LOST AND FOUND!

Readings for Sunday, 

September 15, 2013

 

24^th Sunday in Ordinary time Year C

L-24 Hadd matul is-Sena C

 

Reading 1, Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14

⁷ Yahweh then said to Moses, 'Go down at once, for your people whom you brought here from Egypt have become corrupt. ⁸ They have quickly left the way which I ordered them to follow. They have cast themselves a metal calf, worshipped it and offered sacrifice to it, shouting, "Israel, here is your God who brought you here from Egypt!" ' ⁹ Yahweh then said to Moses, 'I know these people; I know how obstinate they are! ¹⁰ So leave me now, so that my anger can blaze at them and I can put an end to them! I shall make a great nation out of you instead.' ¹¹ Moses tried to pacify Yahweh his God. 'Yahweh,' he said, 'why should your anger blaze at your people, whom you have brought out of Egypt by your great power and mighty hand? ¹³ Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to whom you swore by your very self and made this promise: "I shall make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, and this whole country of which I have spoken, I shall give to your descendants, and it will be their heritage for ever." ¹⁴ Yahweh then relented over the disaster which he had intended to inflict on his people. This is the Word of the Lord.

1 Qari – Esodu  32:7-11, 13-14

 Il-Mulej qal lil Mosè: ̋Mur u inżel, ghaliex thassar il-poplu tieghek, li inti tellajt mill-Egittu. Malajr warrbu mit-triq li jiena wrejthom: ghamlu ghalihom ghogol tal-metall imdewweb, niżlu wicchom fl-art iqimuh, u offrewlu sagrificcju u qalu: 'Dawn huma l-allat tieghek, Iżrael, li tellghuk mill-art ta' l-Egittu.' ̏U l-Mulej issokta jghid lil Mosè: ̋Jiena harist lejn dan il-poplu, u rajt li hu poplu ta' ras iebsa. Hallini wahdi, issa, halli nixghel il-korla tieghi ghalihom u neqridhom. U lilek naghmlek gens kbir.̏ Mosè mbaghad talab bil-hniena quddiem il-Mulej, Alla tieghu, u qal: ̋Ghaliex, Mulej, tixghel bil-korla tieghek ghall-poplu tieghek, li int, b'hila kbira u b'id qawwija, hrigtu mill-art ta' l-Egittu?  Ftakar f'Abraham, f'Iżakk u f'Iżrael, il-qaddejja tieghek, li int hliftilhom bik innifsek u ghedtilhom: 'Nkattar in-nisel taghkom bhall-kwiekeb tas-sema, u din l-art kollha, li jien weghedt, naghtiha lil nisilkom bhala wirt ghal dejjem.' ̏U l-Mulej nidem mill-hsara li qal li kien se jaghmel lill-poplu tieghu. Kelma tal-Mulej.

Responsorial Psalm  -  Psalm 51

³ For I am well aware of my offences, my sin is constantly in mind. 

⁴ Against you, you alone, I have sinned, I have done what you see to be wrong, that you may show your saving justice when you pass sentence, and your victory may appear when you give judgement,

¹² Give me back the joy of your salvation, sustain in me a generous spirit.

¹³ I shall teach the wicked your paths, and sinners will return to you.

¹⁷ Sacrifice to God is a broken spirit, a broken, contrite heart you never scorn. 

¹⁹ Then you will delight in upright sacrifices,-burnt offerings and whole oblations -- and young bulls will be offered on your altar.

Salm Responsorjali – Salm 50

Ikollok ħniena minni, o Alla, fi tjubitek; fil-kobor tal-ħniena tiegħek ħassar ħtijieti.

 Aħsilni kollni mill-ħtija tiegħi; naddafni mid-dnub tiegħi.

Oħloq fija qalb safja, o Alla, u spirtu qawwi ġedded fija.

 La twarrabnix minn quddiemek; tneħħix minni l-ispirtu qaddis tiegħek.

Iftaħli xufftejja, Sidi, u fommi jxandar it-tifħir tiegħek.

