March 14: Study and Meditation on the Scripture Readings for This Sunday's Mass

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To help you prepare for this coming Sunday, here are the readings and reflections for this coming Sunday’s Scripture readings. This Sunday is the 4th Sunday of Lent, and in the Gospel Reading we hear the familiar story of The Prodigal Son.

Here are the Scripture readings from the U.S. Catholic bishops website.

My own weekly study (along with Don Schwager’s meditation) can be found here under "Current Study.

"Reflections on the Sunday Scriptures to share with the younger ones in your family by Emily and Jeff Cavins can be found at Family Night .

Here also are links to audio reflections on the Gospel reading by Dr. Scott Hahn and Fr. Robert Barron.

The Navarre Bible Commentary for each reading can be viewed here.

Further study resources for the Readings: *St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study *can be found here, and Catholic Matters can be found here.

Here are trio of recorded weekly Bible studies, each about an hour long:
– St. Martha Catholic Church Adult Faith Formation
– Franciscan Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother
– Sunday Gospel Scripture Study

Discussion and charitable comments are always welcome. Have a blessed and holy Lent!

http://www.painting-palace.com/files/143/14256_The_Return_of_the_Prodigal_Son_f.jpg

 

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The St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study provides the following introduction to the First Reading:

The common theme for all three readings of this Mass is “reconciliation.”

The Book of Joshua is the first of the historical books, immediately following the Torah in the Bible. today we will add another chapter to the story of the Israelites. Moses has died; joshua is the new leader. The people have crossed the Jordan River on dry ground (Joshua 3:15-17), reminiscent of their escape from Egypt through the Reed [or Red] Sea. At God’s command, Joshua has appointed twelve men, one from each tribe of Israel to each take up a stone from the middle of the (dry for crossing) Jordan. These stones have been set up as a memorial of their crossing on dry ground.

"In the future, when the children among you ask their fathers what these stones mean, you shall inform them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan here on dry ground.’ For the LORD, your God, dried up the waters of the Jordan in front of you until you crossed over, just as the LORD, your God, had done at the Red Sea, which he dried up in front of us until we crossed over; in order that all the peoples of the earth may learn that the hand of the LORD is mighty, and that you may fear the LORD, your God, forever." (Joshua 4:21-24)

Circumcisions were then performed as none had been done on those who had been born during the 40 year sojourn in the desert (Joshua 5:4-5). This now brings us to today’s reading and the celebration of the Passover in the Promised Land.

The Navarre Bible Commentary notes the following:

5:1-9. Semitic peoples practiced circumcision as an initiation rite for entry into manhood. Israelites observed it on the eighth day after birth, and it has an eminently religious meaning: it shows that the person is a member of the people of God (cf. the notes on Gen 17:1-14 and Lev 12:1-4). It was specifically laid down that a person had to be circumcised to be able to celebrate Passover (Ex 12:43-49).

The reason given here for the circumcision of the people at Gilgal (that is, the fact that the circumcision of males born during the desert years had been postponed) makes sense. However, the fact that the circumcising takes place at this particular point is highly significant; it is a way of showing that this people which has come to the gates of the promised land has attained its maturity after its long pilgrimage in the desert. Israel truly is, after the Covenant of Sinai, a people who belong to God.

 

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With that introduction, here is the First Reading for this coming Sunday, as we will hear it at Mass:

Reading I
Joshua 5:9a, 10-12

The LORD said to Joshua,
“Today I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you.”

While the Israelites were encamped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they celebrated the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth of the month. On the day after the Passover, they ate of the produce of the land in the form of unleavened cakes and parched grain. On that same day after the Passover, on which they ate of the produce of the land, the manna ceased. No longer was there manna for the Israelites, who that year ate of the yield of the land of Canaan.

 

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Using this week’s Catholic Matters as a template, here are some thoughts on the First Reading with my comments (if any) in green, and the Navarre Bible Commentary notes in blue:

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[9] **Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you.”: **God tells Joshua that the slavery of Egypt and the reproach of being serfs under a pagan dominance is removed at last. The Israelites are now freemen living in their own country.

The Hebrew translated as “removed” is literally “rolled” (galloti). In addition to the explanation above (it’s actual meaning is unknown), another possible meaning for the reproach in question is the state of un-circumcision. Also, the reproach before the Egyptians that God had freed them, only to have them wander in the desert for 40 years.

[10] While the Israelites were encamped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they celebrated the Passover: The Israelites’ first act of public worship and thanksgiving to God for their delivery on entering their new homeland was to celebrate for seven days the festival of Passover. This feast commemorated the last of the ten plagues of Egypt and the one which finally compelled the Egyptians to let them go free. God had then commanded Moses that this great occasion should be remembered annually forever in the new home he was to give them (see Ex. 12: 1-21). The people remembered this command and carried it out faithfully.

They had not celebrated the Passover since that first one, 40 years before.

