Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C | Dominica Hebdomada Vigesima quarta (XXIV) « Per Annum », Anno C
11 September 2022 in the year of our Lord
Lk 15:1-32 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.” Then he said, “A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’ So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began. Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns, who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’” |
Κατά Λουκάν Ευαγγέλιον 15:1-32 1 Ἦσαν δὲ αὐτῷ ἐγγίζοντες πάντες οἱ τελῶναι καὶ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἀκούειν αὐτοῦ. 2 καὶ διεγόγγυζον οἵ τε Φαρισαῖοι καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς λέγοντες ὅτι οὗτος ἁμαρτωλοὺς προσδέχεται καὶ συνεσθίει αὐτοῖς. 3 Εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτοὺς τὴν παραβολὴν ταύτην λέγων· 4 τίς ἄνθρωπος ἐξ ὑμῶν ἔχων ἑκατὸν πρόβατα καὶ ἀπολέσας ἐξ αὐτῶν ἓν οὐ καταλείπει τὰ ἐνενήκοντα ἐννέα ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ καὶ πορεύεται ἐπὶ τὸ ἀπολωλὸς ἕως εὕρῃ αὐτό; 5 καὶ εὑρὼν ἐπιτίθησιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ὤμους αὐτοῦ χαίρων 6 καὶ ἐλθὼν εἰς τὸν οἶκον συγκαλεῖ τοὺς φίλους καὶ τοὺς γείτονας λέγων αὐτοῖς· συγχάρητέ μοι, ὅτι εὗρον τὸ πρόβατόν μου τὸ ἀπολωλός. 7 λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι οὕτως χαρὰ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἔσται ἐπὶ ἑνὶ ἁμαρτωλῷ μετανοοῦντι ἢ ἐπὶ ἐνενήκοντα ἐννέα δικαίοις οἵτινες οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν μετανοίας. 8 Ἢ τίς γυνὴ δραχμὰς ἔχουσα δέκα ἐὰν ἀπολέσῃ δραχμὴν μίαν, οὐχὶ ἅπτει λύχνον καὶ σαροῖ τὴν οἰκίαν καὶ ζητεῖ ἐπιμελῶς ἕως οὗ εὕρῃ; 9 καὶ εὑροῦσα συγκαλεῖ τὰς φίλας καὶ γείτονας λέγουσα· συγχάρητέ μοι, ὅτι εὗρον τὴν δραχμὴν ἣν ἀπώλεσα. 10 οὕτως, λέγω ὑμῖν, γίνεται χαρὰ ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀγγέλων τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπὶ ἑνὶ ἁμαρτωλῷ μετανοοῦντι. 11 Εἶπεν δέ· ἄνθρωπός τις εἶχεν δύο υἱούς. 12 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ νεώτερος αὐτῶν τῷ πατρί· πάτερ, δός μοι τὸ ἐπιβάλλον μέρος τῆς οὐσίας. ὁ δὲ διεῖλεν αὐτοῖς τὸν βίον. 13 καὶ μετ’ οὐ πολλὰς ἡμέρας συναγαγὼν πάντα ὁ νεώτερος υἱὸς ἀπεδήμησεν εἰς χώραν μακρὰν καὶ ἐκεῖ διεσκόρπισεν τὴν οὐσίαν αὐτοῦ ζῶν ἀσώτως. 14 δαπανήσαντος δὲ αὐτοῦ πάντα ἐγένετο λιμὸς ἰσχυρὰ κατὰ τὴν χώραν ἐκείνην, καὶ αὐτὸς ἤρξατο ὑστερεῖσθαι. 15 καὶ πορευθεὶς ἐκολλήθη ἑνὶ τῶν πολιτῶν τῆς χώρας ἐκείνης, καὶ ἔπεμψεν αὐτὸν εἰς τοὺς ἀγροὺς αὐτοῦ βόσκειν χοίρους, 16 καὶ ἐπεθύμει χορτασθῆναι ἐκ τῶν κερατίων ὧν ἤσθιον οἱ χοῖροι, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐδίδου αὐτῷ. 17 εἰς ἑαυτὸν δὲ ἐλθὼν ἔφη· πόσοι μίσθιοι τοῦ πατρός μου περισσεύονται ἄρτων, ἐγὼ δὲ λιμῷ ὧδε ἀπόλλυμαι. 18 ἀναστὰς πορεύσομαι πρὸς τὸν πατέρα μου καὶ ἐρῶ αὐτῷ· πάτερ, ἥμαρτον εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ ἐνώπιόν σου, 19 οὐκέτι εἰμὶ ἄξιος κληθῆναι υἱός σου· ποίησόν με ὡς ἕνα τῶν μισθίων σου. 20 καὶ ἀναστὰς ἦλθεν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα ἑαυτοῦ. Ἔτι δὲ αὐτοῦ μακρὰν ἀπέχοντος εἶδεν αὐτὸν ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐσπλαγχνίσθη καὶ δραμὼν ἐπέπεσεν ἐπὶ τὸν τράχηλον αὐτοῦ καὶ κατεφίλησεν αὐτόν. 21 εἶπεν δὲ ὁ υἱὸς αὐτῷ· πάτερ, ἥμαρτον εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ ἐνώπιόν σου, οὐκέτι εἰμὶ ἄξιος κληθῆναι υἱός σου. 22 εἶπεν δὲ ὁ πατὴρ πρὸς τοὺς δούλους αὐτοῦ· ταχὺ ἐξενέγκατε στολὴν τὴν πρώτην καὶ ἐνδύσατε αὐτόν, καὶ δότε δακτύλιον εἰς τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ καὶ ὑποδήματα εἰς τοὺς πόδας, 23 καὶ φέρετε τὸν μόσχον τὸν σιτευτόν, θύσατε, καὶ φαγόντες εὐφρανθῶμεν, 24 ὅτι οὗτος ὁ υἱός μου νεκρὸς ἦν καὶ ἀνέζησεν, ἦν ἀπολωλὼς καὶ εὑρέθη. καὶ ἤρξαντο εὐφραίνεσθαι. 25 Ἦν δὲ ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ ὁ πρεσβύτερος ἐν ἀγρῷ· καὶ ὡς ἐρχόμενος ἤγγισεν τῇ οἰκίᾳ, ἤκουσεν συμφωνίας καὶ χορῶν, 26 καὶ προσκαλεσάμενος ἕνα τῶν παίδων ἐπυνθάνετο τί ἂν εἴη ταῦτα. 27 ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὅτι ὁ ἀδελφός σου ἥκει, καὶ ἔθυσεν ὁ πατήρ σου τὸν μόσχον τὸν σιτευτόν, ὅτι ὑγιαίνοντα αὐτὸν ἀπέλαβεν. 