Is-sagrifiċċju tiegħi, o Alla, hu l-qalb niedma; qalb maqsuma

u sogħbiena ma twarrabhiex, o Alla.

Reading 2, First Timothy 1:12-17

¹² I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength. By calling me into his service he has judged me trustworthy, ¹³ even though I used to be a blasphemer and a persecutor and contemptuous. Mercy, however, was shown me, because while I lacked faith I acted in ignorance; ¹⁴ but the grace of our Lord filled me with faith and with the love that is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ Here is a saying that you can rely on and nobody should doubt: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I myself am the greatest of them; ¹⁶ and if mercy has been shown to me, it is because Jesus Christ meant to make me the leading example of his inexhaustible patience for all the other people who were later to trust in him for eternal life.  ¹⁷ To the eternal King, the undying, invisible and only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. This is the Word of the Lord.

2 Qari - Timotju 1:12-17

Niżżi ħajr lil Kristu Ġesù Sidna, li tani l-qawwa għal dan ix-xogħol u li deherlu li kienet tistħoqqli l-fiduċja tiegħu u għamilni ministru tiegħu, lili li qabel kont dagħaj, persekutur u żeblieħi tiegħu. Iżda sibt il-ħniena, għax dak li għamilt għamiltu bla ma kont naf, billi kont għadni bla fidi.[ Anzi lili l-grazzja ta' Sidna kienet mogħtija bil-kotra, flimkien mal-fidi u ma' l-imħabba, li hi fi Kristu Ġesù.[ Din hija kelma ta' min jemminha u jilqagħha għalkollox: li Kristu Ġesù ġie fid-dinja biex isalva l-midinbin; u fosthom, lili l-ewwel wieħed. Iżda jien minħabba f'hekk sibt il-ħniena, biex bija, bħala l-ewwel wieħed, Kristu Ġesù juri s-sabar kollu tiegħu, b'eżempju għal dawk li kienu għad iridu jemmnu fih biex ikollhom il-ħajja ta' dejjem. Lis-Sultan ta' dejjem, li ma jmutx u li ma jidhirx,  lil Alla waħdu, ġieħ u glorja għal dejjem ta' dejjem! Amen. Kelma tal-Mulej.

Gospel, Luke 15:1-32

¹ The tax collectors and sinners, however, were all crowding round to listen to him, ² and the Pharisees and scribes complained saying, 'This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.'  ³ So he told them this parable: ⁴ 'Which one of you with a hundred sheep, if he lost one, would fail to leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the missing one till he found it? ⁵ And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders ⁶ and then, when he got home, call together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, I have found my sheep that was lost." ⁷ In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner repenting than over ninety-nine upright people who have no need of repentance. ⁸ 'Or again, what woman with ten drachmas would not, if she lost one, light a lamp and sweep out the house and search thoroughly till she found it?  ⁹ And then, when she had found it, call together her friends and neighbours, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, I have found the drachma I lost." ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.' ¹¹ Then he said, 'There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, "Father, let me have the share of the estate that will come to me." So the father divided the property between them. ¹³ A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.  ¹⁴ 'When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch; ¹⁵ so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. ¹⁶ And he would willingly have filled himself with the husks the pigs were eating but no one would let him have them. ¹⁷ Then he came to his senses and said, "How many of my father's hired men have all the food they want and more, and here am I dying of hunger!  ¹⁸ I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; ¹⁹ I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired men." ²⁰ So he left the place and went back to his father. 'While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him. ²¹ Then his son said, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son." ²² But the father said to his servants, "Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it;  we will celebrate by having a feast, ²⁴ because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found." And they began to celebrate. ²⁵ 'Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing.²⁶ Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. ²⁷ The servant told him, "Your brother has come, and your father has killed the calf we had been fattening because he has got him back safe and sound." ²⁸ He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out and began to urge him to come in; ²⁹ but he retorted to his father, "All these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed any orders of yours, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property -- he and his loose women -- you kill the calf we had been fattening." ³¹ 'The father said, "My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. ³² But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found." ' This is the Word of the Lord.

