The Forgiving Father

Upon reflection of the readings this Sunday, the idea of mercy keeps presenting itself.  We see the mercy of God when Moses pleads with the Lord to be merciful and not have His “wrath blaze up” against the Israelites who have been behaving badly.  Mercifully the Lord listens to Moses and spares them his wrath.  Of course we are all familiar with this week’s gospel story about the prodigal son who takes his father’s money and squanders it on prostitutes and high living.  He then returns to his father’s house remorseful and broken and is greeted warmly and doted on as having returned!  Not only was the father in this parable merciful but also overjoyed upon his son’s return regardless of what he had done.  Saint Paul also mentions God’s mercy towards him for having appointed him to his ministry despite his past of being a persecutor.  God had mercy towards Paul’s “ignorance”.  Mercy, mercy, mercy!  What a powerful and wonderful gift from God.

As I was on vacation this summer I was perusing my social media.  I happened upon a blog post from Bishop Barron.  I was so struck by his message post that I had to re-read it a couple of times.  I even went so far as to get up from my comfortable recline and seek out other members of my family to show them this little treasure I found about the far reaching mercy of God and his everlasting love for us.  Because the post was so beautifully stated, I dare not paraphrase it, lest it loses something so bear with me as I restate most of it here.  Bishop Barron says “God sent, not simply, a representative, a plenipotentiary, but his own Self, his own heart. And this divine Son, incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth, entered into the darkness and the tempest of human disorder.  He went to the poor, the hungry, the self-righteous, those drunk on power and those with no power-to everyone languishing in the iciness of the far country-and he called them home.”  He further goes on to say, “Now what is death but the furthest outpost of the far country and the coldest place in the Artic landscape of sin? And therefore the assault on death was the ultimate mission of the Son of God.  There could be no place untouched by the divine mercy, no refuge from the press of God’s relentless love.  And so God died that we might never be alone and hopeless even in this most desolate of places.”  How awesome that sentiment is to imagine.  Thank you Bishop for putting into beautiful words God’s mercy and love for us.  The bishop further goes on to point out that through Christ’s suffering on the cross, “God becomes our friend, our brother, our fellow-sufferer, even in that most terrible moment.”  Such a comfort to hear that God is our friend even in our darkest times, when we are despairing, sick, in pain, hurting or grieving, God knows our condition personally in that moment. Bishop Barron finishes his post by saying “Because God has established his power even at the furthest outpost of the far country, there is literally nowhere to hide from Him.  Because the Son has gone to the limits of godforsakeness, we run from the Father only to find ourselves, at the end of our running, in the arms of the Son.  As a parent would go anywhere – into prison, to a foreign land, into the gravest danger – in order to rescue his child, so God the parent of the human race, went into the darkest reaches of body and soul in order to save us.  And therefore this is the meaning of the cross; God is heart-broken love.”  

After reflecting on the readings this week and Bishop Barron’s eloquent post, I’m thinking, two things.  The first is that we are the Israelites, we are the prodigal son, we are St. Paul, we are the lost coin, and the lost sheep.  We are sinners, we are lost, we are “ignorant” and yet there is nowhere to run from God’s mercy and love.  As any good parent would go to the ends of the earth for their child to bring them home, to keep them safe, and to shower them with love, so God is ever ready to do this for us and is doing this for us. God yearns for us to be close to Him.  The other thought is that like a child who has made mistakes, sinned or has done wrong but is seeking forgiveness, guidance, shelter or mercy, God again is always there. As the prodigal son’s father was there for him so God is there for us.  When we are ready to seek God out, receive His love and mercy and let Him in, His joy in that moment is immeasurable.   

Reflection by: Mary Juliano Hayes