28 ὠργίσθη δὲ καὶ οὐκ ἤθελεν εἰσελθεῖν, ὁ δὲ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ ἐξελθὼν παρεκάλει αὐτόν. 29 ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν τῷ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ· ἰδοὺ τοσαῦτα ἔτη δουλεύω σοι καὶ οὐδέποτε ἐντολήν σου παρῆλθον, καὶ ἐμοὶ οὐδέποτε ἔδωκας ἔριφον ἵνα μετὰ τῶν φίλων μου εὐφρανθῶ· 30 ὅτε δὲ ὁ υἱός σου οὗτος ὁ καταφαγών σου τὸν βίον μετὰ πορνῶν ἦλθεν, ἔθυσας αὐτῷ τὸν σιτευτὸν μόσχον. 31 ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· τέκνον, σὺ πάντοτε μετ’ ἐμοῦ εἶ, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐμὰ σά ἐστιν· 32 εὐφρανθῆναι δὲ καὶ χαρῆναι ἔδει, ὅτι ὁ ἀδελφός σου οὗτος νεκρὸς ἦν καὶ ἔζησεν, καὶ ἀπολωλὼς καὶ εὑρέθη. |
Fr John Lankeit's homily :
I don’t normally take cues for my spiritual life from hamburger joints, but there is one exception. Years ago, when I was in my late teens or early 20’s, I read the following words on the reader board of Dusty’s Drive-In in my hometown of Wenatchee, Washington:
“All unhappiness is a result of comparison.”
Whether or not it’s completely accurate to blame “all” unhappiness on comparison—I’ll leave that question to the philosophy geeks to wrestle with—the truth contained in that statement can certainly be applied to the spiritual life, particularly when it deals with where we focus our attention.
When we are resolutely focused on God, we won’t lose our way, even though we will encounter the hardships and difficulties that accompany authentic discipleship. It’s when we take our eyes off of God, that we get ourselves into trouble! Just consider the “walking on water” incident in Matthew’s Gospel—recalling that it was not only Jesus who walked on water, but also Peter:
...in the fourth watch of the night [Jesus] came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately he spoke to them, saying, “Take heart, it is I; have no fear. And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “Oman of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Mt 14:25-31)
Peter, a mere human being like you and me, successfully walked on a raging sea when his focus was on Jesus. The moment he looked elsewhere—in this case, when he looked with fear at the waves, instead of with confidence at Jesus—the moment he took his eyes off of Jesus—he began to drown!
This particular question of keeping focused on Jesus allows us to see more deeply into the Parable of the Prodigal Son. But before turning to the parable, let’s recall something that Jesus said to his disciples at the Last Supper, as described in John’s Gospel:
I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; henceforth you know him and have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father... (Jn 14:6-9)
Whoever has seen Jesus has seen the Father, because Jesus reveals the Father—particularly the Father’s love and mercy for us—in his very person. When we look at what Jesus does...and listen to what Jesus says...we see and hear the Father. Because Jesus himself never takes his eyes off of his Father, he perfectly conveys everything from and about the Father to us. Earlier in the same gospel, Jesus had said: Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever he does, that the Son does likewise. (Jn 5:19)
Now, let’s consider why Jesus told the Parable of the Prodigal Son in the first place. Our Gospel for today’s Mass tells us:
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.” (Lk 15:1-2)
Whenever we read these verses, it should make us want to say to the Pharisees, “Of course he welcomes sinners and eats with them” for the very reason St. Paul explained in his First Letter to Timothy:
This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. (1 Tim 1:15)
On another occasion when the Pharisees complained about the company Jesus kept—this time in the Gospel of Matthew—Jesus responded:
Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners. (Mk 2:17)
We need to keep this in mind whenever Satan tries to convince any of us to stay away from Church because we’re sinners, or, more specifically, because we have fallen into grave sin.
