Bible
Study: Exodus 32, 7 to 14. 1st Timothy 1, 12 to 17 and Luke 15, 1 to
32.
Last Sunday, Jesus clearly spelt out the challenge of the cross as the
path we must follow if we desire to be saved. Jesus went as far as telling us
to hate father and mother as well as all of our possessions to qualify, but
today we hear the same Jesus saying almost the opposite. It is as if Jesus is
saying that meriting heaven does not depend on what we do (our righteousness)
but on who God is; a merciful father.
In other to reconcile the seemingly contradictory nature of Jesus’
statements, it is important to bear in mind that in today’s Gospel passage,
Jesus is not telling us what we must do to enter heaven but what should be disposition
towards others. Jesus is definitely not asking us to deliberately get lost or
to act like the Prodigal son in other to receive God’s attention. To assume
that would mean to take God’s mercy for granted and act like the 5 foolish
virgins. I once heard a man of God preach saying: “God is so merciful that even
if I get into hell, his mercy will bring me out.”
Dear friends, it is very important to note that the three parables we
find in our Gospel passage this Sunday were said as a response to murmurings of
the Holier-Than-Thou Scribes and Pharisees who not only judged and condemned
sinners but judged and condemned Jesus for stooping so low as to eat with
sinners. Perhaps, if they had not murmured, Jesus would not have uttered these
parables. The aim of Jesus is not to make us prodigal sons but to warn us about
slipping into the position of the Elder Son. Let it not be that on the Last
Day, we keep ourselves outside the gates of heaven because we find certain
persons in heaven that we consider as unqualified.
Jesus is not saying we should go astray, he is telling us how to relate
with those who go astray. Jesus is not saying there is nothing we can do to
merit heaven, he is saying we should not be reward-oriented. Our goodness
should spring out of love for God not out of a mindset of servitude.
There is the story of a priest who having carefully and painfully
observed his vows all through his life, got to heaven one day. Upon reaching
there, he was shocked that the man who welcomed him was the same man who had
been his penitent while on earth. Having heard his confessions thousands of
times, this priest knew everything about this man; his exploits with women, his
theft of huge sums of money as well the extravagant life his wealth afforded
him. The priest got so annoyed that he complained to Angel Michael: “You mean
to tell me that having starved myself all these years, I would now share the
same room with that man over there? Chaiiii. God, this is so unfair!” This
priest like many Christians today was just like the elder brother. He had done
well but had the wrong attitude.
Dear friends, Jesus is not saying we should commit sins as much as we
like, he is saying that God so much loves us that he is willing to go to any
extent to bring us to repentance. Jesus is not saying we should not make
efforts to be good, he is saying that God is happier when we help in converting,
rather than condemning, the so-called sinner. There is another story of a woman
who quarreled with another woman in the church so much so that when the both of
them died and she found this woman in heaven, she begged God to send her to
hell instead.
Dear friends, as we celebrate the year of mercy, let us remember that
being merciful as God the father is a question of refraining ourselves from
condemnation of others. Only God is qualified to reach a final conclusion about
a person. It is an act of mercy on our part to expect the best always from
everyone we meet. Believe that people are good and that even if they do bad
things, that is not who they really are. Do not label people or give them
nicknames by what sins they commit, see in each person a perfection of God’s
own handiwork. Even the most hardened criminal on earth today can become a
Saint. It happened with St. Paul and our second reading this morning contains
his confession. His is not afraid or ashamed of broadcasting his past life of
living in ignorance when he persecuted, blasphemed and insulted Jesus Christ.
Once we change our attitude from that of condemnation towards sinners, it
becomes easy for us to work towards their conversion. And if our attempt to
convert them would mean showing them love, treating them as equals and eating
with them even while they are still deep in sin, then we do nothing wrong. This
was the strategy Jesus used for Zaccheaus the tax collector and it worked
perfectly. Zacchaeus not only repented, he decided to do restitution for all
the money he had defrauded from people. This strategy not only worked for
Jesus, it also worked for Paul himself as he would tell us in 1st
Corinthians 9, 19 to 22:
“I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To
the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I
became as one under the law… To those outside the law I became as one outside
the law… To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become
all things to all people, that I might by all means save some.”
Dear friends, not only are we to refrain from condemning sinners, we
should also refrain from condemning those who bring themselves to the level of
sinners in their attempt to save sinners. And the best way to restrain
ourselves from condemning others is to realize that we are most guilty of that
which we condemn in others. When you examine something wrong in your brother,
then know that the reason why you notice that thing is because you too are
guilty of it. So the moment you notice it, take it that your conscience is
drawing your attention to change. Write out all the things you hate in people,
what you get is a list of your most grievous sins.
Above all, let us remember that one of the spiritual works of mercy we
are called to do during this jubilee year of mercy is PRAYING FOR SINNERS. If you
cannot be a Jesus to the many Zaccheaus around you, at least be a Moses to them.
Do for them what Moses did for the people of Israel as we read in our first
reading this morning. By the intercession of Moses, God repented from rejecting
the entire nation of Israel. By your intercession for sinners, God can do so
much for our country. Rather than condemn people, pray for them!
Let Us
Pray:
Lord
Jesus, change my attitude to sinners that I may not be prevented from eternal
life by my self-righteousness. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you.
Happy Sunday.
Fr. Abu
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