RBWords

     Strangely enough, we owe a debt of gratitude to the scribes and Pharisees!  If they hadn't complained about Jesus' outreach to tax collectors and sinners, we would never have had the wonderful series of images in today's gospel that illustrate the abundant mercy of God for those who are lost.  The three parables - lost sheep, lost coin, and lost brothers - culminate in the magnificent story of the "Prodigal Son."  The power of the parables is not so much in the "lost' but in the "found." 

 

     At the end of each parable there is joy!  "Joy in heaven!" "Rejoicing among the angels of God!" "We must celebrate and rejoice!"  All of this comes about because something or someone lost has been found!  God comes looking for us like that shepherd for the lost sheep, like the housewife for the lost money, and like the father who runs out to meet BOTH sons!  When God finds us (or perhaps when WE find God), there is great joy in heaven (and in the human village as well)!

 

     The scribes and Pharisees stand sourly outside the banquet of God's mercy like the older son in the last parable!  Their hard shell of righteousness stands as a barrier to merciful love!  The older son in the parable ironically considers himself to have been "found" all his life only to discover that he has become "lost" by his attitude toward his father's mercy!  We are not told whether or not he "repents" and joins the celebration.  Perhaps that is deliberate - he may represent us all and shows that we, too, have a decision to make!  Are we resentful at the possibility that God may "welcome" folks whom WE consider unworthy?  Have we lost the possibility of "rejoicing" over the repentance of a lost soul, and turn God's mercy into some grim courtroom?  Have we become "lost" because of our righteous sense of being "found" - unlike those sinners and tax collectors?  Doesn't it make more sense to sit down at the table of God's mercy than to starve in prim righteousness?  AMEN