Naturally, if we are aware of being in mortal sin, we must not receive Holy Communion, until we have gone to Confession. But we must also remember that the Sunday obligation is not to receive Holy Communion. The Sunday obligation is to attend Mass—the entire Mass from start to finish—whether or not we can receive Holy Communion.
Even when we are in mortal sin, we nevertheless remain members of the family of God—that is, the Catholic Church—just like the Prodigal Son remained his father’s son, even though he had squandered his inheritance. The younger son certainly felt like an outsider when he realized the depth and consequences of his betrayal, but from his father’s perspective, his son was lost...but no less loved.
That’s why my fatherly heart aches when someone tells me that they stayed away from Confession and Mass for a long time because they felt ashamed and unworthy to come to Church. I always tell them...We do not come to Church because we’re good. We come to Church because we’re broken. The idea that sinners should stay away from the Church is as irrational as the idea that sick people should stay away from the hospital. None of us is worthy to be here. But it’s not about our worthiness, anyway. It’s about the Father’s mercy.
It’s our misery, in fact, that attracts the Father’s mercy. And the Father’s mercy likewise attracts sinners who have strayed from God, tried the ways of the world, and come up empty—which, by the way, is the only possible outcome.
That’s why today’s Gospel says that “tax collectors and sinners were drawing near to Jesus”. Think of Jesus as the Father’s “sinner magnet” and you have the right perspective.
Now turning to the parable—the two brothers have much more in common that we might notice at first glance, even though they chose very different paths. Both were blind to the father’s love because both focused on something other than their father’s love.
The younger son compared life at home to the glitz and glamour of the world and found his family life wanting. He thought only of his own selfish desires...and wanted out! He got his wish...and then got far more than he bargained for!
The older son treated his relationship with his father like so many Catholics treat their relationship with Jesus today—as one of obligation and rule-keeping rather than as a relationship of love. You can just hear the entitlement attitude in the older brother’s words:
He said to his father ... “Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.” (Lk 15:29)
The older brother compared his self-defined perfection with the wretched behavior of his younger brother and the resentment fueled by this comparison blinded him to his father’s constant love both for him and for his younger sibling.
Such an entitlement attitude can even infect our relationship with God. This is most obvious, for example, is Catholics who are indifferent about missing Sunday Mass.
I often ask such people who admit missing Mass regularly, if they would be satisfied if their spouse were faithful to them 95% of the time.
Those who have good math and logic skills understand that I’m really asking them if they would be ok with their spouse cheating on them...5% of the time.
Naturally, they say, “No way! I expect 100% fidelity”.
Shifting focus, I then ask them, “If there are, on average, four Sundays per month, how many Sunday Masses per month do you typically miss?”
Let’s say they have a habit of missing two Masses per month. I’ll point out that their level of fidelity to Jesus is 50%! And yet they expect—as they should—100% fidelity from their spouse.
I then ask them, “Why isn’t Jesus worthy 100% fidelity?”
This helps shift the focus from obligation to relationship—from keeping rules to showing gratitude. Jesus asks so little—and he gets even less from so many of us—because we seldom look beyond our own desires and, in the process, overlook the Father’s merciful love as, revealed by Jesus.
Jesus hints at what made him so attractive to tax collectors and sinners at the point in the parable where the younger son hits rock bottom and re-evaluates what he left behind when he rejected his father and went on his pleasure rampage.
Coming to his senses he thought, “How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger.” (Lk 15:17)
That’s how this verse reads in our Lectionary translation. In another translation, that same verse reads as follows:
But when he came to himself he said, “How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger!” (Lk 15:17)
The son— came to himself— he realized who he was and who his father was—and began—though initially driven only by physical hunger—to appreciate what he had left behind. So, he headed home, expecting the worst, only to receive an unexpectedly joyful welcome from his ridiculously merciful father.
Jesus said: ...there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance. (Lk 15:7)
Likewise, there will be more joy in a prodigal son’s or daughter’s heart—after experiencing the Father’s undeserved love and mercy through Jesus Christ—than there will be in the heart of a self-righteous person who believes that the love of God is owed them because they kept the rules and never sinned outrageously.
It is far better to submit our sinful, broken souls to the ridiculous mercy of our Heavenly Father than to fool ourselves into believing that we don’t even need it.
Because, as Jesus pointed out to another Pharisee—this time in the Gospel of Luke—when speaking to him of the woman who washed his feet with her tears and dried them with her hair:
...I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little. (Lk 7:47)
We all have much to be forgiven. But we also all have a Father in Heaven who has much more mercy than we have sin. And the love and gratitude we show him is directly proportional to the amount of his mercy that we allow to penetrate our prodigal hearts.
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