The Lost Shall Be First

Hi Friends,

I believe it was Gandhi who wrote, “Christianity has not failed. It has never been tried.” (If it wasn’t him who said it, he said something very similar.)

This weekend we hear St. Luke’s signature parables; the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the Prodigal Son (Luke 15: 1-32.). They give us an image of God that runs throughout the whole Gospel of Luke. God is the forgiver and he seeks us out to save us no matter whom we are and where we find ourselves. St. Luke also shows Jesus as the Son of God who lives out God’s forgiveness and acceptance. Therefore Jesus’ teaching and message in this third Gospel are about this compassionate God and urging His disciples to imitate God’s acceptance and forgiveness.

The problem with these parables is that normally we would behave nothing like the shepherd with the lost sheep, or the woman with the lost coin, or the Father with the run away son. We normally follow the “bird in the hand, is worth more than two in the bush” practice of caring. If we have ninety-nine sheep still with us, we’re not going to go chasing after the idiot lost one. If we have nine shiny coins in our purses, how hard are we going to look for the one that rolled under the heavy dresser? How welcoming are we going to be to the bright lights and big city kid who has already cost you an arm, a leg, and a broken heart? (Okay, maybe we would take them in, but there would be terms and stipulations.) Besides, in every one of these circumstances that Jesus sits in front of us, it looks like the party that is thrown in celebration of the find cost more than what the sheep, the coin, and the prodigal is worth. In the original audience, there had to be a lot of people shaking there heads saying, “If this is a parable about this preacher’s God, then he is very messed up.”

The Good News is that our God is exactly like the God in those parables. He never gives up on us. He wants us, loves us, and forgives us no matter what. AND, God rejoices when we “get it”!!! The BAD news is that we are supposed to imitate our God in His generosity of compassion and forgiveness. (Uh-Oh!)

When people tick us off, we write them off. When nations don’t do what we’d prefer, we call for war or sanctions against them. When immigrants seek the bounty of our nation, we want to close the borders. Lives in the womb and on death row are not worth fighting for. We don’t even try to care for people that we can’t even see.

Thank God that God has a bigger heart than ours.

paz,
Fr. Chuck

p.s. I'm leaving for San Antonio to study Spanish on Sept. 11th and will be gone until Dec. 13th. I may post an occasional blog here, but I'm not sure how much time, freedom, or gumption I'll have to do so. We'll see. My phone has the capabilities to posts blogs via email. If I can figure all that out you might be viewing a lot of pictures of the River Walk here shortly. (I'll try not to drop my phone in the San Antonio River!)