Vangelu  -   Luqa 15:1-32

Il-pubblikani u l-midinbin kienu jersqu bi ħġarhom biex jisimgħuh.  U kemm il-Fariżej u kemm il-kittieba kienu jgemgmu u jgħidu: "Nies midinba jilqa' għandu dan u jiekol magħhom!" U Ġesù qabad u qalilhom din il-parabbola: "Min hu dak fostkom li jkollu mitt nagħġa u jitlef waħda minnhom, u ma jħallix id-disgħa u disgħin l-oħra fid-deżert biex imur wara l-mitlufa sa ma jsibha? U meta jsibha, jifraħ biha u jerfagħha fuq spallejh, imur id-dar, isejjaħ għandu lil ħbiebu u l-ġirien, u jgħidilhom, 'Ifirħu miegħi, għax sibt in-nagħġa li kienet intilfitli.' Ngħidilkom li l-istess jiġri fis-smewwiet: ikun hemm aktar ferħ għal midneb wieħed li jindem milli għal disgħa u disgħin bniedem tajjeb li ma kellux bżonn ta' ndiema. "Jew min hi dik il-mara li jkollha għaxar drakmiet u titlef waħda minnhom, li mhijiex sejra tixgħel il-musbieħ u tiknes id-dar, u tibqa' tfittex bil-għaqal sa ma ssibha! U meta ssibha, issejjaħ għandha lil ħbiebha u l-ġirien, u tgħidilhom, 'Ifirħu miegħi, għax sibt id-drakma li kienet intilfitli.' Ngħidilkom jien li l-istess ferħ ikun hemm fost l-anġli ta' Alla għal midneb wieħed li jindem." Qalilhom ukoll: "Kien hemm raġel li kellu żewġ ulied. Iż-żgħir qal lil missieru, 'Missier, agħtini s-sehem li jmiss lili mill-ġid.' U dak qassmilhom il-ġid.  Ma kinux għaddew wisq ġranet, meta ż-żgħir sarr kollox u telaq minn beltu lejn pajjiż imbiegħed, u hemmhekk berbaq ġidu kollu f'ħajja mtajjra. Meta ħela kull ma kellu, fuq dak il-pajjiż waqa' ġuħ kbir, u beda jħoss ruħu fil-bżonn.  U mar daħal ma' wieħed minn dak il-pajjiż, li bagħtu fir-raba' tiegħu jirgħa l-ħnieżer.  Kien jixtieq kieku jimla żaqqu mqar bil-ħarrub li kienu jieklu l-ħnieżer, imma ħadd ma kien jagħtih.  Mbagħad daħal fih innifsu u qal, 'Kemm lavranti ma' missieri għandhom ħobż bix-xaba', u jien qiegħed hawn immut bil-ġuħ!  Ħa nqum u mmur għand missieri, u ngħidlu, 'Missier, dnibt kontra s-sema u kontra tiegħek;   ma jistħoqqlix iżjed nissejjaħ ibnek; żommni b'wieħed mil-lavranti tiegħek.'  Qam, u telaq għal għand missieru. Iżda kif kien għadu fil-bogħod missieru lemħu u tħassru, u b'ġirja waħda mar inxteħet fuq għonqu u biesu.  'Missier,' qallu ibnu, 'dnibt kontra s-sema u kontra tiegħek; ma jistħoqqlix iżjed nissejjaħ ibnek.'  Iżda l-missier qal lill-qaddejja tiegħu, 'Isaw! Ġibulu l-isbaħ libsa u xidduhielu, libbsulu ċ-ċurkett f'sebgħu u s-sandli f'riġlejh!  Ġibu l-għoġol l-imsemmen u oqtluh, ħa nieklu u nagħmlu festa, għax dan ibni kien mejjet u raġa' qam, kien mitluf u nstab!' U għamlu festa.  "Mela ibnu l-kbir kien fl-għalqa. Huwa u rieġa' lura, kif wasal qrib id-dar sama' daqq u żfin.  Sejjaħ wieħed mill-qaddejja u staqsieh dak x'kien.  'Hawn ħuk,' qallu dak, 'u missierek qatillu l-għoġol l-imsemmen, għax raġa' kisbu qawwi u sħiħ.'  Hu inkorla, u ma riedx jidħol ġewwa, iżda missieru ħareġ jitolbu jidħol. 'Ara,' qal lil missieru, 'ili dawn is-snin kollha naqdik, kelmtek ma ksirthielek qatt, u kieku qatt tajtni gidi lili biex nagħmel ikla u nifraħ ma' ħbiebi! Mbagħad jiġi dan ibnek, li belagħlek ġidek man-nisa żienja, u lilu toqtollu l-għoġol l-imsemmen!'  'Ibni,' qallu missieru, 'inti dejjem miegħi, u kull ma hu tiegħi huwa tiegħek. imma kien meħtieġ li nagħmlu festa u nifirħu, għax dan ħuk kien mejjet u raġa' qam, kien mitluf u nstab.'" Kelma tal-Mulej.

