In our wild First Reading, the Israelites have just been freed from slavery in Egypt by a series of spectacular miracles. One of the first things they do with their God-given freedom is make a statue of a calf out of the gold they took from the Egyptians and declare it their new god. To our seemingly-sophisticated modern minds, this appears to be a ridiculous story. Who would be dumb enough to adore something constructed with their own hands!? Imagine worshipping a molten calf! What fools! Never mind that we give so much of our time, energy, affection, money and waking hours to things like houses, sports teams, cars, careers, and clothes! Or the all-important “bottom line” in business. Don’t we often idolize the current “stars” in Hollywood or at least the fame and glamour they surround themselves with. All things of our own making. Maybe we aren’t so different than the Israelites in the first reading!
God is angry at the people for their fickle hearts. I think the parents among us will understand God’s feelings—-what’s worse than the anger over their disobedience is the hurt and disappointment that his Chosen People so easily abandon him and swear their allegiance to a lump of gold. This people is hopeless, God says to Moses; I ought to destroy them and make a new people out of you, Moses. Deep down, God wants to be merciful to the Israelites, but before he can show mercy, God must first show Moses the evil of the people.
In response to God’s anger at the Israelites, Moses pleads for mercy. Moses does not try to see what the Israelites are doing as “not so bad”, as somehow acceptable or excusable. If he did, then Moses would be morally ignorant. But as a righteous man he he sees evil for what it is. At the same time, Moses entreats God to be merciful by reminding God of the past history of the Israelites. Don’t you remember Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he asks? They were your servants and so pleasing to you! For the sake of what the Israelite people were in the past, have mercy on them now!
The second reading is about mercy too. Paul explains he once was a persecutor of God’s people. He doesn’t gloss over his own evil past or make excuses any more than Moses did. But Paul says that he obtained mercy from God anyway, because God could see the man that Paul could become. For the sake of the man Paul could be in the future, God had mercy on him.
This theme of mercy in the first two readings is reinforced in the shepherd, the woman, and the prodigal father of the gospel. Our God desires our friendship and wants us to live at our fullest potential, alive with His grace and he will stop at nothing to help us get there. Even when our human sensibilities say enough is enough, that some people are beyond help or not worth the effort, the God of mercy never gives up on us. He wants us be fully alive in mind, body, and soul! Our joy and peace bring happiness to God! This is what Christ describes for us in the parables of today. God isn’t content to have 99 sheep if one is still lost or hurt. God does not rest if he has 9 silver coins but one is missing. And God certainly doesn’t give up on his his children, even after they take their inheritance, run away and cause all sorts of hurt, chaos and pain for him and his household. Even after all of this, God waits for us, he meets us as we return, he rejoices in our coming home to him and his Church.
There are two dangers that we need to be aware of as we reflect on the readings today. The first temptation is to find other people whose lives are a mess, whose problems and sins are much greater than ours and think: I’m not perfect but I’m not as bad as ‘so and so’. We can forget the need we all have for the mercy of God and the forgiveness he offers us, especially through the sacrament of reconciliation. And although it might be true that we don’t need the dramatic conversion of the prodigal son or the obstinate Israelites, every time we sin, we wander away from the love of God. So what are those things, those people, who move us further from the plan that God has for us? Are there things in our lives that threaten to make us lose our way and become lost? What are the works of our hands we are in danger of worshipping?
The second danger is similar to the first. Just as we might be tempted to think we don’t need to be found by God, we can also become indignant at the mercy God shows to others. This self-righteousness is what prevented the pharisees from following Jesus and it happens to the good son in the gospel when his brother returns. Instead of sharing his father’s joy and welcoming his brother back home, he feels resentful and cheated. There is a very real and destructive tendency, even among Christians, to resent the mercy Christ and the Church extend to those who were lost. But nothing could be further from the call each of us has received as sons and daughters of God! As followers of Christ, we are called to be sharers of God’s mercy, working with the Lord to bring people back to his love and grace. We are expected to have that same thirst for souls shown to us by the shepherd, the woman, and the father of today’s gospel, never thinking that a soul is too far gone or beyond hope. We are called to be like Moses, ambassadors of mercy, pleading for God to forgive the offenses of others, especially those dearest to us.
Like Moses, we have to be on guard about cheapening God’s mercy and trying to downplay how serious sin really is. When we look at the conduct of our friends, family, or coworkers, if that person is being sinful, then we need to see clearly those offenses for what they are and not sugar coat them. But what we see when they do evil is not all there is to them. There is what they were in the past, —- the small child their mother and father loved. They weren’t always ensnared by the sin they struggle with now. And then there is what they could become. Maybe like Paul, who once was the chief of sinners, our sinning friend, family member, or co-worker could become the next saint who will transform the Church and the world. Follow the plan in the readings; pray for those who are lost and wandering. Beg God to have mercy on them for the sake of the person they once were and the person they still could be.
Most important of all, ask daily how God is calling you to return to him. In what ways has your soul become lost or injured? Let yourself be found by Him. Accept his mercy and then go out and bring others to that healing forgiveness God longs to share with the whole world.