Gilgal-- Two meanings have been suggested for Gilgal: 1) “to roll” because of it’s similarity to the Hebrew verb (gll); and 2) “circle” (of stones) for the 12 stones that were placed in a circle as a memorial. In any case, the exact location is uncertain but it is close to Jericho, it was a holy palce in the days of Samuel, and the place here Saul was installted as king (1 Samuael 11:14-15). St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study (SCBBS)]

on the evening of the fourteenth of the month: The first Passover in Egypt took place on the fourteenth day of Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. As they counted their year in lunar months, the fourteenth day was the full-moon after the Spring Equinox. Thus the date varied from year to year and it is for this reason that our Easter is also moveable.

[11] On the day after the Passover they ate of the produce of the land in the form of unleavened cakes and parched grain: Bread without leaven or yeast was unpalatable—a reminder therefore of their life of hardship and slavery in Egypt. Also, in the urgency to leave Egypt, there was no time to let yeast ferment—the women took the plain dough to bake on the journey (Ex. 12: 34). And so the annual Passover feast was celebrated by eating unleavened bread and roasted grain.

In the Feast of Unleavened Bread, only unleavened bread was to be eaten for a week beginning with the day of Passover (Exodus 12:14-20)

[12] **after the Passover on which they ate of the produce of the land, the manna ceased. No longer was there manna for the Israelites, who that year ate of the yield of the land of Canaan: **The 40th year since the Passover. God had miraculously provided the manna for the nourishment of the Israelites all through their forty years in the desert, but now they had their own land and could produce sufficient food for themselves.

**5:10-12. ** Once the men have been circumcised and can celebrate the Passover, that feast is held in the promised land for the first time. The Israelites are able to use grain from that region to make the unleavened bread; and now that they have access to the agricultural products of the land, they are no longer provided with manna – the food that God gave daily to them in the desert.

God was perfectly ready to provide them with miraculous food when they needed special protection in the desert, where food of any kind was in short supply. But once they can fend for themselves, by working the land, God ceases to give them any special help.

 

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There are no references to the First Reading in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

 

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Here are some questions for personal reflection on this reading:

1. What does the “reproach of Egypt” imply? What removed it from Israel?
2. What is significant about “celebrating the Passover” (verse 10; see Exodus 12:42)? No manna? Eating the produce (verse 12; see Exodus 16:35)? How did this force Israel to grow up?
3. How has disobeying God’s law kept you from enjoying the bounty of his promises?
4. God rolled away the reproach of Israel’s skeptical neighbors with a “seeing-is-believing” miracle. How has God dealt with your own skepticism or that of others watching you?
5. How has God “stopped the manna” in your life? What has he substituted for it? How has that weaning process helped you be more responsible?

(Questions adapted from The Catholic Serendipity Bible for Personal and Small Group Study, New American Bible; Zondervan, 1999)

 

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Finally, a short meditation on the First Reading from Catholic Matters:

**APPLICATION: **The Pharaoh of Egypt refused to listen to the pleas of Moses to let the Israelites go. The first nine plagues left him still stubborn. God therefore sent the final plague. The first-born male of man and beast was to be struck dead on the fourteenth night of the first month. On that night the Israelites were to sacrifice an unspotted lamb, smearing their door posts with its blood, so that the avenging angel would pass over their homes and strike death in the homes of the Egyptians. The whole lamb was to be eaten, without breaking any of its bones. It was to be eaten by the family, or by two or more families if the members of one family were not numerous enough to eat it all. They were to eat the lamb with bitter herbs and unleavened bread (a reminder of their slavery) whilst standing, ready to get on their way.

This final plague of death frightened the Pharaoh and the Jews were given their liberty. Our interest as Christians in this is more than historical. It happened for us. The Israelites were set free so that from them would come the One who was to set all mankind free. The Paschal Lamb and the liberation from Egypt were a foreshadowing of our liberation from sin and our change from slavery to this world into the freedom of the sons of God.

Because Christ was our Pascal Lamb—“Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed,” St. Paul says (1 Cor. 5: 7)—he chose to die for us in the Jewish feast of Passover, and to be raised again on the third day to prove our true liberation. Thus the religion of the Israelites and all their festivals were brought to fruition, and fulfilled for all mankind in our Christian Passover, in Christ’s death and resurrection.

This is why we are reminded today, the fourth Sunday of Lent, of the paschal feast we shall celebrate with joy and gratitude at the end of this holy season of preparation. God’s love for us and his interest in our true welfare dates back to eternity. Before he created all things his plan was to give man, his highest earthly creature, a share in his own divinity. With the call of Abraham, his interest in us was his motive. The liberation from Egypt was a prelude to his plan of redemption for us. The first Good Friday and Easter morning were the culmination of this divine love for mankind. It went to such lengths—the sacrifice of Christ the Son of God—so that we could share in the eternal happiness of heaven.

Cold is the human heart that fails to react to such proofs of true, unselfish love. Weak indeed is the faith of the Christian who can look on the scene enacted on Calvary while throwing his own mean little cross on the ground. Foolish beyond belief is the man who would let the passing things of this world so engage him that he has no time to earn the everlasting life that God’s infinite love has planned for him from all eternity.

 

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This Sunday’s Second Reading is from St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians. To get some background on the book as a whole, go here.