COMMENTARY

A Love That Makes a Home for Both Sons

A Biblical Reflection for the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C by Fr Thomas Rosica csb

Chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel is often referred to as the “Lost and Found” collection of the New Testament. The chapter begins with the parable of the lost sheep [vv 1-7], followed by the parable of the lost coin [vv 8-10], reaching its crescendo in the masterpiece of the parable of the prodigal son [vv 11-32], at the heart of today’s Gospel.

The word “prodigal” has two meanings: as an adjective it describes someone who is excessive, extravagant, immoderate and wasteful — the opposite of “frugal.” As a noun it is a synonym for the profligate, the spendthrift, the squanderer, the wastrel. It is easy to understand why this familiar and beloved story has been called “The Parable of the Prodigal Son.” The boy certainly squandered his father’s money and was wasteful of his inheritance. But the story is about much more than a wayward boy.

We have played each of the roles  -        At different times in our lives, most of us have played each of the roles in this story: that of the doting, loving, apparently overindulgent parent; that of the younger son whose sinfulness and pride have brought them low, and desperately in need of mercy; the older son, who is responsible and above reproach, and who is upset at the generosity and leniency with which the weaknesses and sins of others are understood.

We are told that younger boy “squandered his property.” The son has obviously gone to a pagan (Gentile) nation, since no self-respecting Jewish farmer would raise pigs — non-kosher animals. The son apparently traveled a long way, imagining that he would find in some other country the happiness and excitement he had apparently not found in his own land — and the result was just the opposite: he is reduced to slavery to foreigners, forced to tend to unclean animals, and ill-fed, so that he is slowly starving to death.

True repentance? -      Although we often point to the Prodigal Son as the example of appropriate Christian repentance, the fact is that his motivations for returning home are less than noble. He is desperately hungry, and finally realizes the extreme degradation in which he is living — a degradation that places him even below the household servants in the home of his father.

The young man is in misery not because of a sense of sin that might lead to repentance, but from his destitution. He came to realize how foolish he had been and so “came to his senses.” That is a prelude to repentance, even if not repentance itself. The fact that he prepares and rehearses his speech in advance suggests a certain lack of sincerity; he continues to be only interested in himself and his own needs.

The father’s disproportionate response    -       In the story, the father has evidently never given up hope on his son, and has continued to scan the horizon for signs that he might return, and that they might once again be a family. The father’s reaction to his son’s return is an overflowing of love, compassion and tenderness: he “falls on his son’s neck,” hugging and kissing him, and demands that the symbols of his freedom and of his status within the family — the best robe, sandals, the ring — be restored to him, as if nothing had happened!

The father’s response is on the level of human logic, entirely out of proportion to what the son deserves. The younger son has forfeited his right to expect anything from his father, and the father would have been well within his rights to turn the son away, on the basis of his deeply insulting actions, and the shame he had caused his family.

To see as God sees   -      The generous father of both sons welcomes back the youth who squandered his inheritance but does not repudiate the older son who protests the father’s prodigality yet remains faithful to the father. “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours” [v 31]. The restoration of the son who “was dead and has come to life,” who “was lost and has been found” [v 32], does not invalidate the fidelity of the older son.

