to participate in a family affair, and he will not even refer to the younger one as his own brother. Unlike the dissolute one, he has always obeyed orders; he has served his father like a slave; yet he never even received a goat with which to feast. Though the elder brother contrasts his loyalty with the infidelity of the younger one, Jesus is really contrasting the compassion of God with the mean spiritedness of the Pharisees and scribes. Like the elder brother, they lack compassion, and they seem to resent the fact that God is merciful toward sinners who repent.

The readings of today show us some depictions about God. The God who spoke to Moses is pained by the depravity of the people yet moved to show them mercy. Who could ever have imagined such a God? The God depicted in the gospel actually searches for what is lost. He seems to abandon the safe ones for the sake of the one who has strayed. She goes to great lengths to find one coin. As a spurned yet loving father, God patiently waits until we have come to our senses. Who could ever have conceived of such a God? It is not enough that God chooses to enter into covenant with us. Our God is foolishly consumed with an insatiable desire to reestablish a relationship with us after we have turned our backs on God, have chosen to commit our loyalties elsewhere, have thoughtlessly wandered off into danger that threatens our well-being, not God's. What is it about us that makes us so desirable? The answer, of course, is that it has less to do with us than with the magnanimous character of God. It is almost as if unconditional love is not simply a characteristic of God but God's very essence, and no human frailty or depravity can change this. Our God even celebrates. In the gospel reading the jubilant father graced his son with fine clothing and all the trappings of a sumptuous banquet. Once our covenant relationship has been reestablished, what blessings does God bestow upon us? The first is mercy, the intimate womb-love only a parent can know. It is almost as if God cannot reject us, because it would be like rejecting a part of God's very self. This mercy compels God to forgive us as totally as God forgave the perfidious Israelites and as the loving father forgave the chastened and repentant son. God's mercy and forgiveness take the form of freedom from slavery, and if not slavery from Egypt, certainly slavery from evil impulses, from addictions and habits that can destroy us. The younger son left his dissolute life behind him. The elder brother could have been freed from envy and resentment had he opened his heart to the loving concern of his father. The celebration that follows the return of the lost nation, the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son, is open to all who will attend. And who will they be? Only those who admit they are sinners and who repent of their sin will recognise the need to celebrate. Those who have no sin to repent have no reason to rejoice. Only those who share the joy of God in the repentance of others will recognise the need to celebrate. Those who envy the celebration or who harbour resentment because of God's mercy will have no reason to rejoice. Paul insists it is through Christ that all of this is accomplished. It is through the sacrifice of Christ that the depraved are forgiven, that sinners are saved, that the lost are found. It is through Christ that we are sought by God, and Christ is the very gift of mercy, the forgiveness of our sins, the celebration of our return. Paul is overwhelmed by God's goodness to him through the agency of Christ Jesus. He is the classic example of the forgiven sinner. In his repentance he is a model for us to imitate. He is certainly one over whom the angels of heaven rejoice. And what of us? Will we join the celebration? We will, especially if at the Eucharistic Celebration of this Sunday we are bestowed with the graces that will enable us, be truly repentant of our sins and failures and arise and return to our God who ever loves us and is merciful to us through his Son Jesus Christ. Happy Sunday ! +John I. Okoye