In the First Reading, we heard about how the Israelites, once they had reached the Promised Land, reconciled themselves with God by circumcising and celebrating the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. In this Sunday’s epistle reading St. Paul spells out the process whereby God’s saving love touches human lives.

Here is this the Second Reading as we will hear it this Sunday:

Reading II
2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Brothers and sisters:
Whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.

And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

 

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Sometimes when reading the epistles of St. Paul, it is helpful to look at other translations of the same passage. This is because St. Paul’s thought is so theologically deep and he packs so much into every line, it may get muddled.

Revised Standard Version
17.Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.
18.All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
19.that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
20.So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
21.For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

New Jerusalem Bible
17 So for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation: the old order is gone and a new being is there to see.
18 It is all God’s work; he reconciled us to himself through Christ and he gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
19 I mean, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not holding anyone’s faults against them, but entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
20 So we are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were urging you through us, and in the name of Christ we appeal to you to be reconciled to God.
21 For our sake he made the sinless one a victim for sin, so that in him we might become the uprightness of God.

Good News
17.Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come.
18.All this is done by God, who through Christ changed us from enemies into his friends and gave us the task of making others his friends also.
19.Our message is that God was making all human beings his friends through Christ. God did not keep an account of their sins, and he has given us the message which tells how he makes them his friends.
20.Here we are, then, speaking for Christ, as though God himself were making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf: let God change you from enemies into his friends!
21.Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him share our sin in order that in union with him we might share the righteousness of God.

 

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Again using this week’s *Catholic Matters *as a template, here are some thoughts on the First Reading with my comments (if any) in green, and the Navarre Bible Commentary notes in blue:

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In these verses, part of St. Paul’s second letter to his Corinthian converts (written about A.D. 57), the Apostle is stressing the change in our human nature which the death and resurrection of Christ has wrought. The death and resurrection of Jesus are for Paul the dividing line in the history of the human race. A radical change has been brought about in those who accept Christ’s redemptive activity.

In v. 17 [St. Paul] elaborates on this contrast between before and after his conversion, as happens to Christians through Baptism. For through the grace of Baptism a person becomes a member of Christ’s body, he lives by and is “in Christ” (cf., e.g., Gal 6:15; Eph 2:10, 15f; Cor 3:9f); the Redemption brings about a new creation. Commenting on this passage St Thomas Aquinas reminds us that creation is the step from non-being to being, and that in the supernatural order, after original sin, “a new creation was necessary, whereby (creatures) would be made with the life of grace; this truly is a creation from nothing, because those without grace are nothing (cf. 1 Cor 13:2) …]. St Augustine says, ‘for sin is nothingness, and men become nothingness when they sin’” (“Commentary on 2 Cor, ad loc.”).

[17] **So whoever is in Christ: ** He who accepts Christ as the Son of God and redeemer, and is baptized, becomes one with Christ. He is in Christ.

This applies to anyone who belongs to the believing community, which is Christ (1 Corinthians 6:15; 8:12; 12:12). we are transfered from the bondage of sin to the blessings of salvation and sonship.

is a new creation: A Christian has a new relationship with God his Creator. He has a new manner of being.

the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come: The old relationship of either Jew (the Old Testament) or Gentile (paganism, ignorance of the true God) with God, has ended with the coming of Christ on earth. The new relationship with God has begun.

The New Covenant thus begins a new order in history where creation is steadily renewed beginning with our souls and extending ino every corner of the cosmos (Romans 8:19-25; Revelation 21:1-5) [Ignatius Study Bible (ISB)]

“The new has come”: St John Chrysostom points out the radical change which the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ has brought about, and the consequent difference between Judaism and Christianity: “Instead of the earthly Jerusalem, we have received that Jerusalem which is above; and instead of a material temple we have seen a spiritual temple; instead of tablets of stone, holding the divine Law, our own bodies have become the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit; instead of circumcision, Baptism; instead of manna, the Lord’s body; instead of water from a rock, blood from his side; instead of Moses’ or Aaron’s rod, the cross of the Savior; instead of the promised land, the kingdom of heaven” (“Hom on 2 Cor”, 11).

[18] And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ: God, through Christ [see Romans 5:10-12], is the sole author of this new economy.

has given us the ministry of reconciliation: Paul is one of the human instruments whom God is using to make men Christians—new creatures.

**18-21. **The reconciliation of mankind with God–whose friendship we lost through original sin–has been brought about by Christ’s death on the cross. Jesus, who is like men in all things “yet without sinning” (Heb 4:14), bore the sins of men (cf. Is 53:4-12) and offered himself on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for all those sins (cf. 1 Pet 2:22-25), thereby reconciling men to God; through this sacrifice we became the righteousness of God, that is, we are justified, made just in God’s sight (cf. Rom 1:17; 3:24-26 and notes). The Church reminds us of this in the rite of sacramental absolution: “God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his son has reconciled the world to himself …].”

Our Lord entrusted the Apostles with this ministry of reconciliation (v. 18), this “message of reconciliation” (v. 19), to pass it on to all men: elsewhere in the New Testament it is described as the “message of salvation” (Acts 13:26), the “word of grace” (Acts 14:3; 20:32), the “word of life” ( 1 Jn 1: 1). Thus, the Apostles were our Lord’s ambassadors to men, to whom St Paul addresses a pressing call: “be reconciled to God”, that is, apply to yourselves the reconciliation obtained by Jesus Christ–which is done mainly through the sacraments of Baptism and Penance. “The Lord Jesus instituted in his Church the sacrament of Penance, so that those who have committed sins after Baptism might be reconciled with God, whom they have offended, and with the Church itself whom they have injured” (John Paul II, "Aperite Portas, 5).

Continued on next post.

 

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Continued from previous post.

[19] God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ: It is not only the divinity of Christ that is stressed here but the activity of the Godhead [with Christ as agent] in the salvation of mankind, in “the reconciling of the world to himself” .

not counting their trespasses against them: As he had done at the sin of Adam and of the golden calf. Through the perfect obedience of Jesus, the disobedience, the sins, of men have been wiped out.

and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation: Objective redemption and remission of sin were brought about by the death and resurrection of Christ, but each one has to apply this redemption to himself. For this reason Christ established his Church, of which Paul was one of the chief pillars. The work of applying the redemption of Christ will go on to the end of time—the work of reconciliation with God through the remission of sin.

The Apostles (and their successors the bishops) deliver this message of reconciliation by preaching the gospel, baptizing, and forging sins in Christ’s name (John 20:19:23)

[20] So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us: Paul and the other Apostles are God’s delegate, they represent God and have their power from him. “He who hears you hears me.”

The fact that it is an “appeal” shows God’s respect for our free will.

We implore you: Each one must do his part. God through Christ has already done his part to bring about man’s union with God.

on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God: Christ came on earth, lived, died and rose from the dead so that all men would live an eternal life. It is for Christ therefore that Paul is exhorting the Corinthians to live the Christian life.

[21] For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin: God made the sinless Christ become the victim of sin in his passion and cruel death—a “sin-offering” for us. Because Christ, by becoming one of us, gave perfect obedience to the Father, we whom he made his brothers, have been forgiven our sins so that:

**so that we might become the righteousness of God in him: **We can become just, we can become saints, if we use the means that Christ has given us, and live as true sincere Christians.

21. “He made him to be sin”: obviously St Paul does not mean that Christ was guilty of sin; he does not say “to be a sinner” but “to be sin”. “Christ had no sin,” St Augustine says; “he bore sins, but he did not commit them” (“Enarrationes in Psalmos”, 68, 1, 10).

According to the rite of atoning sacrifices (cf. Lev 4:24; 5:9; Num 19:9; Mic 6:7; Ps 40:7) the word “sin”, corresponding to the Hebrew “asam”, refers to the actual act of sacrifice or to the victim being offered. Therefore, this phrase means “he made him a victim for sin” or “a sacrifice for sin”. it should be remembered that in the Old Testament nothing unclean or blemished could be offered to God; the offering of an unblemished animal obtained God’s pardon for the transgression which one wanted to expiate. Since Jesus was the most perfect of victims offered for us, he made full atonement for all sins. In the Letter to the Hebrews, when comparing Christ’s sacrifice with that of the priests of the Old Testament, it is expressly stated that “every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, then to wait until his enemies should be made a stool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified” (Heb 10:11-14).

This concentrated sentence also echoes the Isaiah prophecy about the sacrifice of the Servant of Yahweh; Christ, the head of the human race, makes men sharers in the grace and glory he achieved through his sufferings: “upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed” (Is 53:5).

Jesus Christ, burdened with our sins and offering himself on the cross as a sacrifice for them, brought about the Redemption: the Redemption is the supreme example both of God’s justice–which requires atonement befitting the offense–and of his mercy, that mercy which makes him love the world so much that “he gave his only Son” (Jn 3:16). “In the Passion and Death of Christ–in the fact that the Father did not spare his own Son, but ‘for our sake made him sin’–absolute justice is expressed, for Christ undergoes the Passion and Cross because of the sins of humanity. This constitutes even a ‘superabundance’ of justice, for the sins of man are ‘compensated for’ by the sacrifice of the Man-God. Nevertheless, this justice, which is properly justice ‘to God’s measure’, springs completely from love, from the love of the Father and of the Son, and completely bears fruit in love. Precisely for this reason the divine justice revealed in the Cross of Christ is ‘to God’s measure’, because it springs from love and is accomplished in love, producing fruits of salvation. The divine dimension of redemption is put into effect not only by bringing justice to bear upon sin, but also by restoring to love that creative power in man thanks to which he once more has access to the fullness of life and holiness that come from God. In this way, redemption involves the revelation of mercy in its fullness” (John Paul II, “Dives In Misercordia”, 7).

 

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The Catchism of the Catholic Church references for the Second reading include:

1999 The grace of Christ is the gratuitous gift that God makes to us of his own life, infused by the Holy Spirit into our soul to heal it of sin and to sanctify it. It is the sanctifying or deifying grace received in Baptism. It is in us the source of the work of sanctification:

*Therefore if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself. *

1214 This sacrament is called Baptism, after the central rite by which it is carried out: to baptize (Greek baptizein) means to “plunge” or “immerse”; the “plunge” into the water symbolizes the catechumen’s burial into Christ’s death, from which he rises up by resurrection with him, as “a new creature.”

**1265 **Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte “a new creature,” an adopted son of God, who has become a “partaker of the divine nature,” member of Christ and co-heir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit.

2844 Christian prayer extends to the forgiveness of enemies, transfiguring the disciple by configuring him to his Master. Forgiveness is a high-point of Christian prayer; only hearts attuned to God’s compassion can receive the gift of prayer. Forgiveness also bears witness that, in our world, love is stronger than sin. The martyrs of yesterday and today bear this witness to Jesus. Forgiveness is the fundamental condition of the reconciliation of the children of God with their Father and of men with one another.

**981 **After his Resurrection, Christ sent his apostles “so that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations.” The apostles and their successors carry out this “ministry of reconciliation,” not only by announcing to men God’s forgiveness merited for us by Christ, and calling them to conversion and faith; but also by communicating to them the forgiveness of sins in Baptism, and reconciling them with God and with the Church through the power of the keys, received from Christ:

[The Church] has received the keys of the Kingdom of heaven so that, in her, sins may be forgiven through Christ’s blood and the Holy Spirit’s action. In this Church, the soul dead through sin comes back to life in order to live with Christ, whose grace has saved us.

**1442 **Christ has willed that in her prayer and life and action his whole Church should be the sign and instrument of the forgiveness and reconciliation that he acquired for us at the price of his blood. But he entrusted the exercise of the power of absolution to the apostolic ministry which he charged with the “ministry of reconciliation.” The apostle is sent out “on behalf of Christ” with “God making his appeal” through him and pleading: “Be reconciled to God.”

1461 Since Christ entrusted to his apostles the ministry of reconciliation, bishops who are their successors, and priests, the bishops’ collaborators, continue to exercise this ministry. Indeed bishops and priests, by virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, have the power to forgive all sins “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

859 Jesus unites them to the mission he received from the Father. As “the Son can do nothing of his own accord,” but receives everything from the Father who sent him, so those whom Jesus sends can do nothing apart from him, from whom they received both the mandate for their mission and the power to carry it out. Christ’s apostles knew that they were called by God as “ministers of a new covenant,” “servants of God,” “ambassadors for Christ,” “servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.”

**620 **Our salvation flows from God’s initiative of love for us, because “he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins” (1 Jn 4:10). “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself” (2 Cor 5:19).

1424 It is called the sacrament of confession, since the disclosure or confession of sins to a priest is an essential element of this sacrament. In a profound sense it is also a “confession” - acknowledgment and praise - of the holiness of God and of his mercy toward sinful man.

It is called the sacrament of forgiveness, since by the priest’s sacramental absolution God grants the penitent “pardon and peace.”

It is called the sacrament of Reconciliation, because it imparts to the sinner the love of God who reconciles: “Be reconciled to God.” He who lives by God’s merciful love is ready to respond to the Lord’s call: “Go; first be reconciled to your brother.”

1442 Christ has willed that in her prayer and life and action his whole Church should be the sign and instrument of the forgiveness and reconciliation that he acquired for us at the price of his blood. But he entrusted the exercise of the power of absolution to the apostolic ministry which he charged with the “ministry of reconciliation.” The apostle is sent out “on behalf of Christ” with “God making his appeal” through him and pleading: “Be reconciled to God.”

602 Consequently, St. Peter can formulate the apostolic faith in the divine plan of salvation in this way: “You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers… with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was destined before the foundation of the world but was made manifest at the end of the times for your sake.” Man’s sins, following on original sin, are punishable by death. By sending his own Son in the form of a slave, in the form of a fallen humanity, on account of sin, God “made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

 

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For the Second Reading, here are some “Questions for Understanding and Application.” adapted from The Ignatius Study Bible; The First and Second Letters of St. Paul to the Corinthians (Ignatius Press, 2004):

1. What does baptism accomplish under the New Covenant? What happens to the old order of creation (see above)? How did the Prophets of Israel envision this renewal (Isaiah 42:6-9; 43:18-21; 65:17; 66:22)?
2. How is Jesus “made to be sin” (Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:22-24)? In the Greek OT, what is “sin” a shorthand word for (Leviticus 4:21; 5:12; 6:25)? To what may the expression “the righteousness of God” in Paul’s writing refer (Romans 3:25-26; Philippians 3:9)?
3. How many “important people” do you know? What makes them important? According to what criteria do you consider someone important? For example, how might it affect your point of view to learn that someone socially unimportant is baptized? For that matter, what does it matter (practically speaking) that you yourself are a new creation?
4. Have you ever argued or fought with God? Who “won”? How might you and God need to be reconciled? How often do you work and/or pray for other to be reconciled with him?

 

[Fidelis]

Here is a meditation for application on the Second Reading from Catholic Matters:

**APPLICATION: **We are Christians. To many perhaps this statement is about as important as if we say we are Americans, we are Germans, we are Irish, we are Italians. But as every sincere Christian knows, and as St. Paul has reminded us today, to be a Christian means something different. It means that our relationship with God and the whole meaning of life has been radically changed. The divine plan of the Incarnation reached its climax in the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. As a result of this plan we are no longer mere human beings. We have been raised up to adopted sonship by God. We are already by baptism citizens of God’s earthly kingdom, and we are legal heirs of his eternal kingdom in heaven. These are not empty words, nor empty titles. Because the Son of God became a man, and one of us, we have been made brothers of his and sons of God. Because we are sons of God we are heirs to heaven, and have a legal right—through the sheer gift of God’s infinite love for us, not through any merit whatsoever of our own—to eternal happiness.

The plan for our eternal happiness was made by God before creation began. It was signed and sealed by the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. At baptism each Christian is handed his bill of rights, his guarantee of eternal citizenship, together with the map which shows him the road he must travel to attain his kingdom.

But reading and following the road map is for many of us the part we like least. We are all thankful to God and to his divine Son for all he has done for us. We are all delighted with the privilege of divine sonship and the promise of a part in the eternal kingdom of God in heaven. But many of us get sleepy and faint-hearted when it comes to following the road mapped out for us. We know that we have been raised above our mere human nature and given a new status in relation to God. We also know and feel that we are still very human, very earthly beings, naturally attracted to the things of this world.

But we can and we must overcome this attraction. This is what St. Paul is exhorting us to do today. “Be reconciled to God,” he says. Repent of past faults, of past sins, he tells us. If we turn to God with a sincere heart, he will accept us back once more into the divine family of which baptism made us members. We are the chosen children of God, not in any metaphorical or figurative sense, but in the true sense of the words. Heaven is the eternal home earned for us by our true brother Christ. Could we be so foolish as to let some earthly passing pleasure or possession deprive us of that everlasting reward?

 

[Fidelis]

We now come to the Gospel Reading from Luke, Chapter 15. The Navarre Bible Commentary on Luke notes:

1-32. Jesus’ actions manifest God’s mercy: He receives sinners in order to convert them. The scribes and Pharisees, who despised sinners, just cannot understand why Jesus acts like this; they grumble about Him; and Jesus uses the opportunity to tell these Mercy parables. “The Gospel writer who particularly treats of these themes in Christ’s teaching is Luke, whose Gospel has earned the title of `the Gospel of mercy’” (John Paul II, “Dives In Misericordia”, 3).

In this chapter St. Luke reports three of these parables in which Jesus describes the infinite, fatherly mercy of God and His joy at the conversion of the sinner.

The Gospel teaches that no one is excluded from forgiveness and that sinners can become beloved children of God if they repent and are converted. So much does God desire the conversion of sinners that each of these parables ends with a refrain, as it were, telling of the great joy in Heaven over sinner who repents.

Our Gospel Reading this Sunday is the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32); perhaps it could be renamed the parable of the loving father, because he is the star of the story–or even the parable of the unforgiving brother, who represents those to whom Jesus directly meant this parable for: the Pharisees. Catholic Matters tells us that:

The Pharisees and Scribes were a minority among the Jews at the time of Christ. But they were the self-appointed leaders of religious thought in Palestine. They kept the Mosaic Law strictly, in fact too strictly, and unfortunately were so proud of their strict observance that they despised all the other Jews for not behaving as they did. Externally they kept the law that God had given to Moses, but in their hearts they gloried in themselves rather than in God. Pride was their ruin. They refused to accept Christ because he was preaching forgiveness of sins and divine mercy for sinners. He committed the unpardonable crime of being friendly with sinners and actually eating with them.

One of the things this parable does is play upon the hearer’s knowledge of two brother stories, in which the younger triumphs over the elder: 1) Esau and Jacob (Genesis 25:27-34; 27:1-36) and Joseph and his brothers (Genesis 37:1-4). Jesus doubly reverses expectations: the prodigal son is a parody of the successful younger brother; the elder brother is not vanquished, but invited to the feast. We will try touch on more facets of the parable (of which there are a great many) as we go through the Reading.

Here, then, is the Gospel Reading as we will hear it this Sunday:

Gospel
Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

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 Jesus addressed this parable:

“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.’”

 

[Fidelis]

Here are some thoughts on the First Reading with The Navarre Bible Commentary notes in blue, and my comments (if any) in green, as well as comments from Catholic Matters, The St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study, and the Ignatius Study Bible on the Gospel of Luke:

---

The Pharisees and Scribes were a minority among the Jews at the time of Christ. But they were the self-appointed leaders of religious thought in Palestine. They kept the Mosaic Law strictly, in fact too strictly, and unfortunately were so proud of their strict observance that they despised all the other Jews for not behaving as they did. Externally they kept the law that God had given to Moses, but in their hearts they gloried in themselves rather than in God. Pride was their ruin. They refused to accept Christ because he was preaching forgiveness of sins and divine mercy for sinners. He committed the unpardonable crime of being friendly with sinners and actually eating with them. (Catholic Matters)

[1] **The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him, **

1-2. This is not the first time that publicans and sinners approach Jesus (cf. Matthew 9:10). They are attracted by the directness of the Lord’s preaching and by His call to self-giving and love. The Pharisees in general were jealous of His influence over the people (cf. Matthew 26:2-5; John 11:47) a jealousy which can also beset Christians; a severity of outlook which does not accept that, no matter how great his sins may have been, a sinner can change and become a saint; a blindness which prevents a person from recognizing and rejoicing over the good done by others. Our Lord criticized this attitude when He replied to His disciples’ complaints about others casting out devils in His name: “Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in My name will be able soon after to speak evil of Me” (Mark 9:39). And St. Paul rejoiced that others proclaimed Christ and even overlooked the fact they did so out of self-interest, provided Christ was preached (cf. Philippians 1:17-18).

[2] **but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” **

The scribes and Pharisees were scandalized by the fact that Jesus associated with people of this ilk (see Luke 5:30; 7:34). To the Pharisees, a man was known by the company he kept. Further, to share a meal with someone was not done lightly; it implied a real sense of fellowship (our word “companion” comes from the roots com, meaning “with,” and pan, meaning “bread.” Thus to “break bread” with someone is to be companions with them. There is a proverb (Chinese, I think) that says you can’t really call someone your friend until you’ve shared a lot of salt with them, i.e., had many meals with them.

[3] **So to them he addressed this parable. **

Here the lectionary, for time considerations, omits verses 4—10 from this Sunday’s Reading. Ideally, however, this whole chapter should be read as a unit. Here are the omitted verses:

[4-10]] **"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.” **

These first two parables are setting up the parable of the prodigal son. The first parable about the sheep conveys a somewhat ridiculous situation. Would a shepherd really leave 99 sheep (apparently) alone and unattended to find one lost one? Probably not, and he would probably be greeted with ridicule by his neighbors rather than a celebration. But does God love each one of us to exhibit such an extravagant love for just one lost sheep? Yes he does. The parable of the lost coin intensifies the idea of the ridiculousness of God’s extravagant love. This sets up the parable of the prodigal son, which in the ears of Jesus’ listeners would be the most extreme example of all of God’s love.

Continued on next post.

 

[Fidelis]

Continued from previous post.

[11] **Then he said, "A man had two sons, **

11. This is one of Jesus’ most beautiful parables, which teaches us once more that God is a kind and understanding Father (cf. Matthew 6:8; Romans 8:15; 2 Corinthians 1:3). The son who asks for his part of the inheritance is a symbol of the person who cuts himself off from God through sin. “Although the word `mercy’ does not appear, this parable nevertheless expresses the essence of the divine mercy in a particularly clear way” (John Paul II, “Dives In Misericordia”, 5).

[12] **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. **

It was unusual and even shameful for a son to demand his inheritance before his father’s death (Sirach 33:23). Here the prodigal son compounded his father’s dishonor by squandering his inheritance in sin (Luke 15:13; Proverbs 28:7).

**12. **“That son, who receives from the father the portion of the inheritance that is due him and leaves home to squander it in a far country `in loose living’, in a certain sense is the man of every period, beginning with the one who was the first to lose the inheritance of grace and original justice. The analogy at this point is very wide-ranging. The parable indirectly touches upon every breach of the covenant of love, every loss of grace, every sin” (“Dives In Misericordia”, 5).

[13] **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. [14] When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need: **Just as we can lose our inheritance (heaven) through sinful acts, the son squanders his through unrestrained sensuality and spendthrift extravagance. Adam and Eve lost the garden of Eden through sin.

Distant country—the Greek is literally “the empty place.”

[15] **So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. **

Since Jews considered pigs unclean animals (Leviticus 11:7), only the most desperate conditions would force the son to take this disgraceful position. Working for a Gentile employer, he would be expected to violate the weekly Sabbath as well (Exodus 20:8-11). The sinner has further isolated himself from God.

14-15. At this point in the parable we are shown the unhappy effects of sin. The young man’s hunger evokes the anxiety and emptiness a person feels when he is far from God. The prodigal son’s predicament describes the enslavement which sin involves (cf. Romans 1:25; 6:6; Galatians 5:1): by sinning one loses the freedom of the children of God (cf. Romans 8:21; Galatians 4:31; 5:13) and hands oneself over the power of Satan.

[16] **And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. **

He was totally isolated and unloved. This is the anxiety and emptiness a person feels when he is far from God. This is what enslavement to sin involves (Romans 6;6; Galatians 5:1)—by sinning one loses the freedom of the children of God (Romans 8:21; Galatians 5:13) and hands oneself over to the power of Satan…

Continued on next post.

 

[Fidelis]

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[17] **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. [18] I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. [19] I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’ **

**17-21. **His memory of home and his conviction that his father loves him cause the prodigal son to reflect and to decide to set out on the right road. “Human life is in some way a constant returning to our Father’s house. We return through contrition, through the conversion of heart which means a desire to change, a firm decision to improve our life and which, therefore, is expressed in sacrifice and self-giving. We return to our Father’s house by means of that sacrament of pardon in which, by confessing our sins, we put on Jesus Christ again and become His brothers, members of God’s family” ([St] J. Escriva, “Christ is Passing By”, 64).

[20]**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. **

Literally, “fell upon his neck.” Running would have been undignified behavior for an elderly gentleman. The actions of the father recall the mercy shown to Jacob (Genesis 33:4) and the joys of family reunion in the patriarchal narratives (Genesis 45:14; 46:29)

**20-24. **God always hopes for the return of the sinner; He wants him to repent. When the young man arrives home his father does not greet him with reproaches but with immense compassion, which causes him to embrace his son and cover him with kisses.

20. "There is no doubt that in this simple but penetrating analogy the figure of the father reveals to us God as Father. The conduct of the father in the parable and his whole behavior, which manifests his internal attitude, enables us to rediscover the individual threads of the Old Testament vision of mercy in a synthesis which is totally new, full of simplicity and depth. The father of the prodigal son is FAITHFUL TO THIS FATHERHOOD, FAITHFUL TO THE LOVE that he had always lavished on his son. This fidelity is expressed in the parable not only by his immediate readiness to welcome him home when he returns after having squandered his inheritance; it is expressed even more fully by that joy, that merrymaking for the squanderer after his return, merrymaking which is so generous that it provokes the opposition and hatred of the elder brother, who had never gone far away from his father and had never abandoned the home.

“The father’s fidelity to himself …] is at the same time expressed in a manner particularly charged with affection. We read, in fact, that when the father saw the prodigal son returning home `he had COMPASSION, ran to meet him, threw his arms around his neck and kissed him.’ He certainly does this under the influence of a deep affection, and this also explains his generosity towards his son, that generosity which so angers the elder son” (“Dives In Misericordia”, 6).

"When God runs towards us, we cannot keep silent, but with St. Paul we exclaim, “ABBA PATER”: `Father, my Father!’ (Romans 8:15), for, though He is the creator of the universe, He doesn’t mind our not using high-sounding titles, nor worry about our not acknowledging His greatness. He wants us to call Him Father; He wants us to savor that word, our souls filling with joy …].

“God is waiting for us, like the father in the parable, with open arms, even though we don’t deserve it. It doesn’t matter how great our debt is. Just like the prodigal son, all we have to do is open our heart, to be homesick for our Father’s house, to wonder at and rejoice in the gift which God makes us of being able to call ourselves His children, of really being His children, even though our response to Him has been so poor” ([St] J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 64).

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[Fidelis]

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[21] **His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ [22] 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. **

God does not welcome the son back as a servant, but as a son, a free person. A robe and a ring are symbols of honor and authority (Genesis 41:42; Esther 3:10; 1 Maccabees 6:15). Household slaves usually went barefoot. The father refuses this for his son, restoring him instead to full family memebership.

[23] **Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, **

The fattened calf was reserved for special occasions.

[24] **because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began. [25] 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. [26] He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. [27] 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.’ **

The servant shares with him the the Good News about the prodigal sons return.

[28] **He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. [29] 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. **

The son clearly looks at his relationship with his father as a “slave/master” or “employee/employer” relationship.

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[Fidelis]

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[30] **But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ **

No specific sins of the younger son had been mentioned, but the elder son does not hesitate to enumerate them to the father.

The elder son who had stayed at home, was disgusted and angry with his father for treating this prodigal sinner with such kindness. He refused to take any part in the joyful celebrations. His father pleaded with him, reminding him that this prodigal was his brother, but in vain. He would have no dealings with a sinner even though the sinner had repented and was his brother.

The older brother’s grumbling signified the bitterness of the Pharisees (15:2), who wrongly saw God’s acceptance of sinners as a violation of covenant justice. The father in the parable is innocent of such a charge; he is simply forgiving and loving to his son, who recognized his errors and turned to his father for mercy.

25-30. God’s mercy is so great that man cannot grasp it: as we can see in the case of the elder son, who thinks his father loves the younger son excessively, his jealousy prevents him from understanding how his father can do so much to celebrate the recovery of the prodigal; it cuts him off from the joy that the whole family feels. “It’s true that he was a sinner. But don’t pass so final a judgment on him. Have pity in your heart, and don’t forget that he may yet be an Augustine, while you remain just another mediocrity” ([St] J. Escriva, “The Way”, 675).

We should also consider that if God has compassion towards sinners, He must have much much more towards those who strive to be faithful to Him. St. Therese of Lisieux understood this very well: “What joy to remember that our Lord is just; that He makes allowances for all our shortcomings, and knows full well how weak we are. What have I to fear then? Surely the God of infinite justice who pardons the prodigal son with such mercy will be just with me `who am always with Him’?” (“The Story of a Soul”, Chapter 8).

[31] He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. [32] 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.’"

**32. **“Mercy, as Christ has presented it in the parable of the prodigal son, has THE INTERIOR FORM OF THE LOVE that in the New Testament is called AGAPE. This love is able to reach down to every prodigal son, to every human misery, and above all to every form of moral misery, to sin. When this happens, the person who is the object of mercy does not feel humiliated, but rather found again and restored to value'. The father first and foremost expresses to him his joy, that he has been found again’ and that he has `returned to life’. This joy indicates a good that has remained intact: even if he is a prodigal, a son does not cease to be truly his father’s son; it also indicates a good that has been found again, which in the case of the prodigal son was his return to the truth about himself” (“Dives In Misericordia”, 6).