2nd Week of Lent - Saturday C

The prophet Micah declares, “Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; Who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency?” So, God’s anger is real. He does have wrath, and sometimes we stop there. We don’t keep in mind the second part of the verse, namely that he, “… delights rather in clemency.” He gets angry, but then delights in clemency in both cases it is out of love. If he’s angered, it’s because he loves us. When he has mercy, he is hoping we will see that love more clearly.

This makes God, from the vantage point of human eyes, a bit unpredictable. We do not know if he is in a state of anger or mercy and so at times we approach him with a bit of trepidation.

The prodigal, the younger of the father’s two sons in the parable, after deciding to go back home, is sure of one thing—the father is angry and will not welcome his return. So he comes up with a plan; “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."' He forgot that his father is merciful. He forgot that the father does not cease his love when we are sinning. He forgot that he would always be his father’s treasure, even if they chest gets displaced or lost for a while.

The Lord wants each of us to know that we will always be his children, no matter what. No matter what sins are in our past, or what may come in the future, nothing will every change his love for us and this is a major preoccupation for most people—the feeling that they are not loved.
This is where the second and eldest son enters the parable. His younger brother comes back, after spending all his father’s money through a disordered lifestyle, is suddenly back home, and perhaps even for not the greatest reasons. There is no mention in the parable, that the prodigal son wished to return home because he missed his family, but rather for self-preservation: “'How many of my father's hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger.” For some of us, that is the way we make our baby steps back to God, even through less then benevolent motives which are much more self-absorbed.

God can work through a person’s imperfect motives. He can use them to arrive at a greater and more perfect love, so we should never give up on someone, especially as they are learning to take their steps back home to the Father. The elder brother was too worried that he was loved less to allow his brother to begin a new life. The less self-centered we become, the more we will be welcoming of others into the fold and the more we will rejoice, rather than lament, their salvation. The journey of life in fact, gives us an opportunity to make this transition from worrying too much about ourselves, and placing our concern on others who need our help. But it’s a journey, and a journey which is providentially guided by our loving Father in heaven. May we continue to trust in Jesus and ask the Father to have mercy on us, for we have sinned, and may we know more and more, just how much we are loved by him, eternally and without reservations, as he accompanies us each step of the way. Amen.