In this parable, Jesus overturns our expectations and categories and challenges us to see our relationships from a radically new and different perspective –“to see as God sees”. We must abandon the image — all too common among people of religious faith — of God as the heavenly accountant, poised to pounce on the slightest mistake. We must never forget the words of St. John Chrysostom: “All that God looks for from us is the slightest opening and he forgives a multitude of sins.”

The older brother’s reaction   -   The reaction of the elder son is one of righteous indignation: he has been the obedient, responsible one, staying at home to manage the farm and take care of their father after his younger brother’s precipitous departure in search of adventure. And yet the elder brother’s words quickly make it clear that, although he has done so, it has apparently not been out of any sense of love or generosity; instead, he feels that he has been imposed upon, has “slaved away” for years for his father without appropriate gestures of gratitude. The bitterness, coldness and spite with which the elder son addresses his father reveals a level of rudeness that is every bit as insulting as the earlier actions of his younger brother. He focuses, not on what he has been given, but on what he feels he has been deprived of. He suffers from the terrible disease of entitlement that has reached pandemic proportions in our day!

The elder brother is concrete in condemning his younger brother’s behavior; telling his father how the younger brother has “devoured your money with prostitutes”. How does the elder brother know this? Perhaps he simply imagines the worst about his brother, and describes him in the harshest possible terms. How easy it is, when we are angry with someone, to imagine the worst about them, to speculate about their faults and failings and magnify them to incredible proportions!

Lingering questions…  -              Does the elder son finally make peace with his brother and welcome him back? Does he find it in his heart to forgive, and to share in the father’s rejoicing? Or does he find himself even more alienated than his younger brother had been? We are left with no answers, hoping for a conclusion that Jesus never provides. And yet perhaps that is the key: that each person must write the conclusion for him/herself, must decide whether they will respond with the type of love, mercy and compassion that Jesus’ story evidently demands.

We know what Jesus asks of us; the challenge, of course, is whether we are willing to accept that challenge and put it into practice in our own lives and relationships. We probably side with the younger brother only because we know the outcome of the parable ahead of time. In our heart of hearts, we grumble at love that makes a home for both sons.

Pope John Paul II, in his 1984 Apostolic Exhortation Reconciliatio et Pænitentia, wrote about this magnificent story:  The parable of the prodigal son is above all the story of the inexpressible love of a Father — God — who offers to his son when he comes back to him the gift of full reconciliation. … It therefore reminds us of the need for a profound transformation of hearts through the rediscovery of the Father’s mercy and through victory over misunderstanding and over hostility among brothers and sisters.

The Parable of “The Prodigal Son” or “The Prodigal Father” or the “Indignant Elder Brother” can cause much grief for us, as we see ourselves and our motives exposed for what they really are. Let us not forget the parting words of Pope John Paul II at the closing Mass of World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto: “We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his Son.”

Cardinal Newman and Christian Repentance  -     Cardinal John Henry Newman’s reflections on today’s Gospel parable of the Prodigal Son are still relevant for us:   Repentance is a work carried on at diverse times, and but gradually and with many reverses perfected. Or rather, and without any change in the meaning of the word repentance, it is a work never complete, never entire—unfinished both in its inherent imperfection, and on account of the fresh and fresh occasions that arise for exercising it. We are ever sinning; we must ever be renewing our sorrow and our purpose of obedience, repeating our confessions and our prayers for pardon. No need to look back to the first beginnings of our repentance, should we be able to trace these, as something solitary and peculiar in our religious course; we are ever but beginning; the most perfect Christian is to himself but a beginner, a penitent prodigal, who has squandered God’s gifts, and comes to Him to be tried over again, not as a son, but as a hired servant.

In this parable, then, we need not understand the description of the returning prodigal to imply that there is a state of disobedience and subsequent state of conversion definitely marked in the life of Christians generally. It describes the state of all Christians at all times, and is fulfilled more or less, according to circumstances, in this case or that; fulfilled in one way and measure at the beginning of our Christian course, and in another at the end.

Fr. Thomas Rosica CSB,
CEO, Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation